SWAN Hill council has endorsed the construction of a bus stop and shelter at Stradbroke Avenue, with Public Transport Victoria (PTV) now set to have the final say.
At the December ordinary meeting, councillors voted unanimously to put forward a plan for a new bus stop and shelter to be installed in front of the Royal Freemasons Retirement Living on the western side of Stradbroke Avenue.
The idea for a bus stop at this location was first raised by Swan Hill resident Margaret Cooper last year, who said access to a bus stop within easy walking distance for elderly residents was vital to ensure they remain part of the community as they age.
Ms Cooper submitted a petition to council in July with 657 signatures on behalf of Murray Gardens Retirement Village and Billabong Estate residents and neighbours.
Both the village and estate are located along Stradbroke Avenue, but Ms Cooper told The Guardian at the time the two nearest bus stops — one at the end of Pritchard Street, “almost at Murlong Street”, and another at Pye Street — are too far for many of the residents to walk to.
At the ordinary meeting in July, councillors voted to explore the concept, but in August resolved to delay a decision on preferred placement for the stop in favour of further consultation.
PTV, Swan Hill Bus Lines and Swan Hill College all expressed support for the initiative and redirection of the local bus route if required, but have flagged a need for the Pye Street intersection to be “looked at” if the route is altered, with the potential for future redesign of the intersection to be required.
The new bus stop and shelter is expected to cost about $25,000.
Council director infrastructure Svetla Petkova said access to public transport services would mean residents were able to maintain a degree of independence.
“Some residents that require walking frames/wheelchairs with limited mobility have difficulty getting to the current bus stops,” Ms Petkova said.
“Due to not holding a licence, age and/or medical issues, the access to public transport to attend medical and other vital services is a necessity.
“The ability to travel on public transport to work, do shopping, attend medical appointments, events and meet with others will provide much-needed social contact and maintain independence.”
Ms Petkova said residents with walking frames or walking sticks had difficulty catching public transport when bus shelters were not close by.
“This means they only have taxis for transport which can be expensive on limited incomes and thus limits their activities,” Ms Petkova said, adding a new stop would help support the locally owned bus service by increasing the number of patrons.
Councillor Ann Young moved a motion to construct the bus stop and shelter on Stradbroke Avenue upon the receipt of PTV approval, seconded by Cr Jade Benham.
Cr Young said the placement on the western side of the street was the right choice.
“I have had a lot to do with the process and would like to thank Margaret Cooper for her efforts to get that amount of signatures…I think it is a great thing for the residents to have it there because of issues with their age,” Cr Young said.
“A couple of the other locations were not appropriate, such as out the front of the secondary college…this is the option we should be going with.”
Councillors Benham, Chris Jeffery and Les McPhee also spoke in support of the motion.
“This was really the only solution to this problem,” Cr Benham said.
“It is only the first step, unfortunately, but it is a start.”
