Let’s get moving

NEARLY six months after their completion, several newly-built bus stops on Ghazeepore Road remain out of use, leaving Waurn Ponds residents understandably perplexed.

We built these offroad concrete bus bays last August, as part of a series of safety upgrades along Ghazeepore Road jointly funded by the Victorian Government, the City of Greater Geelong and developer contributions.

The purpose of these bays was simple – to give bus drivers a space to pull over safely when picking up passengers while allowing traffic to continue flowing.

Previously, the stops consisted solely of a signpost on a nature strip, forcing bus drivers to pull over to the side of a narrow but busy thoroughfare, which has no parking lane.

This holds up traffic and has led to multiple near misses when motorists have attempted to swerve around stopped buses and barely avoided a head-on collision with oncoming traffic.

Council designed and built the new bus bays to resolve this issue, based on recommendations from the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP).

DTP reviewed these plans on multiple occasions and approved the final designs before construction.

So why have these bus stops sat dormant for almost six months?

After we completed construction, DTP advised the bus stops were not compliant with the Australian Government’s new Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport, due to a few relatively minor technicalities.

These few minor issues, identified in a post-construction audit, do not pose any safety concerns for the community.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Council takes accessibility very seriously and we’ve planned works to rectify these issues as soon as possible.

But we need to sequence these works with other vital road upgrades and projects in the area to ensure motorists have a detour route and minimise disruption.

 

The recent closure of the south end of Ghazeepore Road for Barwon Water to install a new water pipe, the Easter break and multiple upgrades to Rossack Drive mean we can’t complete rectification works on the new bus stops until May.

That means, by the time we complete the works, the bus stops will have sat unused for nearly a year.

I understand that new infrastructure needs to meet standards to ensure it’s as inclusive and accessible for all.

But surely an off-road concrete bus bay is better for bus passengers – especially those with accessibility challenges – than signpost on a nature strip.

It’s like something out of Yes Minister – a legendary British comedy and political satire, for our younger readers – and, to me, it’s an example of why people feel so much frustration toward “the bureaucracy”.

I understand and empathise with the frustration felt by residents and bus-users in my local ward of Deakin.

The good news is that City officers and DTP representatives met earlier this month for on-site inspections to discuss compliance from a bus operations perspective.

I hope we can work together to get these bus stops operating quickly for the safety and convenience of everyone in our community, until we can make the required minor adjustments.

This will ensure our residents, motorists and bus-users can enjoy the benefits of this newly-built infrastructure now, rather than waiting almost a year after it’s finished.

Cr Andew Katos

Deakin Ward,

City of Greater Geelong