Tara Murray
Sunshine is a “mess” and a “victim of raised expectations, poor planning, and undelivered promises”, according to a transport action group.
The Victorian Transport Action group has released a report, Bringing Sunshine out of the Shadows, following the release of concept plans for the Melbourne Airport Rail Link.
Brimbank council and residents have raised concerns about the lack of information around the redevelopment of Sunshine and Albion, which the action group also shares.
The group, which is made up of transport professionals that meet monthly, said drastic action was needed to upgrade both Sunshine and Albion.
“Recent transport planning has hyped a transformation of Sunshine as a super hub for seven separate rail services,” the report said.
“Sunshine has been designated a National Employment and Innovation Cluster (NEIC) – one of just seven in Plan Melbourne 2051. A draft framework plan produced by the Victorian Planning Authority has not triggered any major commitments or funding to implement its findings.
“In 2018 Sunshine was also designated by the state as a Priority Precinct. The precinct has since been transferred to the Department of Transport, and the focus narrowed to Sunshine station as a ‘Transport Super Hub’ rather than integrated land use and transport planning for the whole precinct.
“Now it seems recent decisions have even shelved any significant upgrade of Sunshine or Albion stations, and no plan to integrate it with the business districts and the heritage residential communities on each side of the station.”
The report said there were planning problems in both Sunshine and Albion and each area’s role needed to be defined with other growth areas in the west.
The group said there needs to be a dedicated development board in the area, to drive integrated planning and implementation of land use and transport planning opportunities.
The group highlighted a number of short and medium-term goals that they would like to see be implemented.
The short term goals focused on increasing train frequency and reviewing bus routes in Brimbank.
The medium term upgrades include scraping the planned two-kilometre rail flyer over at Albion, committing to building a new Albion station, setting a clear timeframe for electrification of the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines, extra platforms at Sunshine station, a new station at Sunshine North and considering the development of network of trams in the west.
The report also looked at Brimbank council’s Sunshine Priority Precinct – Vision 2050 plan, which was finalised earlier this year.
The group says while it focuses on Sunshine, much of the municipality including Watergardens, Brimbank Central and Deer Park isn’t taken into account.
“The heavy reliance on the development of a Sunshine super hub means that it is almost out of date before the ink has dried, because that concept appears to have been significantly watered down by the government. It is a long-term vision – looking 30 years into the future.
“As a consequence many of its aspirations are very ambitious and assume a level of high-density development that is hard to see, given the current spread out structure of the precinct.”
