Sunshine will be flooded with additional traffic if the western section of the East West Link is built, according to the Public Transport Users Association.
Star Weekly revealed earlier this month that Premier Denis Napthine told a meeting of western suburbs councillors recently the western section could emerge from under the ground “somewhere in Sunshine”.
Association president Anthony Morton said the link would create more local traffic.
“East West Link is set to flood Sunshine with large volumes of additional traffic, to the detriment of local residents,” he said.
“[It’s] a foolish move when we’ve learned from decades of experience that the induced traffic from big new roads leaves us with worse congestion problems than existed before.”
The government has released only a proposed path so far, with Dr Napthine saying the final alignment would be “up to the bidders”.
The opposition has not committed to the western section of the link.
Mr Morton said the government must not sign any contracts for the western section until after the election in November.
“The East West Link must go to an election,” he said. “It is already flying in the face of due process to attempt to sign contracts before November. Victorians must be granted the choice that has been denied them.”
Mr Morton said other projects such as the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, which is planned to stop at Sunshine and Albion, could stall through the government’s commitment to the East West Link.
“There’s a very real risk that the airport line won’t go ahead at all because the bulk of the funds aren’t even committed,” he said.
But Public Transport and Roads Minister Terry Mulder said the link would take trucks off suburban streets and free up local and arterial roads.
“For many years, people in the west have been calling for a second river crossing, an alternative to the heavily congested West Gate Bridge,” he said.
“This project will transform Melbourne’s road network and reduce our over-reliance on the West Gate Bridge.
“The days of widespread gridlock after even minor incidents on the bridge or along the M1 will be over.”
The government has projected that by 2031, the number of people travelling east-west across the Maribyrnong River will increase to more than 600,000 a day (440,000 by road, 165,000 by rail).
