In short:
Wyndham Council has unanimously adopted a framework to prioritise future bus shelters and will push the State Government for more funding, with officers warning it could take up to 50 years to install shelters at the current pace.
Council Wants More Bus Shelters
Wyndham councillors have unanimously endorsed a new framework to determine where future bus shelters should be installed, while ramping up pressure on the State Government to significantly increase investment in the municipality’s growing public transport network.
The report, adopted at Tuesday night’s council meeting on 28 July, is the result of Cr Jasmine Hill’s Notice of Motion passed earlier this year, which called for officers to identify bus stops without shelters, develop an objective prioritisation framework and produce a ranked list of locations to strengthen council’s advocacy efforts.
Council officers found Wyndham has 908 bus stops but just 206 bus shelters, leaving around 700 stops without protection from the weather.
At the current pace of State Government funding, which delivers around 10 to 15 new shelters in Wyndham each year, officers estimate it could take between 45 and 50 years to install shelters at all remaining eligible locations.
(The green dots represent bus stops with shelters, while the grey dots are stops without shelters)
Asks To Include Less Red Tape Around Planning Permits
Under the new framework, bus stops will first undergo an eligibility assessment before being scored against five criteria: patronage and usage, strategic importance within the transport network, equity and community need, future growth, and safety and amenity.
Officers said every remaining stop will require an on-site assessment before a final priority list can be completed, with that work expected to continue over the coming year.
Councillors also resolved to write to Public Transport Victoria and the Victorian Minister for Public and Active Transport seeking faster installation of bus shelters and greater funding for Wyndham.
They will also ask the State Government to amend planning rules to allow small illuminated advertising signs on bus shelters without requiring a planning permit, arguing the change could make it easier to expand the network because advertising revenue helps fund the construction and maintenance of shelters.
Once completed, the prioritised list will be reviewed annually and used to support Wyndham’s ongoing advocacy for additional State Government investment.
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