The Doncaster Rail Advocacy Steering Committee (DRASC) has been recognised for its efforts in public transport advocacy in support of Doncaster Rail, by winning the 2015 Paul Mees award.
The Paul Mees Award was inaugurated in 2013 by the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) to commemorate the outstanding work of the late Paul Mees as an advocate for public transport and a world-renowned transport academic.
Manningham Council Mayor, Cr Jennifer Yang thanked the PTUA on behalf of Manningham Council and the Doncaster Rail Advocacy Steering Committee.
“The award recognises the efforts and contribution of the committee regarding their advocacy in support of rail to Doncaster. We are honoured to receive this award from the PTUA in recognition of the efforts and achievements that DRASC have accomplished over the past three years.”
“Our community members represented on the committee have all been very enthusiastic and instrumental in their advocacy efforts to encourage support from both the community and State Government for a heavy rail line to Doncaster.”
“The committee regularly attended local markets and festivals to promote the importance of public transport, and have since collected more than 5,000 petition signatures supporting Doncaster Rail.”
“Furthermore, DRASC have managed to establish a successful online media and community presence through the successful ‘Yes to Doncaster Rail’ campaign, and most recently, supported the Manningham Leader’s ‘Get Manningham Moving’ campaign.”
Cr Yang said that although Council has decided to merge the activities of DRASC with our new Integrated Transport Advocacy Committee (ITAC) from 2016, Council will not be abandoning its advocacy on Doncaster Rail.
“We will continue to strongly advocate for the State Government to deliver rail to Doncaster by 2029, in line with Public Transport Victoria’s objective.
“In the short term, we will continue to advocate for Phase Two of the feasibility study to be completed and ensure that the Eastern Freeway corridor is preserved for the purpose of rail and perhaps a Bus Rapid Transit system in the interim.”
“Council look forward to continuing the legacy of DRASC through the new Integrated Transport Advisory Committee, which will be established in early 2016,” she said.
Council will advertise in the local media from February 2016 seeking community representatives to form this new committee.
