Politics & Council
25 June, 2023
Safety matters beyond Keilor hills
LOCAL PERSPECTIVE THE Calder Highway traverses nine local government areas wending its way from Melbourne to Mildura. Pretty much in the middle are the Loddon Shire towns of Bridgewater, Inglewood and Wedderburn. To the seasoned and informed...
LOCAL PERSPECTIVE
THE Calder Highway traverses nine local governmentareas wending its way from Melbourne toMildura. Pretty much in the middle are the LoddonShire towns of Bridgewater, Inglewood and Wedderburn.
To the seasoned and informed traveller, these localtowns are great spots for a break on a long journeynorth or south - well placed for a reviver stopin the name of returning to the road refreshed.
The location of these towns should demand,compel, the State Government and its transportand road safety gurus to invest in road safety alongthis stretch of the highway, a stretch that increasingly
frustrates local residents struggling to parktheir cars, cross the street in shopping strips andgenerally fearful that a serious calamity will oneday lead to tragedy.
This year alone there have been community callsfor a pedestrian crossing at Bridgewater, lowerspeed limits and flashing speed check signs at Inglewoodand now a crossing at Wedderburn where
the underground electrical infrastructure has beenin place for years.
Well-founded community concern seems to beblocked from consideration by government agencies.Calder Highway Improvement Committee,comprising the nine councils, seems more intent On what happens around Keilor and Sunbury thannorth of Bendigo where we’re still waiting for thefirst highway passing lanes between Bendigo andMildura. Action, if that’s what it is designated, on issues in our part of the world only seem to be entwinedwith more and broader studies.
VicRoads and its successor Regional Roads Victoriahave been either starved of funds to addressroad safety through our towns or happy to be reactionary... after the event.
And it’s not just the Calder. Only last week Boortresidents raised safety concerns about the camberof Godfrey Street, 100mm raised the last time VicRoads did a top-up seal.
The fixes are inexpensive - probably no morethan $500,000 in the four towns. But does RegionalRoads Victoria have the money?
- CHRIS EARL