Mornington Peninsula overlooked in radical national plan to ease commuter pain, group says
Less than 20 per cent of the Mornington Peninsula is serviced by public transport forcing nearly half the region’s residents to drive to work. Business leaders are disappointed that hasn't made the national agenda, unlike those affecting neighbouring Frankston.
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The delay in releasing the business case into extending the Frankston line electrification to Baxter is stifling progress on fixing the Mornington Peninsula’s transport woes, a lobby group says.
The Committee for Mornington Peninsula (CfMP) said case, which was completed by the State Government, would provide key insights and analysis on the best next steps for improving rail services for the peninsula.
The committee said it didn’t list the issue on the recent proposals phase for Infrastructure Australia’s Priorities 2020 because it imagined the analysis had already been shared with IA.
The Priorities 2020 report, which was released last week, listed ‘Frankston public connectivity’ as one of just six Victorian projects in the “near term category” of zero to five years.
The project was proposed by the Committee for Greater Frankston, which previously tossed up ideas to rejuvenate the region’s public transport system — including a new station at Langwarrin and links to Leawarra and Baxter on the Stony Point line.
More ideas included a new bus interchange at Baxter and shifting Leawarra station towards Frankston Hospital with new platforms at Jubilee Park.
Committee for Greater Frankston chief executive Ginevra Hosking agreed that it would be useful to see the Frankston line electrification to Baxter business case.
“We have asked for the report to be released to us and IA,” she said.
Transport Minister Jacinta Allen did not respond to questions from the Leader about when the business case study would be released.
Instead she criticised IA’s vision for Victoria saying its recommendations “suggest a complete lack of understanding of our state’s needs”.
CfMP chairman Bruce Billson said it was disappointing that IA’s priority list did not include any infrastructure projects for the Mornington Peninsula.
He urged the authority to “lift its gaze beyond the east of Frankston” and explore the staged electrification of the rail line beyond Frankston along the Stony Point line and freight rail connections to the Cranbourne line.
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“Our region has the lowest access to public transport facilities within metropolitan Melbourne, and this raises the question again about whether policy makers and transport planners even consider the Mornington Peninsula to be part of the metropolitan Melbourne”, Mr Billson said.
A recent CfMP study found 45 per cent of Peninsula residents worked outside the region.
The Mornington Peninsula Council’s 2019 Better Buses campaign revealed that 82 per cent of the shire was not serviced by public transport.
However, Ms Hosking said improving public transport access in and around Frankston was the first step to better services on the Mornington Peninsula.
She said the best long term solution for the Mornington Peninsula would be to extend the train line to Mornington and Mt Eliza and provide park and ride services.