Allan says first leg of Suburban Rail Loop could stand alone

The estimated cost of the first section of the loop is less controversial than the rest of the project. The government estimated the cost from Cheltenham to Box Hill at $30 billion to $34.5 billion in a business and investment case released last year. The Congressional Budget Office announced $36.5 billion this week.

Along the proposed underground route in the eastern section, traffic was disrupted along Clayton Road this week to allow sewer pipe relocation in preparation for tunnel construction, but there is strong support for the project. There was already evidence of

Monash University Vice Chancellor Margaret Gardner said in a statement that Monash University has advocated for the need for a train station since the 1960s and endorsed the suburban rail loop as “the best solution for the Monash community.” said.

Monash Mayor Stuart James has three proposed SRL stations in the municipal patches of Monash University, Clayton and Glen Waverley. His voters overwhelmingly support the project, and it would be “absurd” for it to be scrapped now.

“There are holes in the ground and people are digging,” he said. “We can’t continue wasting billions of dollars of taxpayer money on projects just because we changed the government.”

James was also critical of the way the government sold the project. The Suburban Rail Loop is being promoted as a new rail line, but is better understood as a long-term strategic planning response to Melbourne’s projected population growth.

Buried in what the government describes as the business and investment case for the suburban rail loop is a table showing how the project will transform the areas around six proposed stations on the Eastern Line. Melbourne Airport is built.

One of the objectives of the Suburban Rail Loop is to create a ’20 minute city’ by stimulating greater economic activity and building affordable, high-density housing within walking distance of stations.

A document prepared by consultancy KPMG predicts that within the Monash area, the population will double and jobs will increase fivefold as a result of the rail line. The Box Hill district’s population is projected to grow from 29,000 to he 77,500.

Philippe Pratich’s family has owned and operated the popular Indochina restaurant on Box Hill for nearly 30 years. In the meantime, he has seen major shopping streets bustling and skyscrapers dotted the skyline. He said he could not wait until the suburban rail loop was built and the state could not afford to shelve the project.

“There are a lot of students in the area, so a loop from Monash University to here would be good,” he said. is.”

Guy said he could either fix the health and hospital system or build a $30 billion railroad. “You can’t have both. It’s very easy,” he said. Gary think you can.

Gary, who did not wish to use his last name, lives in Blackburn South, just off Box Hill, and hopes the government will invest more in improving the health care system and developing a railroad link to suburban Central. increase.

Stopping the Suburban Rail Loop now would be like turning the Melbourne Cup field into a one-mile (1.6 km) race, he said.

Box Hill Labor Party member Paul Hammer age After he spends the day knocking on the door. He said some of his constituencies fear they will lose their jobs if the loop does not progress. Medical services are important, but so is transportation, he said. “People understand that government can and should improve both.”

At the southern end of the Eastern District, Liberal MP Brad Rowswell of Sandringham said that stopping the rail line would protect local parks and help pay for upgrades to local hospitals.

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Kos Samaras, a former campaign director for the ALP who now runs a political consultancy for the Redbridge Group, said the political divisions over the Suburban Rail Loop will affect the outcome of the election in many ways.

He said Guy’s singular focus on the health care crisis resonates with suburbs, where poor access to general practitioners is putting pressure on hospital emergency departments and suburban rail loops are a distant concern. He said he would.

But the decision to shelve the SRL does little to improve the Liberal Party’s position in the Central suburbs, which benefit from improved transportation and potentially jobs closer to home.

Allan said the Suburban Rail Loop is a response to one of the biggest long-term problems facing Melbourne. How to maintain the functioning of a city projected to match London’s current population within the next 30 years despite the disruption of the pandemic.

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“Without the gradual change in transportation, what you’re telling people in the suburbs is that your roads are going to get even busier,” she said.

“If you don’t intervene now, you will exacerbate existing problems. By the time you intervene, it will be too late.

“A city of 9 million people will have to accommodate 11.8 million public transit trips per day and an 80% increase in the number of private vehicles on the road. There will be people with less ability.”

Guy, who recognized Melbourne’s growing population as a key issue ahead of the last state election, said the pandemic had fundamentally changed Melbourne’s expected growth rates and political debate.

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