Public Transport Victoria defends consultation methods for its Melville Rd tram terminus at the Bell St Village Precinct
RESIDENTS, businesses and the mayor have slammed PTV’s consultation process for the Melville Rd tram terminus, forcing the State Government body to defend itself.
North West
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PUBLIC Transport Victoria has hit back at accusations from Moreland Mayor John Kavanagh that the public consultation on the impending Melville Rd tram terminus was “insufficient”.
The mayor made the comments about the plans for the terminus in Pascoe Vale South at this month’s council meeting, saying he wasn’t sure how much further consultation was planned but until now “it has been insufficient”.
“My experience is statutory authorities don’t do public consultation very well to be honest,” he said.
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The plans for the terminus have drawn criticism from local residents and businesses, with many claiming they weren’t consulted properly or had their questions left unanswered by PTV.
PTV spokesman John Lindsay disputed Cr Kavanagh’s claim and said the State Government organisation had consulted with locals across a five-month period, which had resulted in improvements, such as the installation of bike hoops and added disabled parking.
Resident Tim Beaumont said the upgrades were token gestures and said the consultation process had been unfair, particularly after PTV scheduled a drop-in information session at an upstairs dance studio that was inaccessible to many elderly and disabled people.
Cr Kavanagh also said he was “surprised” the upstairs venue had been selected.
Pascoe Vale Soccer Store employee Filippa Raponi said she had been shown four separate designs for the stop and questioned why the public was only shown one option.
An extension of the line past Melville Rd and installing the terminus in wider, nearby Turner St was not considered by PTV.
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