By ANTHONY RADFORD

BENDIGO’S state government representatives have played down the importance of the campaign to rid the city’s CBD of heavy traffic.
Late last month the Bendigo Weekly began a campaign, urging the City of Greater Bendigo council and VicRoads to urgently begin planning  for a link road to take heavy traffic and trucks out of the CBD.
The Weekly revealed the study due to look at such a project – the Bendigo Transportation Study – was more than a year behind schedule.
Community and business leaders said the link road was vital if Bendigo was to grow to its potential in the next 20 years and planning needed to begin immediately.
Responding to comments in parliament from  Liberal Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell supporting the campaign, Jacinta Allan (Bendigo East) and Bob Cameron (Bendigo West) failed to commit to the idea.
“This is a study looking at something that might happen in a number of decades,” Ms Allan said.
“It is not an immediate priority for me at this stage.”
Mr Cameron attacked Ms Lovell.
“We won’t be lectured to by people who have been opposed to the key transport projects we have done such as the Calder Highway duplication and Fast Rail,” he said.
“We have also done the inner box and they had no interest in that. We have seen the biggest investment of funds into transport in central Victoria than ever before.”
Meanwhile, Ms Lovell threw her support behind the campaign to solve Bendigo’s worsening traffic problems.
“VicRoads began the study in August 2006 with the aim of discovering Bendigo’s traffic infrastructure needs for the next 20 years,” she said.
“This was due to be completed within a year, by August 2007, but it is currently not expected to be finished until some time in 2009 – more than 12 months and possibly 24 months overdue.
“With Bendigo’s population expected to hit 100,000 there are concerns about severe traffic congestion in Bendigo.”
Ms Lovell said the community had known for the past 20 years there would be a problem with traffic in Bendigo but
authorities had been reluctant to act.
“Traffic entering from the Calder is already congested at the Kangaroo Flat bottleneck, and this is expected to worsen. By the time the strategy is completed it may even be out of date,“ she said.
Ms Lovell urged local politicians to push for the project.
“Bendigo should have three voices at the cabinet table fighting to alleviate Bendigo’s traffic problems, and yet these three voices are silent,” she said.
“The former federal Member for Bendigo and current Victoria Premier John Brumby, Member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allan, and Member for Bendigo West Bob Cameron have all turned their backs on the issue.”