Fusion has formally lodged two public questions for the upcoming Melton City Council meeting on 22 June 2026. We are using existing institutional mechanisms to put local planning failures and immediate infrastructure bottlenecks directly onto the permanent public record
Official Questions Submitted:
Question 1: The Ferris Road Freeway Overpass Capacity
Background provided to Councillors:
The Ferris Road overpass across the Western Highway connects rapidly growing residential zones in Strathtulloh to local services. During peak commuting hours, this narrow corridor experiences severe vehicle congestion, acting as a direct pinch point for local residents who rely on this link to access employment, schooling, and transport networks. Clearing this immediate bottleneck is a functional necessity for the community.
Public Question:
"What specific timeline or active advocacy plan has Council established with the Department of Transport and Planning to duplicate the Ferris Road overpass across the Western Highway to match vehicle capacity with the region's current traffic volume?"
Question 2: Preventing Future Dormitory Suburbs
Background provided to Councillors:
Traditional outer-suburban planning continues to produce single-use residential developments that lack local amenities or retail infrastructure within reasonable walking distance. This 'dormitory suburb' model forces immediate car dependency onto new residents for trivial daily tasks, heavily contributing to the localized road congestion and infrastructure stress observed across our municipal network.
Public Question:
"What concrete updates or amendments is Council introducing to the Melton Planning Scheme to mandate mixed-use zoning, active transport links, and micro-commercial spaces within all future master-planned residential estates?"
Council Responses & Fusion Reality Checks:
Council Response to Question 1 (Emily Keough, Head of Governance)
"The duplication of Ferris Road Interchange has been a long-standing advocacy priority for Council, given the existing congestion, and continued residential and commercial growth. Council's advocacy has focused on the full upgrade of the Western Highway, including the Ferris Road overpass. The federal government has committed one billion dollars to upgrade the Western Highway which will be delivered by the Victorian government. Council is awaiting the public announcement by the Australian and Victorian governments of the scope of works and timelines as to whether the Ferris Road Interchange is included."
What's Already Been Said by Govt:
The Victorian Government's own project planning documents confirm that the Western Freeway between Melton and Caroline Springs currently carries approximately 86,000 vehicles every single day. State projections explicitly show this volume is on track to surge to 113,000 daily vehicles by 2031. Furthermore, the state's community consultation report explicitly acknowledges direct community feedback warning that if the government increases mainline flow without duplicating the single-lane Ferris Road overpass bridge, the interchange simply will not cope.
The Fusion Reality Check:
Waiting for a state or federal press release isn't an active planning strategy. Council's been "advocating" for years, yet they remain entirely reactive, unable to confirm if a critical local bridge is even included in a finalized scope of works while our community sits in daily gridlock. Instead of a passive waiting game, Fusion argues the state must bypass this trickle-down funding model by establishing localized Transit Development Districts around our stations, using the ongoing land tax and payroll uplift inside the precinct to directly self-fund and fast-track critical bridge and interchange upgrades locally.
Council Response to Question 2 (Answering on behalf of the Acting Director City Futures)
"As a major growth Council, Melton City Council is continuing to advance its planning and facilitate investments in various locations. To that end, Council is working closely with the Victorian government on preparing and finalising precinct planning in various areas, including Melton East and Derrimut Fields. Whilst these precinct plans provide guidance on land use and transport, Council has also been working to finalise various Urban Design Frameworks (UDFs), which are plans that provide a blueprint in strategic locations, such as future town centres, that identify opportunities for commercial retail and other land uses."
What's Already Been Said by Govt:
The Department of Transport and Planning's draft Adaptation Action Plans openly acknowledge that climate change risks—specifically extreme heat island effects—directly threaten passenger comfort, pedestrian safety, and overall transport workforce capacity across the metropolitan network. The state's own documents highlight that integrated, climate-resilient approaches to planning are critical opportunities to improve long-term liveability, urban amenity, and public health outcomes.
The Fusion Reality Check:
"Guidance," "blueprints," and "opportunities" are non-binding bureaucratic filler. Council's actively refusing to introduce hard, mandatory updates to the Melton Planning Scheme. Studies consistently show that mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods are cheaper to operate, more economically productive, and drastically better for physical and mental health, yet Council is letting developers keep pouring uninterrupted, car-dependent asphalt grids. Fusion demands hard planning overrides: a strict 20% inclusionary zoning rule paired with automatic 50% density bonuses for sustainable cross-laminated timber builds within 1 km of transit nodes to permanently eliminate dormitory-suburb sprawl.