By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
GREATER Dandenong councillor Roz Blades will attempt to reverse the council’s support for the State Government’s East West Link in a notice of motion at tonight’s council meeting.
Cr Blades will ask other councillors to support the council, writing objection letters to the State Government, Yarra City Council and the Eastern Transport Coalition against the “disproportionate amount of resource budgeted” for the estimated $8 billion road tunnel project across Melbourne’s inner-north.
The motion stated the project would “deprive resources” for “desperately-needed public transport infrastructure”, such as signal upgrades, increasing capacity on the Dandenong rail corridor and bus service improvements to outlying areas.
The proposal contradicts a letter sent by Greater Dandenong mayor Angela Long last month, which refused to back City of Yarra’s opposition to the link.
Cr Long’s support of East West Link was based on the project helping ease access to Greater Dandenong’s road freight hub.
However it raised the ire of some councillors, who weren’t consulted on the letter.
Last month, Cr Peter Brown foreshadowed he would call for councillors to endorse the City of Yarra campaign.
Cr Blades said she wasn’t against the project but rather its price. “If they’re going to spend all this money for years and years and years, I don’t see how there will be money for any other transport projects.
“I’m not criticising any correspondence of before because it was following the council’s policy (of supporting an east-west link). But the situation has changed.”
Cr Long told the Journal last month that arguing for the link – a toll-road funded by a public-private partnership – would not necessarily rule out major public transport projects.
“Our wishlist is long. We’d like more public transport in this area and we’re looking in some areas we have that don’t have any, such as in Keysborough.
“It might seem remote but 70 per cent of freight in Melbourne ends up in our city – it will help take traffic off congested roads.’’
