All great cities have a transport network that is quintessentially their own. Wyndham should seek its own.

If Wyndham is going to become an urban place, the type of place the people of Wyndham have sought through the Wyndham 2040 Vision, it needs to connect up the transport network between the City Heart, its key activity centres, and its proposed Neigbourhood Pulses.

We call this proposed network the Wyndham Transport Network (WTN). The Wyndham Transport Network should aspire to service the people of Wyndham, with a focus on the integration of transport, development and investment outcomes. The Wyndham Transport Network would be integrated with and form part of the broader public transport network (linking to the Metro line and Regional Rail Link at appropriate locations), but its main focus is to bolster the creation of place within Wyndham and to connect people.

A key aim of the Wyndham Transport Network is to change the perception of Wyndham as being a place for people to pass through to Wyndham being perceived as a destination and a place to come to. A place that is a destination. This involves the Wyndham Transport Network supporting the creation of place.

The Wyndham Active Transport Network

A high-quality public realm that integrates sustainable transport options is the foundational layer of The Wyndham Transport Network.

Streets and waterway corridors, or green capillaries as they have been named in some Wyndham planning documents are critical to how people move around and experience the city. Streets, trails and paths (incorporating epic rides and walks) are integral parts of the public realm and when prioritised they contribute to the character of places as well as supporting investment, business activity and community connectivity.

Streets, trails and paths that provide a safe network that supports all-abilities, walking, cycling and micro-mobility modes are what we call the foundational elements of The Wyndham Active Transport Network. They are also how most public transport trips are accessed and therefore contribute to the use of these modes as well. This also ties in with the Wyndham Active Transport Strategy main vision for 2040 that ‘Wyndham is the active transport leader of Victoria and continues to improve access for all.’

Delivering a high-quality end user experience for the Wyndham Active Transport Network particularly where it provides access to the City Heart, the proposed Neighbouhood Pulses and key activity centres, is a key aim of The Wyndham Plan.

Connecting the Wyndham Active Transport Network to the City Heart and its key activity centres is to be a first order priority, as it supports other elements of the Wyndham Transport Network and The Wyndham Plan more broadly and the delivery of both would be significantly diminished without this foundational layer.

A Proposed Wyndham Loop

A public transport loop to service the City Heart is proposed as the cornerstone of integrating development and transport in the central part of the city. The proposed Wyndham Loop would be complemented by the Wyndham Active Transport Network (see maps of both the Loop and Network below). A first order priority would be to link the Wyndham Active Transport Network wherever possible to the proposed Wyndham Loop.

The concept of the Wyndham Loop is to provide a dedicated transport service that will connect all existing and future key destinations within the City Heart/ NEIC. Further work is required to determine the exact route and frequency of service. It could potentially commence as a high frequency mini-bus service and/ or demand responsive service.

The key would be to make the service as desirable to use as possible and as frequent as possible within budgetary constraints. Funding options for the service would also need to be explored further, e.g. State Government (to support public transport access to the Justice Precinct), Federal Government, private sector or from key beneficiaries/ landowners along the route. Land use and development intensification along the route would also be critical to supporting the service and growing its patronage over time.

A proposed Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Network

In addition to the Wyndham Loop, The Wyndham Plan proposes an Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Network to service Wyndham. As part of the work prepared for the Wyndham Urban Framework Plan (May 2019), Council worked in partnership with the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre, Australia (SBENRC) on investigating the potential of transport activated corridors for Wyndham. The project was led by Professor Peter Newman, an internationally recognised transport academic and his colleagues at Curtin University, Perth and RMIT University here in Melbourne. The outcome of this work is the report: Developing a Transit Activated Corridor – the Wyndham Case Study.

On demand public transport services

On demand public transport services are currently being trialled by the Victorian State Government in various parts of Melbourne under the name FlexiRide. In December of 2021, a FlexiRide service for Tarneit North was announced by the State Government. Such services have the potential to address public transport needs in Wyndham in new ways.

The potential for the role out of similar services could be integrated with the other responses articulated as part of the Wyndham Transport Network.