COUNCILLOR Daniel Moloney hopes to \u201chit the ground running\u201d into a second term if elected next month.<\/p>\n
Looking forward to some \u201ccontinuity of knowledge\u201d met with \u201cfresh blood,\u201d he said council will benefit from collaboration between new faces and returned councillors.<\/p>\n
Lots of the items on his agenda run under the banner of sustainable, manageable growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cInfrastructure hasn\u2019t kept pace with residential development, especially in transport. We can\u2019t be asleep at the wheel,\u201d Cr Moloney said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re playing catch-up, particularly through Ballarat west… outside Ballarat High School, down Learmonth Street, the new estates of Ballymanus and Winter Valley, and Lucas.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few of these places just didn\u2019t exist in a substantive way when the last election was held, so keeping up with challenges in these congestion points is important as the city grows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reviving and re-energising Ballarat\u2019s events and festival scene is another high priority for Cr Moloney and he plans to lobby the State regarding the Link Road, bus network, and access to rail travel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to plan where train stations three, four and five will go and see the first of those constructed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBallarat is an anomaly with just two stations, but you\u2019ll see the park-and-ride suburban train commute become a thing from the outskirts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the next 10 years, that will be a feasible form of transport. Someone living in Cardigan could get on the train and come into work in the Ballarat CBD.\u201d<\/p>\n
He hopes \u201cbasic\u201d infrastructure works like filling in missing sections of the footpath network, adding bike paths and improving roads will be actioned.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s simple stuff we should do more of, and I\u2019m staggard by how little work has been done to convert some of our gravel roads to sealed roads,\u201d Cr Moloney said.<\/p>\n
A communications professional and former journalist, Cr Moloney has worked in State government departments like VLine, in construction companies, and runs his own business.<\/p>\n
His public role so far has been like nothing he\u2019s ever done; an \u201cincredible experience, but big learning curve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although progress in local government might take more time, he said the action and change that can eventuate is exciting, \u201chumbling and quite incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you do achieve it, it\u2019s huge. Ballarat is so unique because you\u2019re planning the evolution of an entire city.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lived in Melbourne for 17 years where most municipalities are landlocked and limited in what they can build. In Ballarat there\u2019s so many possibilities and opportunities to really find our point of difference,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPost-COVID, Melbourne will really see how wonderful places like Ballarat are, and we\u2019ll see significant migration that we\u2019ve got to get ready for now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
COUNCILLOR Daniel Moloney hopes to \u201chit the ground running\u201d into a second term if elected next month. Looking forward to some \u201ccontinuity of knowledge\u201d met with \u201cfresh blood,\u201d he said council will benefit from collaboration between new faces and returned councillors. Lots of the items on his agenda run under the banner of sustainable, manageable […]<\/p>\n