By Victoria Stone-meadows and Cam Lucadou-Wells
AFTER years of lobbying for new bus routes in the booming south-east suburbs of Melbourne, residents feel cheated by a lack of consultation about new routes.
Four new bus routes and 13 realignments were announced earlier this month but residents along the new routes say they have been poorly planned.
Residents and councillors have raised safety concerns in different parts of Casey where the new bus routes are planned for with the width of roads and bus stop placement being the major issues.
At a Casey Council meeting on 18 October, councillors decided to write to Public Transport Victoria to make changes to new bus routes through Freshwater Boulevard in Lyndhurst and Settlers Run in Botanic Ridge.
Councillor Geoff Ablett met with residents of Settlers Run on Monday 17 October to hear their grievances about the planned route.
“The statement I got from our council officer was even if you were involved in the consultation, no bus stops were discussed,” he said.
“The only time anyone found out about the bus stops was when PTV wrote to them and bus stops were not part of the consultation.”
Resident of Settlers Run, Suzi Duffy, was already raising issues about road safety in the area when the proposed bus routes and stops became an issue.
“The planned bus stops remove public amenities because it takes over the indented parking near the park and barbecue area,” she said.
“They also plan on putting one near the tennis courts, just near a blind corner where the bus isn’t going to fit in the indented parking and right in the most congested area of the golf course.”
John Allen also lives on Settlers Run and says the proposed bus route all the way to the golf course is a dangerous idea.
“It’s all because of the unique environment within the estate, the indented parking wasnever designed to fit buses in it,” he said.
“Firstly there should not be a bus stopping in front of people’s homes and secondly we were notified until a week ago.”
Both Ms Duffy and Mr Allen suggested using Pearcedale Road and the other end of Settlers Run for the bus route.
“We’re not saying don’t have a bus, just don’t put it through the golfing precinct,” Ms Duffy said.
Residents from Freshwater Boulevard in Lyndhurst have also raised concerns about the width of their road and it being inappropriate for a bus route.
The residents of Freshwater Boulevard have approached Councillor Amanda Stapledon about their concerns who spoke for them at the council meeting.
The residents of Settlers Run and Lyndhurst share concerns around safety and a lack of consultation from PTV when planning the routes and the position of the bus stops.
However, spokesperson from PTV, John Lindsay, said the community was consulted regarding the new bus routes.
“The community was consulted extensively during the development of the new Cranbourne bus network, to ensure local residents benefit from the delivery of better bus services,” he said.
Mr Lindsay pointed out six face-to-face consultation sessions were held at local community and shopping centres in Cranbourne, Endeavour Hills, Narre Warren and Hampton Park, and at Hallam and Cranbourne stations.
“At the consultation sessions, there were large corflutes showing the proposed and existing routes and subject matter experts were on hand to discuss the proposed route,” he said.
“FAQs clearly explained that bus stops would need to be put in as a result of changes to the network and consultation would help inform the final routes and the location of bus stops.”
Mr Lindsay said PTV received approximately 650 responses to the online survey regarding the new routes that helped to shape the proposed routes.
Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan was contacted for comment but did not respond before the Star News deadline.
