Paul Harder understands that houses will always be built before infrastructure.
The Point Cook Action Group president knows that governments won’t
fund train stations, bus routes or schools until there is demand for
them.
But he also knows that Point Cook’s rapid population growth has
taken people by surprise, leaving it without important transport links.
In recent years, he has noticed increased congestion on Point
Cook’s roads during the morning peak as the tens of thousands of people
who call the suburb home try to access the Princes Freeway from three exits.
Mr Harder is worried Point Cook’s infrastructure gap will worsen in the next few years if more housing developments are approved.
He is trying to convince the state government not to build more
houses on green-wedge land on the edge of the suburb. The land was
brought inside the urban-growth boundary last year. The government
plans to build 3000 houses on a site that borders Hacketts Road.
“Why would you add another 3000 houses to an area that only has three exits?’’ Mr Harder said.
‘‘The three exit routes to Melbourne are already congested.
“We don’t need extra people putting pressure on our roads during peak times.”
Mr Harder wants the government to consider building an ecology park, retirement village and high school on the site.
He also wants money to be spent on a diamond freeway interchange at Duncans Road.
“I think we need a fair go in line with what the eastern suburbs
got. There is a lot of room for improvement in this area, but we need to
have realistic expectations. Infrastructure is always going to follow
growth.”
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