Public transport preferred, despite East West Link push – The Weekly Review Melbourne Times
Public transport has been voted by RACV members as the preferred option to address Melbourne’s traffic congestion woes, despite the fact the group has been fiercely lobbying for the East West Link. It contradicts the transport and motoring giant’s strong advocacy, claiming it is representing the views of it members.
Despite the results, the RACV maintains its greatest priority is the controversial East West Link, estimated to cost between $8 and $10 billion. Once completed it will connect Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs via a tunnel that will join the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Road. The tunnel will be dug under homes in Collingwood, Clifton Hill and Fitzroy as part of stage one to connect the Eastern Freeway to CityLink.
The survey is the second time in as many years that members have directly told RACV their biggest concerns did not involve East West Link.
In its 2012 Red Spot survey, which lists the top 10 congested spots in Melbourne, none of them are located anywhere near the path of the Link. Instead, six out of 10 ‘redspots’ – intersections in Murrumbeena, Carnegie, Glen Iris, Reservoir, Clayton and Sunbury – are at or close to a rail level crossing. Darebin Greens councillor Trent McCarthy, who is running for the RACV board on a pro-public transport platform at September’s election, said he wanted the group to withdraw support for the project.
Are You an RACV member or Customer
YCAT urges anyone who is an RACV member or customer to contact the organisation and let them know your thoughts on RACV siphoning profits from your insurance premiums or road side assistance fees to lobby for ‘this mad scheme that even on the government’s own analysis can’t produce a proper positive return on investment’*.
* Paul Mees, June 2013
