A healthy 1.8 percent growth for Ballarat in 2018 will have many people heaving a sight of relief. For although it signals plenty of incoming interest and economic benefit, it is not an influx that is unmanageable or outlandish.

But underpinning this concern is the ubiquitous question; 'Are we ready?' And the underlying enquiry this asks for all growing cities is; how much is too much of a good thing? 

In some regards the direct impact of explosive growth in Melton and Wyndham is obvious.

Anybody caught on a three carriage train running though these suburbs will know that V/line has been left sadly lagging by this growth. Massive overnight housing developments have been left with a regional rail acting as an ersatz suburban line and with no public transport options for vast dormitory suburbs. 

The case for electrification to at least Melton just got a whole lot stronger.

At the same time while the Deer Park Bypass was a relief on opening, connecting the Western Highway and the Ring Road in a swift efficient run, its at-capacity use-by-date is fast approaching as frustrated suburban dwellers are forced into their cars as the only feasible commuting option. 

If the need for the accelerated building of infrastructure is obvious it also comes with a twist.

There is another underlying issue in this particular growth story of relevance to Ballarat:

Just as the cheaper land and amenable lifestyle of Melton and then Bacchus March promised much to those frustrated by the urban squeeze, as transport corridors improve, the same urges will drive people to look further afield.

Moorabool Council has made a strong case for just how much is needed in its many smaller towns like Ballan, Gordon, Wallace and Bungaree (still largely unheard by the higher funding authorities).

Likewise if Ballarat, at the end of this line, has developed even finer lifestyle options, schooling and reasonable house prices, it puts our city squarely in the sites for some long, if not medium term, super growth. 

Change is inevitable but will it be for the better?  At twice the size it invariably won't be the same city, so tempering this growth with planning may be our best hope.