Thursday, 17 October 2024

North-Eastern Metropolitan Region

Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:50): (1172) My question is to the Minister for Transport Infrastructure regarding the upcoming closure of the Doncaster park-and-ride due to the North East Link project. Minister, from January 2025 until 2028 this essential bus interchange serving seven busy routes, including the 907 and 908, will be closed. This closure is expected to significantly impact commuters, causing more parking congestion, with more people forced back into cars and more traffic on our roads. The Bulleen park-and-ride was supposed to help, but it is already near capacity even before the Doncaster one has closed. It is frustrating that Bulleen’s could have been built with more capacity but was not. People in Doncaster want an easy, quick and affordable way to get into the city. Manningham council has proposed practical solutions, yet nothing has been done. Minister, will you commit to developing a temporary offset car park in Doncaster on a nearby underutilised site to support public transport users during this construction period and ensure easier connections to the city?