Transporting Melbourne & other bits - Part III

The wider implications of a funky Mitcham
A ruling allowing a high-rise may be a watershed, write Royce Millar and Martin Boulton.
Mitcham is not cool. And frankly, it's hard to imagine it ever becoming so. Yet making Mitcham a groovy place to live is integral to a planning decision likely to go down as a watershed in Melbourne's development. On Tuesday, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal approved a huge apartment project, including dual 17 and 11-storey towers, in the outer-eastern suburb's Colombo Street. The tallest building in the area is now just three levels.

Funky Mitcham?
Ahh, a advertising ploy is materialising, yes, 80's retro Melbourne, yes, Pseudo Echo in the soundtrack, yes, Won't you take me to Funkytown. Won't you take me to Funkytown. Won't you take me to Funkytown. Won't you take me to Funkytown.........


Blueprint for a smoother ride to work
A $300 million upgrade of the Dandenong rail line and an extension of SmartBus services in the eastern suburbs are priority projects under a new transport blueprint to be released soon by the State Government. The Metropolitan Transport Plan, now in draft formand to be approved by State cabinet, outlines the Government's direction in transport to 2010. Key initiatives include a third rail track between Dandenong and Caulfield, extension of SmartBus services to create a series of orbital bus routes across Melbourne, and a feasibility study for a public transport link along the Eastern Freeway to Doncaster.

Delays and fine print hit Connex for $2.4m
Connex has been hit with a record $2.4 million fine for cancelled and delayed trains - the largest such penalty in five years. The State Government imposed the fine for the three months to June, according to figures released yesterday. It is four times the fine it paid in the previous quarter. The figures reflect the continuing shortage of drivers and trains. The Sandringham line had 499 cancellations in the last quarter, more than any other line, followed by Frankston, with 455 cancellations.

Fast Rail $6.6m blowout
The Geelong Fast Rail project has blown out by $6.6 million, the State Opposition claimed yesterday. Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said the blow-out was equivalent to more than $1 million a minute of travel time saved by Fast Rail. "Trains between Geelong and Spencer Street are currently no faster,'' Mr Mulder said.