Is Fishermans Bend heading for the same public transport disaster as Docklands?

Decades after Docklands was built, getting into and out of the commercial side during rush hour is difficult, and getting on a tram is almost impossible. Similarly, there’s still no direct connection from the residential areas on the North side of the harbour to the commercial areas on the South. For public transport users the only way out is into the city crush.

Now the design for Fishermans Bend is focused on making the existing crush worse. The only tram route out of the ‘employment zone’ (dotted blue lines) passes through Docklands and into the CBD.  Add to this the fact that Packenham, Cranbourne, and Sunbury trains won’t even go through Southern Cross once the Metro Tunnel is open and the ‘orange’ Metro 2 underground trainline is 40+ years away, a rethink is needed. 

The overlooked fact is 80% of the tram tracks exist for a direct link between the Fishermans Bend ‘employment zone’ and the new ANZAC Station at the Domain – follow the yellow brick road.  Fill in the missing links and everyone wanting to travel on the Packenham or Cranbourne trains, or to the SE using the St Kilda Rd trams can bypass the city crush and save time. 

Connectivity from Docklands to anywhere but the CBD was a disaster for the first couple of decades and getting into the CBD was not easy.  Lots of improvement projects later it’s still far from good.  Why is the government making the same mistake in Fishermans Bend? Most people working in the new ‘employment zone’ will not be living in the CBD – so why is the planning focused on cramming everyone through the already overcrowded CBD?

This is a Melbourne grumble……  For more on the Fishermans Bend project see: https://www.fishermansbend.vic.gov.au/