Shelter from the storm

By Dion Teasdale
WARBURTON Advancement League has accused the Shire of Yarra Ranges of jeopardising pedestrian safety by neglecting the town’s bus shelter needs.
The group has been campaigning for additional bus shelters for more than a decade and fears pedestrians could be injured or killed unless improvements are made.
League representative, David Allen, said a bus shelter was urgently needed at the Mayer Bridge bus stop, located near the corner of Scotchmans Creek Road and the Warburton Highway, in Warburton.
“Many residents, including school students, use the Mayer Bridge bus stop, particularly early in the morning, and there is no shelter from the elements,” he said.
“Instead, bus travellers are forced to shelter under the eaves of the toilet block across the road and dash across the highway at the last minute to catch the bus.”
Mr Allen said he feared it would only be a matter of time before someone was hit by passing traffic unless a shelter was provided at the bus stop.
He said the Warburton Advancement League had written to the shire on numerous occasions and was told 18 months ago that a bus shelter for the site would be considered in future budgets.
“We were still waiting to see when the problem would be fixed, and then I read that Warburton has missed out yet again,” Mr Allen said.
Earlier this month, the Mail reported that the shire was funding the construction of 15 new bus shelters across the municipality, including four along the Warburton Highway, but none for Warburton.
“It’s great that the Warburton Highway is getting four new bus shelters but they stop at Wesburn,” he said. “We don’t want the situation to be that we have to wait for someone to be killed before this problem is fixed.”
Shire of Yarra Ranges manager of community relations, James Martin, said the shire was aware of the group’s concerns and was working to address them.
“We will shortly commence construction of a footpath along the Warburton Highway leading to the Mayer Bridge bus stop,” he said.
“A concrete pad will also be installed at the site for possible construction of a bus shelter in the future.”
Mr Martin said it was difficult to predict when a shelter might be constructed on the site.
“Each bus shelter costs the shire approximately $10,000 and there is enormous demand for them across the municipality and we have finite funds available,” he said.
“The shire is committed to a program of strategically placing shelters in the most needed areas across the municipality.”