Council trains efforts on transport

By Rebecca Fraser
CASEY Council will turn up the heat on the State Government in a bid to improve Casey’s public transport system.
At Tuesday night’s council meeting Casey mayor Neil Lucas successfully moved that a submission be forwarded to the Minister for Transport Peter Batchelor, seeking an upgrade of metropolitan rail services in the City of Casey, with a view to increase frequency of services on both the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines.
Council also moved that they would lobby for the provision of additional car parking for commuters and that a delegation to the minister also be sought.
Cr Lucas said the council must continue to remain focused on trying to seek improvements for Casey’s bus and train services.
“We need to keep at this issue and try to encourage people off the freeways and onto public transport.
“This would be good for everyone,” he said.
Strathard Ward councillor Lorraine Wreford agreed, and said the need to improve and increase Casey’s public transport services had become even more pressing as petrol prices soared.
“Residents are really being disadvantaged by the cost of petrol.
“Given the current prices it is really imperative that the infrequency and lack of public transports services is addressed as is the lack of parking at stations,” he said.
In a separate motion Springfield Ward councillor Ben Clissold moved that council officers prepare a strategy aiming to convince the State Government, Bus Association Victoria and the Public Transport Users Association to undertake a joint study with Casey focussed on public transport.
Cr Clissold moved that the ultimate study would consider the appropriate timing of the provision of bus services to new estates, provision of bus services to isolated communities and linkages from communities to principle activity centres such as Endeavour Hills to Fountain Gate, and Pearcedale to Cranbourne.
He said the study would also consider the provision of a third rail track on the Dandenong line, the provision of weekend services, frequency of services across Casey and provision of the promised rail access to the Cranbourne Complex and in effect to Casey Fields.
Myuna Ward councillor Brian Oates slammed Cr Clissold’s motion, and voted against it after branding the move ‘politically motivated.’
Cr Clissold disagreed with this claim, and said this was not an attack on any political party.
Instead he said there were unquestionable shortfalls in Casey’s bus and train services that needed to be addressed.
“We need to take a strategic approach and work with the right authorities at the right time to work out where we need to go so that in five, 10, 15 or 20 years as the city continues to grow we have sufficient public transport.
“We can’t go adhoc and hope for the best. At the moment on the Pakenham and Cranbourne line there are two rails and no opportunities to pass each other so if one train is late the whole system shuts down.
“I think we would all love to see a system that stops at all stations then runs express through from Dandenong,” he said.