Merri-bek City Council has launched the first stage of community engagement to help develop its new transport strategy, Moving Around Merri-bek.

This new strategy will guide Council’s future transport projects and shape the way the community moves around Merri-bek. It will help work towards a more accessible and sustainable transport system that gives community members greater choice in how they move around Merri-bek.  

Our community engagement on this project launched yesterday with the release of the Moving Around Merri-bek Discussion Paper. The Discussion Paper has 6 themes: Safety, Accessibility, Sustainability, Health, Liveability and Collaboration, and is intended to generate discussion about the daily realities and challenges of travelling through Merri-bek, and the opportunities for improvement. 

The Discussion Paper, along with opportunities for engagement, are now available on community engagement platform Conversations Merri-bek.

Merri-bek Mayor Angelica Panopoulos encouraged the Merri-bek community to have their say.

“The pandemic has made us all think about our local area differently and changed our travel patterns. Cost of living pressures and the worsening climate emergency are also making us rethink the way we travel,” Cr Panopoulos said.

“It’s a good time to develop a new strategy, laying the foundation for a people-centred transport system that provides more choice for more people.

“However you travel around Merri-bek, we want to hear from you about what you think and how you relate to the themes in this paper.”

The engagement opportunities online include a survey, along with digital activities for community members to provide further feedback on both the topics in the Discussion Paper, and their experiences using transport systems. This will include a webinar, which is now open for registration.

Council will also be hosting 6 in-person pop-up events throughout August, to which the community are invited to come and discuss the Paper and ideas for the new strategy with Council staff.

Workshops with key interest groups throughout Merri-bek will also take place, ensuring that all of the municipality’s unique perspectives are heard.

The survey is open for community feedback until 2 September. Council will then consider the feedback and develop a draft strategy, which will be presented to the November Council meeting to approve it for release for public comment. Community engagement on the draft strategy will run from mid-November 2023 to mid-January 2024, with an updated draft strategy presented at the March 2024 Council meeting.

“We understand that the transport needs of our community vary based on location, age, gender, and so many other factors. We look forward to hearing from all these unique members of our community, as we work together to build this new strategy,” Cr Panopoulos said.

The Moving Around Merri-bek Discussion Paper is available at https://www.conversations.merri-bek.vic.gov.au/moving-around-merri-bek