IT’S time all parties associated with the concerns regarding the location of bus stops in the Bendigo central business district got their heads together and sorted out the issue.
The City of Greater Bendigo has worked hard as a mediator between the Department of Transport and traders who are frustrated by the decision to locate stops outside their businesses, stifling trade and in some reported cases contributing to an increase in shop theft.
That a young man could allegedly be assaulted during the day on one of the city’s busiest streets as he waited for a bus last week is a terrible indictment on this city.
The preferred site for a proper bus interchange centre that befits our city has been determined to be at the railway station and everything that can be done to reduce the pressures on city streets as soon as possible must now be done. We understand the angst of traders who wanted such a facility established as close to the heart of the city as possible, but the State Government has a long-stated preference for the major bus interchange to be at the railway station.
The problem is, the people are getting on and off the buses in the CBD because that’s where they want to be and it looms as a significant challenge to change people’s habits.
That said, the various parties must sort out how to disperse the present bus stops along Mitchell Street and spread them around the CBD, in the interests of traders and passengers alike.
What do you think?
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