By Luke Voogt
A 30-year vision for central Geelong fails to adequately address problems with truck traffic and bus routes in the CBD, according to council officers.
A City Hall assessment of state government’s draft Central Geelong Framework Plan found “significant gaps”, council heard in Tuesday night’s meeting.
Councillor Kylie Grzybek highlighted “some concerns from our perspective” on the draft, developed by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
“One is the failure to address longstanding issues with the Moorabool Street bus interchange and the lack of information or alternate routes as part of a relocation, which limits other alternative transport options more broadly,” she said.
Cr Gryzbek also took aim at a proposed freight route along McKillop Street to get trucks out of central Geelong.
“That’s not our long-term solution,” she said.
The framework had no reference to Major Road Projects Victoria’s planned Bellarine Link to extend the Geelong Ring Road from Baanip Boulevard to Portarlington Road, Cr Gryzbek added.
She also highlighted several other issues in the draft vision.
“There is a failure to provide a rail link to Avalon [Airport] and a lack of strategies and actions for the Geelong Railway Station, for rail in particular.”
Cr Bruce Harwood stressed the importance of getting the framework right.
“If ever there was a document coming for community consultation or input, this is it,” he said.
“The CBD has been a huge topic of debate for some time for a whole bunch of reasons – some that you’ve heard this evening.”
“But this particular plan that’s been put forward … has a number of flaws in it that will have serious effects and will resonate with us for many, many years, if we don’t get in and argue [for] what we really want to see in the CBD and the surrounding areas.”
In closing Cr Gryzbek highlighted a lack of communication between state authorities working on various projects in Geelong and urged them to improve this to create more holistic plan.
Councillors voted unanimously in favour of supporting the City Hall report and submission to state government on the framework.
