Roads Over Capacity
A number of roads in Melbourne’s West are VicRoads assets. This means that duplication and maintenance is out of local council hands. Many are in dire need duplication, despite the current roadworks underway. Point Cook Rd has shovel ready projects underway in this term of government.
But as the initial phase of Get Wyndham Moving showed, and the current advocacy from LeadWest and others, public advocacy is needed to put pressure on the government to sort this out.
Frustratingly, it should not be needed.
Point Cook Road is a bottleneck for three suburbs (Seabrook, Altona Meadows and Point Cook), and time and again is in the top 10 RACV redspots.
Palmers Rd, contends with a bottleneck freeway. Newland Street in Altona Meadows time and again sees cars come to grief. Back in September it was reported that VicRoads was reviewing the saftey of the site.
From Wyndham City Council 23/2/2015 meeting minutes “Increased time spent in stop-start traffic can lead to driver frustration, risk taking and anti-social behaviour (road rage). Managing congestion can be linked to community road safety outcomes. Residents have also indicated that managing congestion should be one of Wyndham City Council’s main objectives. In a recently completed survey conducted by the Council, most of the resident groups have identified traffic congestion as the top priority for Wyndham over the next 4 years.
“It is also noted that the condition of Wyndham’s arterial road network has an impact on:
- Road based public transport (buses);
- Freight efficiency; and
- Community road safety.
“The majority of public transport in Wyndham is and will continue to be road based. When arterial roads that are bus routes operate at and above capacity, this impacts not only on private vehicles, but also road based public transport. Services can be delayed or become unreliable which discourages people from using public transport.”
From just Wyndham, its council had identified the following roads urgently needing attention.
Roads
- Ison Road Overpass (to create a second railway crossing west of Werribee) including upgrade works at Princes Freeway on/off ramps
- Point Cook Road (Princes Freeway to Sneydes Road, Seabrook)
- Ballan Road duplication (Armstrong Road to Bolton Road)
- Sayers Road duplication (Derrimut Road to Palmers Road)
Intersection upgrades
- Point Cook Road and Sneydes Road
- Pedestrian operated signals on Heaths Road (near Woodville Park Drive)
- Ballan Road and Evergreen Drive
- Ballan Road and McGrath Road
- Geelong Road and Alfred Road
- Derrimut and Hogans Roads
- Wattle Avenue and Princes Highway
- Duncans and Edwards Rd
- Armstrong Road/Ison Road (to provide alternative railway crossing to Werribee Street);
This over capacity has been a concern for years (Reference: http://www.wyngis.com.au/InfoCouncil/Open/2015/ORD_23022015_AGN_AT.PDF)
Comments from residents highlight some other issues;
- Point Cook Road is a mess, with no plans to improve it at all.
- Palmers Road, the council is pushing for this Vic Road to be improved, but under a 15 year plan – at which point Point Cook’s population is expected to be over 60,000.
- The area is in need another way to “get out” towards Altona that does not involve a road that goes to the freeway/stations. This would ease a lot of traffic issues for the other roads out (e.g. through Seabrook or Sanctuary lakes Estate)
Simply put, the suburbs of Melbourne’s West have need of significant investment now in its road network, over and above current activity.