Labor would jettison the entire east-west link, including the second stage through its western suburbs heartland, and instead remove 50 of Melbourne’s worst level crossings within eight years, under its alternative transport plan released Tuesday.
Labor would build the first phase of the east-west link, between CityLink and the Eastern Freeway, if contracts were signed before the next election, and says it would deliver its transport plan on top of that project.
It would also revive the plan recently cancelled by the Coalition to build truck off-ramps on the West Gate Freeway, in a move designed to remove thousands of trucks from residential streets in the inner west.
The so-called West Gate Distributor would also remove 5000 trucks a day from the West Gate Bridge and provide a new gateway into the city centre for road commuters travelling from the western suburbs via Footscray Road, the opposition says.
The Tullamarine Freeway would be widened from four to six lanes at its northern end between the Western Ring Road and Melbourne Airport, while Hoddle Street would be boosted through the construction of ‘‘continuous flow intersections’’ at key junctions on the heavily congested road. Used in some car-dependent American cities, continuous flow intersections can reduce right-turn logjams by between 50 and 90 per cent.
Thousands of new car parking spots would be built at railway stations, by building on government-owned land.
‘‘Commuters report increasing levels of frustration as train station car parks fill earlier and earlier each morning meaning more people miss out on a parking spot,’’ the Labor plan states.
‘‘If more people are going to take the train, more must be done to make it easier for people to park and ride – particularly during the morning peak period commute.’’
The transport plan would be paid for by selling the Port of Melbourne, a state asset that would be expected to net several billions.
‘‘Victorians have a right to expect their state government to invest in a world-class public transport system,’’ the plan states.
But Tony Morton, the president of the Public Transport Users Association, said the plan did not provide a real alternative to car dependency.
While praising Labor’s intention to remove 50 level crossings, he warned that the Melbourne Metro rail tunnel would not solve the majority of the train network’s problems, including poor signalling and a long-term failure to build rail extensions to many outer suburbs.
‘‘The public needs to see investment in the system to fix the problems, not a repeat of earlier neglect,’’ Dr Morton said.
Terry Mulder, the minister for Roads and Public Transport, labelled Labor’s vision “the shortest of short-term fixes” for Melbourne’s growing truck traffic, which is predicted to treble by 2050.
“When you look at the forecast container volumes for Melbourne in years to come, this plan is the shortest of short-term fixes,” Mr Mulder said.
“Melbourne needs a second freeway connection and it needs a freeway link to the port, which is why we’re building the east-west link.”
He said Labor’s plan was founded on the hope it could sell the Port of Melbourne, but with no guarantee of an interested buyer from the private sector.
“It’s hardly what you’d call a sophisticated approach to policy,” Mr Mulder said.
