Make Melbourne Green

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Background

The Greens believe that transport funding in Victoria has for too long been skewed towards roads and freeways and away from public transport. Elected Greens will advocate for large-scale investment in sustainable transport by state and federal governments, and vehemently oppose the building of new freeways and road tunnels in the city.

Locally, the City of Melbourne’s own transport policies need to be reviewed. Elected Greens will strive to make the City a place that is safe and accessible for pedestrians, public transport users, and cyclists – and for all road users.

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Policies

Greens on Melbourne City Council will:

1. Work with VicRoads to implement a 24-hour 30km/h speed limit on all roads in the CBD under council responsibility, and on roads under VicRoads responsibility after 8pm, including King Street.

2. Make the City of Melbourne’s Tourist Shuttle Bus cost neutral.

3. Complete the dedicated bus lane along Queen St & Lonsdale St.

4. Support the relocation of tourist buses from Swanston Street to the Russell Street extension behind Federation Square, and should any move to Federation Square be unsuccessful, designate the city street safest for all road users as a pick up / drop off point.

5. Designate four pick up / drop off points for smaller tourist buses on safe streets to the north, south, east and west of the city centre.

6. In partnership with the State Government, build a bus terminal on Lonsdale St between King St & Spencer St.

7. In partnership with the State Government and other metropolitan municipalities, increase the frequency of Nightrider bus services to departures every 20 minutes.

8. Fund safe, well-lit taxi ranks in violence-prone areas.

9. Create a pedestrian mall on Elizabeth St between Flinders St and Flinders Lane.

10. Turn Swanston Street back into ‘Swanston Walk’, by replacing the bitumen with bluestone from La Trobe to Flinders Street, thereby encouraging more street-level retail/café-style activity and slower vehicular traffic (see “A New Vision For Swanston Street”, a Greens policy statement released 22/9/08).

11. Choose tram-friendly traffic light sequencing options in order to speed up public transport trips.

12. Oppose any further reduction in the number of CBD tram stops.

13. Create more safe bicycle lanes, and consider some more new-generation bike lanes in high-danger areas.

14. Fast-track the expansion of Melbourne’s bicycle network by building key commuter bicycle paths with neighbouring councils, and encourage more people to ride to the city by installing more short stay multiple parking hoops and long stay secure bike lockers.

15. Join with Hobson’s Bay, Maribyrnong and Port Phillip City Councils to reinstate and improve the Westgate Bike Punt.

16. Hold a ‘Car Free Day’ on council managed CBD streets at least once a year.

17. Abolish the Mayoral Car and reduce the fuel consumption of the council car fleet.

18. Facilitate the development of car pools and car share schemes in the City.

19. Advocate for the removal of the unacceptably dangerous Craigieburn line level crossing at Macaulay Road.[1]

20. Improve on the City’s pedestrian strategy, to provide safer and more accessible footpaths and walking routes.

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A Green Lord Mayor will:

21. Lobby the state government for 24-hour accessible public transport across the entire metropolitan train and tram networks.

22. Lobby the federal government, at the Australian Council of Local Government meeting and at other opportunities, to:

• End Federal government support for the Eddington Road Tunnel;
• Establish a Capital City Public Transport fund of $3.5 billion over five years, equal to double the amount allocated to the ‘Roads to Recovery’ program, to support public transport infrastructure renewal and rapid greenhouse gas reduction in Australia’s capitals.
• Allocate at least 25% of the $22.3 billion AusLink 2 funding for 2009-10 to 2013-14 to new major infrastructure projects that shift people or freight off roads and onto more efficient alternatives.

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Reprioritisation of council funds

The Greens believe that Melbourne City Council should adhere to its own policy of spending Long-Term Parking Levy funds on sustainable transport options.

The 2008-09 financial year, for example, will see council collect $5m from this levy and spend it on such projects as the Yarra footbridge to the State Government’s PPP Convention Centre (the demand for which will not be required until 2025 according to council’s own estimation) and on maintaining the Tourist Shuttle Bus (a service that The Greens believe should be charged in order for it to achieve cost neutrality – if tourists can afford to visit our city, they can afford the spare change for a bus trip).

The Greens believe that the Parking Levy can be better spent. Council expects to collect $74.83m in Parking fees and fines this financial year. The Greens would ensure that a substantial proportion of council’s parking-related income, and more than just the income from the Long-Term Parking Levy, be spent on sustainable transport options. Coupled with the savings made from the Tourist Shuttle’s eventual cost-neutrality, Melbourne City Council will be in a good financial position to facilitate Melbourne’s transition towards becoming a truly pedestrian, public transport and cyclist-friendly city.