Council puts transport first

By Paul Dunlop
PUBLIC transport improvements including another railway station in Pakenham top a local wish list for the next state election.
New schools, improved road safety and upgrades to gas services and sewerage in the area are also seen as key priorities.
With Victorians due to go to the polls in November next year, Cardinia Shire Council last week drew up a list of items it would ask local candidates to support.
The seats of Bass and Gembrook are seen as key battlefields in the election and council is hoping a lot of money will be promised by political parties seeking votes. The council wish list includes:
Provision of natural gas to Kooweerup;
Completion of the sewer backlog program;
Upgrade of PakenhamKooweerup Road;
Construction of a Lakeside railway station;
Improvements to human services in Cardinia Shire;
A TAFE college and new primary schools in Pakenham;
More support for the Green Wedge area;
Better bus and rail services, particularly northsouth connections;
Safety improvements along the Princes Highway, including traffic lights at Officer, Beaconsfield and Henry Street, Pakenham, and
Increased funding for infrastructure to support growth needs in the CaseyCardinia growth corridor.
The council’s initial list did not include the gas provision or sewer upgrades but these were added at the request of Westernport Ward councillor Doug Hamilton. Kooweerup traders and the township committee had cited gas connection as vital for the town, he said.
“If we do not take this opportunity, Kooweerup may well have to wait a long time for natural gas,” he said.
“The sewerage backlog must be addressed.”
Emerald Ward councillor Graeme Legge and Bunyip Ward representative Cr Helen Ward also spoke in favour of the council’s priorities.
Cr Legge said public transport needed to improve while Cr Ward was “particularly passionate” about the sewerage backlog program.
Towns such as Nar Nar Goon and Tynong are still without sewerage connections despite waiting for years for the service to be improved.
Cr Ward said the State Government’s latest estimate of a connection date of 2008 or 2009 was not good enough. “It’s not fast enough, it’s not healthy and what are they doing about it? Not enough,” she said.
The new station at the Lakeside at Pakenham estate was said by council officers to be of high importance.
The council has set aside 1.4 hectares of land in the residential development. The railway station would be sited near Cardinia Road.
A report to the council meeting said it was critical that the growing population around the area had easy access to public transport.