The first circular rail line through Melbourne’s eastern suburbs was a disaster. Will the Suburban Rail Loop repeat history or secure the city’s future? pwhatch
“We’ve got huge debt, rising interest rates ... a skill shortage, a labour shortage, rising inflation - we can’t be doing everything all at the same time,” he says.
Electric buses can deliver a fast, frequent and direct network that is a real alternative to driving and would also stimulate new urban development over a greater area than the Loop, he says, which would tightly concentrate benefits around the stations while “leaving everybody else in the car-dependent status quo”.
“Sometimes you need to step out there and do something big to change the future in a positive way - you need the visionary approach.” But John Stanley, one of Plan Melbourne’s authors, says those numbers are underwhelming in the context of Melbourne growing by 4 million people over the same period. The Loop authority has flagged “new planning settings” to enable new development in those areas, which at 8 square kilometres are each roughly six times the size of Melbourne’s CBD.
The opposition’s transport infrastructure spokesman, Matt Bach, attacks the Loop’s credibility by pointing to theby the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office: it concluded the document was “not sufficiently comprehensive, robust or transparent” and “did not support informed investment decisions”.
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