Your editorial Bus route change would ease the jam (BW, April 4, page 13), did not specify the particular difficulties being experienced but a raft of difficulties over a 35-year period.
Other than the reference to loutish behaviour, none of the other points of the proposal are going to be any different other than they will occur somewhere else.
Does reference to quality undercover facilities mean toilets, showers, baby care rooms, lounges, refreshment bars?
These are what I would expect of a quality facility.
Already, the bus pick up/drop off places referred to in Mitchell Street are under cover.
An efficient bus service operates to a timetable where patrons assemble at the stated time of arrival and are transported to their destination at the earliest permissible time.
Waiting in quality undercover facilities is not what patrons want to do.
Commuters want to go from/to the various pick up/drop off points as quickly as can safely be achieved.
Have you really thought through the possibility of the proposed loop area?
It has the narrow Queen Street roadway (centre road parking operates there), the already congested roundabout at Williamson Street, the even narrower roundabout entry at Hargreaves Street, the two give way pedestrian crossings plus the five sets of traffic lights to be negotiated.
Does not auger well for a safe, efficient service does it?
Imagine at least seven buses which are, “big and ... require a lot of room to manoeuvre”, proceeding, in procession, around that loop in excess of 250 times a week during retail trading hours.
Even without that consideration, the problem defined as the amount of kerbside occupied by the stops will only escalate, as the buses will still require the same amount of kerbside to stop.
With the proposal’s increase in the number of stops it can only worsen the situation.
By all means, put a bus exchange up by the railway station.
Marketplace retailers would be ecstatic.   
The luxury of 7400 or more, potential customers, dropped on your doorstep every week, would be a tremendous advantage and far more practical than having to spend many hard earned dollars trying to attract custom.  
Money doesn’t buy that kind of opportunity.
Mitchell Street is the spine of the CBD and gets customers to within the two blocks (either way), which constitutes the major part of the central business area.
It is the ideal, convenient point for public transport to deposit/pick up traders’ customers.  
The bus service delivers as much as six times the volume of customers to the area that car parks can offer.
Oh, by the way, locomotives have diesel fumes discharged by idling engines, too.
As they are also public transport, have you a loop plan for them also?
Ron Nancarrow,
Eaglehawk.


Why can’t council make a decision?

I don’t quite understand where David Jones is coming from, he starts off by saying that no additional gaming machines should be allowed to enter our municipality (View Point. BW, March 21).
He finishes off with a good debate around the table, deciding to proceed with a planning amendment to give the community control over the location and numbers of machines.
If that isn’t passing the buck, what is?
And in between is a lot of gobbledegook that doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Why can’t this council just make a decision?
Peter Tharle,
Bendigo.


I’ve seen no problem at bus stop

As a regular bus commuter I was disturbed by your article, Shop owners seek street security (BW, April 4, Page 6).
 I have been catching buses in Mitchell Street, morning, afternoon or night, since 1987.
 In this time I have never witnessed violence, drinking or intimidation of the elderly – let alone drunken brawls – while waiting for a bus.
Such anti-social behaviour may occur when I am not there.
However, apart from occasional foul language and smoking I have not had a problem with the behaviour of other commuters.
The situation portrayed does not require a security guard, whose presence may serve only to intimidate law abiding commuters and deter them from waiting for buses at this location.
The claims made by the trader’s group justifies the relocation of bus services out of site and out of mind of the centre of Bendigo, which may lead to the very acts of drunken violence and intimidation alleged.
A solution to the footpath gridlock in Mitchell Street is needed but not at the expense of the good name of the majority of bus users.
Kris Warlond,
Epsom.


VicRoads working for better future

I read with interest the article Choking to Death (BW, March 28, Page 1).
Bendigo is a vibrant and growing community and Vic
Roads is working hard to meet the city’s current and future transport needs.
Bendigo has a number of high quality major highway entrances and an arterial road network that allows for safe travel within and around the urban centre, much of which can be attributed to good planning and engineering and support from the respective administrations over the years.
We are continually building on this infrastructure.  
For example, the $10 million Bendigo Box project, which is nearing completion, will provide four traffic lanes around the perimeter of the CBD, including remodelling of the Barnard Street / Ironbark Road intersection.
Other works under way include new traffic signals at the Lucan Street / Nolan Street intersection and at the Midland Highway / Powells Avenue intersection.
In addition, a number of other infrastructure initiatives have been completed in recent times to provide smoother traffic flow within the city, including the widening of Weeroona Avenue bridge to four lanes, duplication of the Calder Highway in Kangaroo Flat and computerised linking of traffic signals.
Emphasis is also being given to providing integrated facilities for all other road users including pedestrians, cyclists, buses and trams.        
 The completion of the current works by mid 2008 along Barnard Street and Lucan Street will provide for four traffic lanes along Barnard Street and Weeroona Avenue, linking the Calder Highway at Don Street and the Midland Highway at White Hills.
While these projects provide improved traffic flow in and around the city, it is recognised that we also need to continue to plan for the long-term.   
In 1993, the Bendigo 2020 Strategy was developed by VicRoads on behalf of the planning authority.
The study took a 25+ year outlook at Bendigo’s future transportation needs.
The strategy has assisted VicRoads, in consultation with the City of Greater Bendigo, in making continued improvements to the arterial road network to cater for Bendigo’s growth.  
VicRoads and the City of Greater Bendigo are currently undertaking a transportation study, including a review of the outcomes of the Bendigo 2020 Strategy, which will provide guidance for the future development of the major road network.
VicRoads has completed traffic surveys and is finalising a computer simulation model to assist with transport planning for various growth scenarios.
The council will engage consultants to develop the transport strategy for
completion by early 2009 which will provide the opportunity for input and
feedback from the community.
The existing arterial road network has served Bendigo well, however, VicRoads understands an effective transportation network is essential as the city continues to grow and develop.        
VicRoads will continue to work closely with the City of Greater Bendigo and the Bendigo +25 Transportation Group in planning for the city’s future transportation needs.
Mal Kersting,
VicRoads Regional
Director, Northern Victoria.