VICTORIAN Premier Steve Bracks has launched a study aimed at improving transport through Melbourne’s east-west corridor, as population and traffic flow to areas such as Caroline Springs continue to boom.
He has appointed former British Airways CEO Rod Eddington to head the study.
Mr Bracks called for submissions on improving the link between the East and the West, which is now largely serviced by the Monash Freeway, CityLink and the West Gate Freeway corridor.
The study will consider major infrastructure works such as tunnels, rail connections, freeways and buses, Mr Bracks said last week.
The announcement came only days after new figures from the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed Melbourne’s western fringe, specifically the Shire of Melton, was at the forefront of Melbourne’s population growth.
Between June 2005 and June 2006 Melton recorded the highest population growth in suburban Melbourne, with 6800 people migrating to the area during the period.
Melton also claimed the lowest median age in Victoria (30.9 years).
Neighbouring Wyndham City Council’s population grew by 6700 during the same period.
Much of Melton’s population growth has been put down to the Caroline Springs estate, which sits just inside the shire and borders the City of Brimbank.
At 800 hectares, Caroline Springs is Victoria’s largest planned urban development, and the speed of development has caught many locals by surprise.
Caroline Springs Residents Association president Steve Schembri told Star he was not surprised by the ABS growth figures.
“It’s all happening at once. I’ve never seen anything quite like it to be quite honest,” Mr Schembri said.
He said that while many semi-retirees were moving into the area, it was the young families driving the population surge, which was partly due to housing affordability.
“I think on the whole it’s one of the most affordable places in Melbourne, Mr Schembri said.
“All you’ve got to do is go over to the other side of town and house prices double.”
The State Government expects the trend to increase for at least the next two decades, estimating Melton’s population will increase by more than 200 per cent between 2001 and 2031.
The government expects a report on the east-west transport link to be delivered at the beginning of 2008.
The submission period closes on 31 May this year.
