New suburb?

Don't know about other states, but the question of access to/from Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport has been a hot topic in these parts over the past week. Though a dedicated rail service serving the airport was part of the original plans for it's inauguration in 1970 ... it still doesn't exist today after being in and out of the political dialog umpteen times over the past 4 decades, whilst dwelling mostly in the 'too hard basket'.

Road access from the CBD is solely available via the laughingly named Tullamarine 'freeway'. Firstly, the 'free' part of the title only remained literal until the mid-90s when it was sold to the private sector and, of course, promptly became a toll-way. Secondly, its main role as an airport access was virtually wiped-out when some genius decided it would be a great idea to feed another 'freeway' into it about half-way between the CBD and airport! Ever since, it has become an embarrassing car-park during morning and afternoon peak traffic times.

Speaking of car-parks, because of the lack of any worth-while public transport alternatives, the car-parks at the airport itself have become monsterous, both in size and tariffs, whilst producing a cash-cow for the owners of the airport since its privatization ...also during the 90s. This week it was noted in the media that the car-parks are already bigger than some urban areas which warrant their own post-code!

As one who spent 20 years of my working life employed at Tulla ... it seems to me that the whole facility is dedicated to coining money from the car-park operation ... with the actual need to accommodate airlines and their travelling customers, merely an annoyance wholly incidental to the main endeavour!