Infrastructure needs more, says mayor

CASEY mayor Kevin Bradford has welcomed the State Government’s latest budget and says it signals good news for Casey families.
However, he said more funding was still needed to keep pace with Casey’s increasing infrastructure demands.
Cr Bradford expressed disappointment that the expansion of bus services in Casey’s coastal villages, and a railway station for Cranbourne East, had formed no part of the budget announcements.
He said it was also a shame that the State Government had not announced plans to implement the Smartbus service within Casey, as he believed it would have greatly boosted the city’s public transport.
Cr Bradford said the council was particularly pleased to receive a share of the $25 million Growing Communities, Thriving Children program, which will include a $1.2 million allocation to the City of Casey for a Children’s Centre.
As Casey is home to thousands of first-home buyers, Cr Bradford said the 2006-07 budget was also good news for families under financial pressure who would benefit from the $300 cash School Start Bonus for each prep and year-seven student and assistance to pay energy bills under the Utility Grants Scheme.
Cr Bradford said a boost to kindergarten fee subsidies to ensure that families did not pay more to cover the promised pay increases and improved career structures for kindergarten teachers was another added bonus for Casey families.
He said Casey’s older residents would also benefit from a new 100-bed aged care facility in Doveton.
Cr Bradford said community safety would also be improved with a new peak period ambulance crew and expansion of the ambulance station at Cranbourne North.
The mayor also welcomed the creation of a new technical education centre in Berwick and funding for two main road upgrades, duplication of Berwick-Cranbourne Road between Pound Road and Thompsons Road in Berwick and the duplication of Western Port Highway between Cranbourne-Frankston Road and North Road.
However Cr Bradford said more was still needed to keep pace with the city’s 55 additional families every week and growing infrastructure needs.
While he welcomed news that there would be a new bus route connecting Beaconsfield and Berwick railway stations to The Chase estate, and that improvements to local bus services would include longer hours on routes 827 (Berwick-Hampton station) and 893 (Cranbourne-Dandenong) Cr Bradford said additional bus services were still needed.
He said that the council-funded trial bus service for residents of Pearcedale and the coastal villages was an example of the council trying to cover a gap in public transport.
“It would be great to see the State Government continue the program and assist those in isolated communities.
“It is also unfortunate there are no plans for Casey for the efficient Smartbus services with an orbital network linking suburbs across Melbourne,” he said.
Despite the road upgrade announcements Cr Bradford said the State Government still needed to address Casey’s number-one main intersection upgrade (Ormond Road and Hallam Road, Hampton Park), its priority main-road duplication (Clyde Road-High Street to Kangan Drive, Berwick) and main road diversion priority, the Cranbourne Bypass.