Penguins and Island's traffic challenges - South East Australian ...
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South East Australian Transport Strategy Inc.
SEATS NEWSLETTER September 2016
Penguins and Island’s traffic challenges
P enguins and transport infrastructure
seem to have little connection.
That’s what most SEATS members
beaches and holiday accommodation.
The evening parade of Little Pen-
guins is however Phillip Island’s biggest
thought until they attended SEATS Au- single tourist attraction, particularly for
gust meeting at San Remo, the gateway international visitors. It attracts 695,000
to Phillip Island. visitors a year, peaking at Chinese New
Phillip Island has been Mel- Year with up to 154 buses in one night.
bourne’s summer playground for over Ensuring the penguins’ health and sur-
100 years. It is quite large, taking about vival is critical not only for the species
20 minutes to drive from one end to the but also for the Island’s economy.
other. The only vehicle access is via a Managing traffic congestion at
two-lane bridge at San Remo on the peak times (December, January, April
mainland. and September) is a major issue.
About two million people visit the
Island each year and that number con- But first the Penguins
tinues to grow; 35% of overseas visitors The Little Penguin population on
to Victoria come to Phillip Island and Phillip Island was declining in the
usually for the day. Most arrive by car. 1970s/early 1980s to such an extent, it
During peak summer periods, traffic con- Courtesy Bass Coast was predicted the Island’s unique Pen-
Shire Council
gestion arriving or leaving the Island can guin Parade would be extinct by 1997
last up to two hours leading to considerable visi- unless drastic measures were taken.
tor frustration. The decline was due to habitat loss (from
Phillip Island has the second most visitor the ill-considered Summerland Peninsular subdi-
reliant economy in Australia, second to Uluru. vision in 1927 and the location of the visitors’
Over 1.3 million people visit the Penguin Parade, centre within penguin habitat), impacts from cars,
The Nobbies and the Koala Conservation Centre or predation by foxes or domestic dogs.
on Phillip Island each year contributing over Today the Penguin population is thriving.
$498m to the Victorian economy. Then there are This dramatic turnaround is due to the rehabilita-
people visiting events at the Grand Prix Circuit,
Continued next page
The Victorian Government acquired all residential lots in an early subdivision of the Summerland Peninsular over many years to
protect Phillip Island’s Little Penguin colony. The subdivision covered vital Penguin habitat. Courtesy Phillip Island Nature Parks.
SEATS - South East Australian Transport Strategy Inc.
36 Turner Street, Wonthaggi Victoria 3995 ~ Ph: 03 56721072 Mob: 0488 026 435 ~ Email: johnr.duscher@gmail.com
Website: www.seats.org.au Copyright © 2016 SEATS - South East Australian Transport Strategy Inc.
Continued from page 1
tion of habitat, thanks to a bold move by the Vic- SEATS Chairman speaks...
torian Government from the mid 1980s to acquire
all residential lots from the Summerland subdivi-
sion (buy back completed 2010) and remove
housing, closing the road to the Summerland
V icRoads proved a
wonderful host of our
August meeting and AGM
Peninsular at night, and fox eradication. at San Remo in Bass
A $60m new world class visitors’ centre is Coast Shire. They deliv-
planned for 2019, away from prized habitat, with ered a fascinating program
the reinstatement of 6.7ha of critical Penguin at an outstanding location.
habitat on the old centre site. Highlights are included in Newly elected SEATS
this newsletter. Chairman Cr Patricia
Relieving traffic congestion SEATS’ Chairman White, right, with guest
speaker Kevin Devlin
Phillip Island Nature Parks CEO Matthew and Deputy changed at
Jackson told SEATS delegates an efficient road this AGM. I am honoured to have been elected
network and traffic management are essential to the new Chairman; I have represented Shoal-
handle the growing number of day haven City Council at SEATS for several years.
visitors for the continued success I would like to sincerely thank previous
of the Penguin Parade and the Chairman Cr Jeanette Harding and Deputy
health and wellbeing of residents Chair Cr Sue Whelan OAM for their commit-
and roaming wildlife. ment, leadership and service to the wider
Two issues particularly con- SEATS Region over many years. Similarly a big
cern Jackson – catering for the in- ‘thank you’ to everyone in the last committee
creasing number of buses on day who served SEATS so well. I look forward to
trips from Melbourne and for the working closely with the new committee.
increasing number of self-drive tourists. A significant achievement at San Remo
Improvements to traffic and transport move- was the official release of the revised SEATS’
ments and to the road network were recom- Strategic Transport Network document which
mended in the Phillip Island Integrated Transport outlines the existing transport network and what
Study (PIITS) in 2014. Then hot off the press at infrastructure is needed in the future.
the August meeting was the Phillip Island and SEATS continues to play a vital role as an
San Remo Visitor Economy Strategy 2035 – advocate for vital improvements in transport in-
Growing Tourism. frastructure across southeastern Australia.
Bass Coast Economic Development and Updates from member councils at our
Tourism Manager Peter Francis told delegates meetings are invaluable. Also invaluable are the
the current model of tourism on Phillip Island was regular detailed reports from VicRoads, NSW
unsustainable with too many visitors in summer Roads and Maritime Services, and the Victorian
causing traffic issues, and too few in winter to Department of Economic Development Jobs
sustain the economy and workforce. Transport and Resources. At San Remo we
He said widening the bridge in the next 20 thanked their representatives for their continued
years is not considered necessary because the strong support of SEATS.
bridge is more than adequate most of the year. We’re keen to build and strengthen our
Instead they are looking at strategic alter- relationships with all levels of Government, In-
natives. These include: dustry and communities. We’re also building
incentives to travel outside peak period closer working relationships with other key
better use of technology such as the groups across the Region.
VicRoads Traffic App for peak periods We noted during our San Remo meeting:
roundabouts along Phillip Island Road the significant funding commitments
improved road signage to key attractions made for the SEATS region during this
encouraging a shift away from reliance on year’s Federal election.
cars by encouraging walking and cycling, the NSW budget provided a strong com-
and instigating a summer season bus loop mitment to freight investments
with smaller and more frequent buses. the Victorian Government announced sev-
Longer term, one suggestion is making eral projects to benefit Gippsland.
Phillip Island part of an ongoing journey experi- I look forward to seeing you at our next
ence rather than ‘a one-way destination’ by intro- meeting which is in Bega, 24-25 November.
ducing a car ferry from Cowes on Phillip Island to
Cr Patricia White
Mornington Peninsula.
Chairman
SEATS September 2016 Newsletter page 2
Rail crossings go on Dandenong line
N ine railway crossings on
the Caulfield to Dande-
nong rail corridor will be re-
moved by 2018. That is part
of a major project by the Victo-
rian Government to remove 50
of the most dangerous and
congested level crossings in
greater Melbourne by 2022.
Level Crossing Removal
Authority CEO Kevin Devlin
told SEATS delegates parts of
the rail track between Caulfield
and Dandenong would be ele-
vated, the ‘sky rail option’, Fifty level crossings are being removed in greater Melbourne, nine of them on the Caul-
removing the nine crossings. field to Dandenong line. Photo courtesy Level Crossing Removal Authority.
He said the elevated track was deemed the railway would be noisy and ugly, and lower house
most appropriate design for some crossings after values. They would prefer the train line to be low-
the engineering challenges, environment and ur- ered (underground) which is more expensive and
ban design issues had been considered. would take longer. The elevated line however
The project had attracted some local resis- avoids impacting a major gas transmission main
tance with some residents saying an elevated which runs along part of the rail line, and also
avoids in places natural flood paths.
Work has begun on all nine crossings.
VicRoads-Fulton Hogan alliance The total project represents one of the big-
gest urban design and transport architecture pro-
T he five-year alliance between VicRoads
and Fulton Hogan to deliver road mainte-
nance services to regional South Western and
grams in Melbourne's history. The work also in-
cludes rebuilding five stations.
The project’s total cost is expected to be
Eastern Victoria prompted considerable discus- $1.6b and is being financed in part from the lease
sion at the SEATS meeting at San Remo. of the Port of Melbourne.
VicRoads Regional Manager Scott Law- Mr Devlin said the removal of these 50
rence told delegates both parties have to work crossings would improve safety and amenity in
as an integrated collaborative team. They make these local communities and improve the local
unanimous decisions on key project/service transport network. Thousands of jobs will be cre-
delivery issues. ated during construction.
‘It allows the Region to be more respon-
sive to the community’s concerns and improves
VicRoads capability in road maintenance and
asset management,’ he said SEATS election thwarted
The challenge is to achieve more for the
available budget. It also enhances the effective-
ness of future maintenance programs by using
improved asset management tools.
T hree hard working and dedicated members of
SEATS executive team elected at the AGM in
August subsequently were not re-elected at the
Mr Lawrence said the Alliance has oper- local council elections. They are former Chairman
ated for 12 months and has already shown sig- Cr Jeanette Harding (South Gippsland), Deputy
nificant increases in productivity, responsive- Chairman Cr Bob Wenger (Wellington) and Cr
ness and staff ownership/satisfaction. Perform- Deb Brown (Baw Baw).
ance is measured against several KPIs. The now three vacant positions on SEATS’
A similar alliance has existed between executive can not be filled until probably the Feb-
VicRoads and the Downer Group in the North ruary meeting, allowing the new councils time to
Eastern region since 2010. nominate their SEATS delegates.
SEATS delegates asked for the alliance Meanwhile this highlights a problem that
model to be included on the agenda for the can recur every four years with the current meet-
next SEATS meeting in Bega, particularly re- ing schedule and council elections, a problem to
garding its suitability for local government. be explored by future SEATS committees.
SEATS September 2016 Newsletter page 3
Island tour highlights challenges What is SEATS?
South East Australian Transport
Strategy (SEATS) aims to stimulate
and facilitate investment in transport
and infrastructure in south eastern
NSW, eastern Victoria and the ACT.
Its 50 members represent councils,
industry and other organisations from
Wollongong to Dandenong.
SE Freight strategy
The South East Metropolitan Trans-
port Group recently completed the
Melbourne South East Region
Freight Strategy. Bass Coast Shire
Council is a member of the Group
and provided input.
Some SEATS delegates line up on the grid of the Phillip Island Circuit, just
weeks before the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The 2016 event attracted SEATS STN document
85,000-90,000 visitors to the Island over the three-day event.
SEATS Strategic Transport Network
E ven the non ‘rev heads’
among SEATS delegates
found Phillip Island Circuit fasci-
lar, a temporary traffic manage-
ment measure – the ‘Blue Line’
– is used,’ he said.
document has been distributed to all
SEATS members, State and Federal
politicians in the region, as well as key
nating. During the recent SEATS At such times, on the decision makers in relevant govern-
meeting at San Remo they egress phase of the event, ment departments.
toured the Island to gain a closer VicRoads and Police turn a sin- SEATS webpage
appreciation of its transport chal- gle lane into a dual lane on Phil-
The redesign of SEATS’ webpage is
lenges, especially when the Cir- lip Island Road using an emer-
still in progress and should be com-
cuit hosts major events through gency lane, marked with a blue
pleted by the February meeting.
the year. line. It runs from the Circuit via
SEATS EO John Duscher is keen to
Circuit Business Develop- the bridge and San Remo to the
improve the look and accessibility
ment Manager Peter Mitchell Bass Hwy. of the webpage.
said they host both large and The Blue Line is not cur-
small events through the year, rently used outside of the Mo- SEATS meetings
the biggest being the Australian toGP event. 24-25 November: Hosted by Bega
Motorcycle Grand Prix. These Mr Mitchell also gave Valley Shire Council at Bega.
peak events cause traffic man- delegates an overview of the 2017
agement challenges and require Circuit’s rich history; the Circuit 16-17 February: Hosted by East
significant pre-event planning. opened in 1956. The Island’s Gippsland Shire Council.
‘For the MotoGP in particu- long association with motorsport 18-19 May: Hosted by Eurobodalla
began with hosting the first Aus- Shire Council.
tralian Grand Prix in 1928 using 17-18 August: Hosted Victoria. TBC
Bemboka Bridge opens public roads as the circuit. 16-17 November: Hosted possibly
A new bridge at Bemboka on by Canberra Airport. TBC
the Snowy Mountains High-
way and the upgraded existing
bridge alongside were officially
SEATS Executive
opened in October. Total cost Chairman: Cr Patricia White
was $14m. (Shoalhaven), Sec: Cr Graeme Mid-
This means the bridges dlemiss (Latrobe), Treasurer: Mark
can now carry Higher Mass Limit Burnett (East Gippsland).
(HML) or larger vehicles and Victorian representatives: Cr
removes a significant pinch point Marianne Pelz (East Gippsland).
in the freight network. NSW representatives: Greg Pullen
An ecologist on site during (Shoalhaven), Cr Marianne Saliba
construction advised contractors After the Motorcycle GP, many motor- (Shellharbour), Cr Sue Whelan OAM
on protecting the nearby platy- cycles seem to leave together, as seen (Queanbeyan-Palerang).
pus habitat. here going over Phillip Island Bridge.
SEATS September 2016 Newsletter page 4
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