Why east-west link will drive renewal - The Age

'Another transformative aspect of the link is that Melbourne's inner north deserves to be better than a traffic sewer.' Photo: Justin McManus

Early Melbourne developed in a radial starfish pattern along its train and tram routes. As the city spread outwards, the associated major roads - Monash, West Gate and Eastern motorways - enhanced the radial travel patterns.

This pattern does not lead naturally to the development of ring routes, as radial travel always dominates. Inadequate roads such as Hoddle Street and Alexandra Parade are forced to act as ring roads. Recently Melbourne has created three major ring road components. The Western Ring Road, CityLink and EastLink have had positive impacts on development and transport. Melburnians often forget how congested Southbank was before CityLink, although the occasional closing of the tunnels provides a reminder of the gridlock once experienced twice a day.

Melbourne now has reasonable ring road provisions to the south and west and in the outer north and east. However, the inner north is poorly served by disconnected streets and by the abrupt way the Eastern Freeway terminates at the western end. Connecting the Eastern Freeway to CityLink and later to the Western Ring Road is a logical step in the development of Melbourne's transport network.

The east-west link will transform the way Melbourne's road transport works, particularly in the inner north. For example, Melbourne is ringed by thousands of productive factories, service centres, warehouses, and educational centres from Moorabbin to Thomastown to Altona. They need to communicate with each other, with suppliers, with markets, and with external transport exchanges.

Another transformative aspect of the link is that Melbourne's inner north deserves to be better than a traffic sewer. The tunnel would allow urban amenity improvements to the area surrounding Alexandra Parade and Princes Street. Alexandra Parade is one of Melbourne's ugliest roads. The tunnel will take much through-traffic off these roads and streetscape measures would also inhibit through-traffic.

What are the objections to the link? Opponents play the congestion card, arguing that previous projects have not eliminated congestion, forgetting that this was never their intent. The link will significantly improve the way traffic moves across Melbourne's inner north, but there may be times when demand exceeds supply.

A related objection is that the link will not stop the congestion caused by cars travelling between the Eastern Freeway and the inner city. But the proposed link does not pander to this misconception of its role. Its focus is not on access to inner Melbourne.

There are also queries about future traffic flows. There is uncertainty in predicting the effect of tolls on use of the link and on diversion to other routes. Traffic already exceeds the capacity on most routes between the Eastern Freeway and the inner city. International experience is that car access to the inner city is best managed by flexible toll charges and improved public transport. It may prove necessary to toll all vehicles at the city end of the Eastern.

Melbourne in the past 50 years has produced some of the world's best motorway designs, as evidenced by the visual quality of the motorway that now runs from Hoddle Street to Mornington. We should expect no less from the builders of the new link.

With respect to public transport for travellers to the inner city, it is puzzling to me as a Manningham resident and frequent user of the SmartBus to the city to read letters advocating construction of the Doncaster railway as a better alternative than the east-west link.

The first stage of the proposed railway would take commuters only as far as the already overcrowded Clifton Hill line. The next and useful stage would require a new underground rail link and, given other priorities in the rail system, it is doubtful whether such a link would be operational within the lifetime of anyone reading this article.

On the other hand, when the link road tunnel is completed a SmartBus could use the Eastern Freeway and the tunnel to provide a service looping down Flemington Road to the Haymarket and returning back to the link via Royal Parade, passing through Melbourne's medical and academic precinct, connecting with the Elizabeth Street tram and to the Haymarket Station on the new north-south railway tunnel. How could the Doncaster Rail option provide better than this?

Of course, most of the material carried in the trucks and vans has no feasible transport alternative. Factories, warehouses, retailers and tradesmen will always be reliant on a good road network.

Melbourne has a relatively extensive rail and tram network. Its problems are largely historic, but a century of inaction means that they cannot be fixed overnight. There is an undoubted need for continued major investment in public transport and I am a strong supporter of the proposed north-south rail tunnel.

Dr Maxwell Lay is an adjunct professor at RMIT researching how to measure the cost of traffic congestion. He is the former independent reviewer for CityLink and a VicRoads director responsible for the design and construction of major parts of the Eastern Freeway, Monash Freeway and the Western Ring Road.