With the state budget to be announced next week and the Commonwealth Games less than four years away, questions remain over which essential infrastructure will be built in time for massive crowds in Ballarat.
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Then there's projects that council and other leaders have been demanding for years, like a local bus network review, which will need to be a priority before the Games begin to make sure spectators can get to events without needing to build fields of new carparking.
The state government is remaining tight-lipped ahead of the budget announcement, where it's expected money will be allocated for fast-tracked planning and land acquisition.
In Ballarat on Wednesday, Roads and Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll said the Games provided an opportunity for much-needed projects, but declined to identify any that would be prioritised.
He said the Ballarat station remained on the agenda for the state government, and he had been in discussions with disability advocacy groups and other cabinet ministers about the desperate need for funding.
In short, as anyone who has difficulty accessing the station will tell you, if you arrive on the northern side of the station - perhaps at the new car park, which includes disabled parks, or the new bus interchange - and you need to get to the southern platform to catch a train, you either have to climb stairs for the bridge, or go around to Lydiard Street, where the level crossing can block access until after the train you're trying to catch has left.
Mr Carroll said he had no major announcement to make on Wednesday.
"As you'd appreciate, these Games are going to be fully integrated with disability games as well, and it's vitally important that stations like Ballarat, all these key stations throughout regional Victoria, are as accessible as possible," he said.
"We have done important improvements, about $100,000 into some minor improvements, but I do fully appreciate and understand, in terms of lift access and other amenities around toilets, are really important for the local community.
"I'm very clear, as Public Transport Minister, that this is a real opportunity for a legacy piece, to not only do great sporting infrastructure but make sure these Games are accessible as possible and make sure the legacy in regional Victoria, on top of our record investment in regional rail, is wonderful, accessible stations open to anyone that anyone can use.
"I do think we're sharpening our lenses on the disability side of public transport, it's something I'm passionate about.
"It's not something I can get done tomorrow, but it's something where there is a power of advocacy going on at the moment."
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In terms of other transport issues, like the long-awaited bus network review and additional stations in Ballarat, Mr Carroll said "nothing has been ruled in or out".
For other projects, like the City of Ballarat's priority Link Road Stage 2 duplicating Dyson Drive, Mr Carroll said to wait and see.
"We know often these roads, with local governments, they're taking a lot more trucks, and regional councils in particular are impacted with their lower rate base, so it's something we're working through, I know the City of Ballarat is very strong on this in particular," he said.
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