1. V1 - MVVE01Z01MA MOONEE VALLEY LEADER, Wednesday, August 12, 2015 03
cinct – which encompasses
both suburbs – will have a
growth of about 16,000 jobs.
Councillor Paul Giuliano
said the precinct would be
“its own municipality dur-
ing working hours” given
the number of employees ex-
pected there.
“People don’t realise how
important that area is
going to be,” he said.
“When you see business-
es grow, you will see popu-
lation increase because
people want to live next to
where they work.”
Chris Sikavitsas, of Tulla-
marine Bus Lines, described
Airport West as a “melting
pot of businesses” and puts
the suburb’s strength down
to its ability to balance light
industry with residential
living.
The Sikavitsas family has
run the bus company on
Louis St for 51 years.
“Most of our drivers do
live in the northern and
western suburbs and we use
local businesses whether it’s
for spare parts or engi-
neers,” Mr Sikavitsas said.
“We have always used local
people from Airport West.”
Airport West Village
Action residents group
spokeswoman Sharon Ed-
wards said she would like to
see more open space, beauti-
fication of streets, better
connections to shopping
strips and a mix of villa and
single residential homes.
The council’s draft Is-
sues and Opportunities Re-
port will be on exhibition
from August 17 to Septem-
ber 11.
A FUTURE boom in jobs at
the Airport West and Essen-
don Fields precinct has
renewed calls for improved
public transport and road
infrastructure.
The Federal Government
last month allocated more
than $1.98 million in road
funding for Moonee Valley
Council over two years, the
majority of which will be
spent fixing Matthews Ave
in Airport West.
Mayor Narelle Sharpe
said while the design of the
thoroughfare had not been
completed yet, the priority
would be on upgrading the
poor road surface.
But councillor Paul Giuli-
ano said while the area had
great access to freeways and
arterial roads, it desperately
needed better public trans-
port connectivity and a train
station.
“It needs to happen. When
you have that many people
working in that one area,
unless you want to see a city
almost crushed or destroyed
by congestion, you need to
have better public transport
connectivity,” Cr Giuliano
said.
Airport West Village
Action spokeswoman Shar-
on Edwards said the buses
and trams were adequate,
but agreed they needed a
train station.
A Public Transport Vic-
toria study last year found
the best route for a rail link
to Melbourne Airport was
the Albion-East line, which
passes through Airport
West but did not include a
new station in the area.
Niddrie state Labor MP
Ben Carroll said the State
Government had prioritised
the Melbourne Metro Rail
Project but should an air-
port link be built, he be-
lieved there needed to be
new stations at Airport West
and Highpoint if the Albion-
East route was chosen.
Focuson
roadsand
transport
How would you improve
Airport West? mooneevalley
@leadernewspapers.com.au
AIRPORT WEST
NEWS WHAT'S ON LIFESTYLE REALESTATE CLASSIFIEDS SPORT
1-15 16 17-18 19 22-27 27-30
It’s already well known as a business precinct but wait until the extra 16,000 workers arrive, LINH LY reports
Set for take-off
SUBURB EYED AS PART OF FUTURE JOBS HUBAIRPORT West’s thriving
industries and “melting pot
of businesses” will spear-
head the region as a leading
jobs hub, community lead-
ers say.
Moonee Valley Council
has identified opportunities
in a new report on how Air-
port West can adapt to its
gentrification and economic
growth.
It is part of a wider plan to
integrate Airport West and
Essendon Fields into a lead-
ing technology precinct and
review the Airport West ac-
tivity centre structure plan.
The Metropolitan Plan-
ning Authority predicts the
Essendon Technology Pre-
OPPORTUNITIES
Ideas for Airport West
identified in draft Issues
and Opportunities Report:
■ Apartments near McNamara
Ave Neighbourhood Centre,
the Green Spine and Keilor Rd
■ “Top-up” developments on
supermarkets in McNamara
Ave to include childcare and
retail.
■ Train station in future line
to Melbourne Airport
■ Parkland or plaza area near
Westfield Airport West
■ Relocating the Niddrie
Library to cater for Airport
West
■ Name change to convey a
more positive image.
Tullamarine Bus Lines managing director Chris Sikavitsas and his family have found Airport West a handy place to be for decades. Picture: MARK WILSON
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