Almost 600 people poured into the town hall in Melbourne’s north-eastern suburb of Ivanhoe on October 6 to discuss the Victorian Labor government’s proposal to build a freeway across the Banyule Flats and the Yarra Corridor. The government intends to build the North-East Link to join the Western Ring Road to the Eastlink tollway.
The lack of public transport in the area was shown by the fact that the only way most people could get to the meeting was by driving, causing a small traffic jam outside.
According to Friends of Banyule, who organised the meeting, the Banyule Flats and the Yarra Corridor is one of the last natural areas in that part of Melbourne. The freeway would exit at the historic Heide Museum.
The group said the proposal would not solve congestion, but would instead attract more vehicles trying to enter or exit the freeway feeder roads.
Friends of Banyule president Marion Ware said government minister Peter Batchelor promised in 2001 that the government wouldn’t build a freeway through the Yarra Flats, but broke that promise in 2010.
Public transport expert Paul Mees told the meeting that the $6 billion to build the north-east link could build 30 schools.
He said: “The solution [to congestion] in North America and Europe was to ban trucks from residential roads unless delivering something.”
He said in Montreal, Canada, 70% of freight is transported by rail. For Melbourne, only 10% of freight is delivered by rail.
Kenneth Davidson, senior columnist for The Age and writer and co-editor of Dissent magazine, said the government’s transport plan was just a further development of the1969 transport plan. That plan mirrored Los Angeles, which had just a bus service for the poor, and cut the rail and tram systems.
Darren Peters from the South Merang and Mernda Rail Alliance said his group had convinced the government to begin building the South Merang extension to the rail line on October 4, after five years of campaigning.
But now, the extension of urban growth areas to Mernda, North Epping and Doreen will add 40,000 to the population, justifying an extension to Whittlesea.
In discussion time, most of the crowd opposed the North-East Link, making the Liberal and Labor candidates present very uncomfortable.