Transport policy needs to go off-road

Victoria’s focus on widening freeways is a long- term recipe for disaster, writes Elliot Fishman.

“BE CAREFUL what you wish for” is the warning to the Victorian Government following its $8.6 billion transport wish list presented to the Federal Government recently.

The list includes $2.2 billion to add an extra lane in each direction to the Western Ring Road, a short-sighted policy that puts Victorians in a position of significant vulnerability

The Victorian Government’s response is the classic error of attacking symptoms and ignoring causes, highlighted by Jane Jacobs in the urban planning classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities. It sees the problem as traffic congestion, the solution to widen the roads. But congestion is the symptom, car dependence the problem.

Cars account for about 85 per cent of trips in Melbourne