An extra $5 million for a new bus terminal at the Ballarat Rail Precinct upgrade has not addressed access for disabled passengers.
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There is $518 million in the regional rail upgrade, which is making all stations between Ballan and Melbourne fully disabled access compliant, except for Ballarat
- Save Our Station's John Barnes
Ballarat’s community remains in the dark on how the new bus terminal and train station will be connected following work.
The Save Our Station action group’s John Barnes said nothing had been announced to show disabled access was being addressed.
“We don’t know if they have even thought of the disabled access to the bus terminal because no plan has been announced,” he said.
“If they are successful in building this upgrade, the government is still faced with making a modern station,” he said.
“Currently people cannot get easily, if they have mobility problems, from one platform to another.”
Developer Pelicano has plans to add disabled parking in a two-level car park at the precinct.
Mr Barnes said his group had alternative plans for the precinct upgrade that would add more car parking and underground access with lifts between train platforms and a bus terminal.
“In the Pelicano plans, there is disabled parking spots, but you still have to walk 200 metres with no cover, or push your wheelchair that far,” he said.
“There is $518 million in the regional rail upgrade, which is making all stations between Ballan and Melbourne fully disabled access compliant, except for Ballarat.”
One of the group’s biggest criticisms of the project was an initial failure to include funding for a bus terminal.
The government announced the extra $5 million on Friday.
It will remove buses from Lydiard Street North and Ararat Street to north of the precinct between the new multi-level car park and the train station.