By Luke Voogt
Planning authorities have wrongly blamed bus passengers for declining trade on Moorabool Street, according to a Geelong public transport advocate.
Passengers were fed up with being treated like second-class citizens, said Geelong Public Transport Users Association convenor Paul Wescott.
“Far from being detrimental to central Geelong, bus passengers are beneficial because they shop in the city but don’t create traffic jams or add to parking problems,” he said.
Mr Westcott made the statement following Geelong Authority and council discussions about moving the location of Moorabool Street’s bus stops.
Between 2005 and 2010 council moved stops out of Moorabool Street in an attempt to boost trade, he said.
Mr Westcott described the five-year experiment as a failure.
“It proved conclusively that the presence of bus stops in Moorabool Street was not responsible for the decline in the retail trade in the area,” he said.
“While bus travellers were banished from Moorabool Street and forced to search for their bus stops at nine scattered and disconnected city locations, shops continued to close.”
Public Transport Victoria figures showed 1.2 million boardings at the Moorabool Street bus stops in 2015, Mr Westcott said.
“While passengers think that although the set-up of the current bus stops might be improved, they are far better than any alternative.”
The Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP) and the council floated moving the Moorabool Street stops as part of a plan to revitalise Geelong.
The Revitalise Central Geelong Action Plan, which aims to create functional and vibrant city centre, would review bus routes, a DELWP spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said any proposal to move the bus stops would involve “comprehensive community engagement”.
Chief Administrator Kathy Alexander discussed the idea of moving the bus interchange from the street, which has 15 vacant shopfronts in 800 metres.
“We see the potential to move it as a huge opportunity for Moorabool Street to be transformed into a thriving main street environment, full of alfresco activity and an interesting mix of shops,” she said.
But Dr Alexander stressed the idea was in “its early days” and that the council was exploring alternative solutions.
“We would only move the interchange if our consultation with all stakeholders revealed a much better location,” she said.
