By KATH GANNAWAY
A STALEMATE between Parks Victoria and VicRoads is being mooted as the underlying reason behind the road management debacle on Mount Donna Buang on Sunday.
With eye-witness reports of up to 10 cars slipping off the icy road leading to the summit, inadequate signage, and hundreds of disappointed tourists unable to get to the snow, there are calls for Parks Victoria and VicRoads to lift their game in terms of managing the road to take advantage of Warburton’s prime winter drawcard.
Concerns were already being raised last week that a demarcation dispute between the two authorities was in danger of leaving no-one effectively doing on-the-ground traffic management.
Paul Jackson, who operates WarburtonInfo, providing snow updates through the popular website, told the Mail that an ongoing stalemate over whose responsibility it is to manage the road was leaving safety and accessibility in no-man’s land.
A Parks Victoria spokesman told the Mail on Friday that VicRoads was responsible for traffic management and they had no legal jurisdiction to close the road, or direct or manage traffic on the road.
“The opening of the road, the clearing of the road, the management of traffic and any strategy to improve the road surface is the responsibility of VicRoads.”
VicRoads Regional Director Metro South East Aidan McGann, however, said they were in discussion with Parks Victoria regarding the ongoing management of traffic.
“We have always provided a grader for snow clearing, and with snowfall predicted this weekend, a grader will be on standby,” he said.
That left the question of who was going to be doing active traffic management on the Sunday.
Cr Jim Child took to Twitter and Facebook after the road was closed at the Rainforest Gallery on Sunday and reports came in of cars slipping and sliding – in a repeat of the incident exactly 12 months to the day when the Upper Yarra’s emergency services were called to pull cars out of ditches and off the side of the road.
Cr Child said talks began after that incident with the Municipal Planning Committee to try to get some resolution – including Parks Victoria and VicRoads.
“We had a four-day forecast of severe weather and snowfall this weekend,” he said.
“That immediately attracts people and all of a sudden we have a huge population of cars, the road freezes and everyone is in trouble.
“Other places manage this, but because we don’t have a resort up there, both have no money for the facility and you have one of the great tourist attractions that is in trouble, but not only that, putting the safety of people at risk.”
“It looks to me as though it should be managed better on the ground, not each time it’s an emergency,” he said.
Doug Greenall from COG Bike Cafe was on the mountain from 9.30am and said the situation started to deteriorate from about 10.45am when one car slid off the road.
He said by about 10.45am when it was snowing quite heavily, the road had not been graded.
“It just seemed like no-one was in charge and there was no communication between what was going on at the top and how many cars were coming up the hill.”
He said the gate was closed about 11.30am at the 10-mile car park, but that no-one was stopping traffic from coming up.
Parks Victoria was unable to answer questions on Sunday’s events by deadline, but Mr McGann from VicRoads did say Sunday was the most challenging day and that VicRoads provided traffic management, supported by Victoria Police.
“From 6am Saturday, we had a grader and grit machinery on standby to allow people to access the snowfields,” he said.
“Early on Sunday afternoon, there was a minor vehicle accident which led to Victoria Police closing the road at rainforest gallery.
“By mid afternoon, the road was re-opened to the 10 mile car park, and people were welcome to walk further along the road.”
Mr McGann said limited access was given to some four-wheel drives, aided by the grading VicRoads was undertaking.
