Locked in commuter hell

THOUSANDS of Casey residents make the daily commute to the city or elsewhere to work, study or shop.
The National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) and councils in Melbourne’s fringe, including Casey Council, have launched a campaign to tap into the ’Voices of the Outer Suburbs’.
Star News Group has also joined the campaign with City of Casey and the Cardinia Shire Council to listen to the concerns of residents in the region.
Many Casey residents are frustrated about transport within the municipality or to Melbourne.
Many miss their trains or are stuck in traffic for hours a week.
One Berwick woman, Julie McKnight, drives daily to and from St Kilda Road for work.
Ms McKnight said she left work at 6.15am and arrived home between 5.30pm and 7pm.Even when she left early to try and beat the traffic, she often got stuck in congestion.
While she has to pay extra for fuel and car expenses, Ms McKnight said she opted to drive instead of taking the train as the train takes much longer to get to the city and was often over-crowded.
“I have a great job, working for a great company and I’d love to get the train, but it’s too hard,” she said.
Ms McKnight said she hoped local and state governments could develop a strategy to support long-term growth including improving roads and trains services.
“The roads are getting worse,” she said.
“What idiot would (in the fastest growing council in Victoria/Australia) when building a freeway extension, only make it two lanes? Consideration needs to be made to the masses travelling to the city!”
Anyone who has frustrations about infrastructure or services not keeping up with Casey’s population growth, we would love to hear from you. Email editor@starnewsgroup.com.au