Australian population hit 24 million people
Today the Australian population hit 24 million people.
Melbourne is Australia’s fastest growing city and as a frequent traveller on both Melbourne’s roads and public transport I say that infrastructure investments have been inadequate to cater for this growth.
Our clients in suburbs all over Melbourne tell us that if they don’t get to rail stations by certain times, they cannot get on the train. That’s right cannot get on the train. Not can’t get a seat on the train. Can’t get on the train at all. Not sure what removing level crossings will do to improve that.
One pet peeve of mine is the Chandler Highway Bridge from Kew to Alphington. Two lanes only, total bottleneck both sides irrelevant of which direction your are going from about 4:30 pm. Even last Saturday, the traffic was hideous here at 11 am. Removing the Grange Road level crossing is imminent and will improve traffic flow but the widening of the bridge is surely more important. Apparently earlier this year Vicroads has committed to widening the bridge to six lanes.
Last week, I had to commute by car from Sunshine in Melbourne’s west to Kew. It took well over an hour with a massive bottle neck from Flemington Road all the way to the Eastern Freeway. Patience was needed, that’s for sure. It is obvious why tradesmen around Melbourne are so area focused these days, reluctant to travel. It just costs them too much loss of income by virtue of non-paid traveling time.
So, happy 24 million people milestone Australia but speaking as a Melbournian, we need to look to providing better infrastructure and public transport for the increasing population for the future.
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