It’s official – Doreen is the fastest growing suburb in Victoria.
Recently released data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals that the population of Doreen grew sevenfold between 2006 and 2016.
According to the ABS data, 2733 people called Doreen home in June, 2006, that soared to 19,171 people in June last year.
The ABS ranked Doreen as the second-fastest growing suburb in the nation, behind Western Australia’s Forrestdale.
Doreen’s rising popularity contributed to a surge in Whittlesea’s overall population, with the municipality growing by 79,590 people between 2006 and 2016 to 207,881.
A 2016 state government report predicted that Whittlesea would have one of the largest increases in population by 2031, rising to 314,000 people.
Mayor Ricky Kirkham said the population boom was straining local infrastructure.
He has used social media to call for a halt to the building of housing estates until there is the infrastructure to support them.
In a Facebook post on August 12, Cr Kirkham complained about being stuck in gridlocked traffic while driving on Yan Yean Road at 10.50am on a Saturday.
He said state and federal governments needed a plan to support population growth, adding that local roads were a mess.
Cr Kirkham’s comments come as the council develops a new roads and public transport plan aimed at fixing the congestion problem.
The plan, which outlines urgently needed roads, intersection improvements, public transport and cycling and walking priorities, will be used by the council to lobby for funding from state and federal governments.
“Anyone who travels throughout the City of Whittlesea would know just how much the road and public transport networks are not coping,” Cr Kirkham said. “Traffic congestion isn’t just annoying, it is costing us all. It makes families stressed and time poor, has a detrimental impact on people’s health and is costly for local businesses.”
Cr Kirkham said that while recent Victorian government commitments to the Mernda Rail Extension, O’Herns Road Interchange and the widening of Plenty and Yan Yean roads went some way to improving Whittlesea’s transport network, substantially more investment was required.
South Morang also made the list of the 10 fastest growing suburbs in Victoria, with 8433 people moving to the area between 2006 and 2016, bringing its population to 12,596.
Hume’s Craigieburn and Mickleham were also on the list, with their populations growing by 8677 and 2362 people respectively.
