Residents of the Yarra Ranges have been outraged about the state of the local roads throughout 2022, with safety concerns and the deteriorating conditions of our arterial highways among their major gripes.
Healesville petition goes unanswered
The intersection of Crowley, Lalors and Ayres Road in Healesville with the Maroondah Highway is still a concern for Healesville residents, who started an online petition in March.
Eildon MP Cindy McLeish threw her support behind the safety of pedestrians, tabling the concern in Parliament on Tuesday 9 August.
Brian Millane lives on the Maroondah Highway and said he was frustrated not seeing any change.
“There’s horns blowing and people screeching along the highway here daily. We walk a lot as well, and the actual levels of the road, which aren’t noticeable when you’re driving, are tripping hazards where there is anywhere between 20 to 40ml difference in height where the surface has been laid and hasn’t been levelled correctly,” he said.
Mr Millane, along with Mike Grigg and Barry Alloway contacted VicRoads in 2016 appealing for the 50km/h speed limit to be extended from the town centre. Their application was rejected with VicRoads citing the low crash rates and the absence of schools or school crossings as the reason no change was needed.
Ms McLeish said the Healesville residents need to see progress in making this section of the highway safer.
“Some of the potential solutions included slowing the traffic before the bend, whether with flashing lights that pedestrians can instigate at a particular time or a zebra crossing,” she said.
McMahons Creek Pedestrian Bridge set for reconstruction
McMahons Creek residents are eagerly awaiting the reconstruction of the pedestrian bridge on Woods Point Road, to be delivered by Yarra Ranges Council after the State Government committed $754,000 for the project back in March.
Residents along with Eildon MP Cindy McLeish had been campaigning for the project for five years since the original bridge was decommissioned following a structural assessment.
Member of the Reefton McMahons Creek Action group Ian Brownlie said it was encouraging to know that the funding was made.
“It’s not a wide road and to put a pedestrian on there on the road is particularly hazardous with caravans and tourist traffic going through the area. The edge of the bridge also isn’t frequently cleaned, so people can easily slip and fall or have to negotiate uneven surfaces,” he said.
Ms McLeish said it was great to finally get the commitment.
“It had been a long fight and I was supporting the community in pushing for this because it really cut them off and made kids have to walk on the road, it was a dangerous situation,” she said.
“It hasn’t been done yet but hopefully it is delivered promptly, there’ll be big celebrations once it’s finished.”
Crossing desert on Warburton Highway
In August, legally blind Wesburn resident Marie Plueger told Star Mail about her difficulties crossing the Warburton Highway safely.
Since 2004, Ms Pleuger has been gradually losing her sight to a genetic disease affecting vision in your direct line of sight. Relying on the bus for her personal travel, she has no crossing to use to safely return to her home
Ms Pleuger said having met with VicRoads, they didn’t seem confident about anything happening to resolve the issue in the near future, but that the request has been put ‘into the system’.
“I can’t get home independently on public transport, because I am not prepared to run the gauntlet of Warburton Highway traffic, with my limited vision, that’s travelling up to 80 kilometres an hour or even more when they’re not following the speed limit,” she said.
The nearest signalised pedestrian crossing is in Millgrove, between Hearse Road and Gillis Road. There is also a lack of footpaths between Yarra Junction and Millgrove.
Pricey potholes
Potholes were also another major concern on the Warburton Highway throughout 2022, causing costly damage for many a motorist.
Two particular potholes in Woori Yallock were key culprits, with one outside the Tyrepower store and another on the corner of Middleton Drive seeing many motorists head into Tyrepower itself.
Owner of Tyrepower Woori Yallock Marc Bull said cars were continuing to suffer damage throughout the remainder of 2022.
“It definitely slowed a bit, it wasn’t as bad as it was a couple of months ago but we still have a constant stream of cars coming in with pothole damage,” he said.
“Even the ones they are repairing properly, it’s just never going to be fixed, as long as it keeps raining, it will keep happening because there’s just no drainage here.”
Melba and Warburton Highway slated for works
In September, it was announced that more than 10 kilometres of the Melba Highway were outlined to undergo rehabilitation and resurfacing works in multiple locations, while sections of the Warburton Highway in Wandin North and Seville were set to undergo significant resurfacing works as part of the State Government’s major regional road maintenance blitz.
In November, the Department of Transport (DoT) released a notice regarding the road situation across Victoria.
“Crews across Victoria have mobilised and have assessed more than 3,200 roads and have repaired more than 75,100 potholes,” it said.
Ms McLeish said the roads are crumbling.
“We need to make sure that these roads are repaired properly, not just a quick patch, and see some of that spending on roads in our area,” she said.
“I do worry the widespread damage means we will have to wait, but it needs to be fixed, the road needs to be raised at places like Yering because it’s a long-standing issue.”
Warburton Highway landslip limbo
A landslip that occurred on the Warburton Highway in October continues to cause delays for residents.
Initially closing the entire highway at the landslip, one lane has since been reopened with temporary lights, speed reductions and traffic controllers to help manage the flow of traffic.
VicRoads’ November update anticipates this arrangement will be in place until February 2023 while they finalise designs and mobilise crews to complete long-term repair works.
They will keep the community updated with construction dates and any changes to traffic arrangements before works start and will inspect the site everyday and after any heavy rainfall.
Roads For Community funding cut
Yarra Ranges Council was left gobsmacked by the federal government’s decision to scrap the $300m road sealing project in the 2022-23 budget which includes Council’s Roads for Community Initiative.
The Yarra Ranges project received bi-partisan support in the 2019 election which was estimated to offer sealing to approximately 187 km’s of road over a nine-year period.
Mayor Jim Child said Council received funding of $98,577,380 in 2021 to help deliver the first six years of the Roads for the Community program
“The program has currently sealed 11km’s of roads and there is another 12km’s in construction or recently awarded to contractors for construction. A further 48km’s of projects are in the design stage, with the community having already been consulted,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts said some existing infrastructure projects had been reviewed, and in some cases, reduced or discontinued in the October budget, with current economic conditions affecting the delivery of infrastructure investments and increasing the pressure on the Commonwealth budget.
Killara Road and Maroondah Highway needs to reach a ‘turning point’
Coldstream residents are still frustrated by the Maroondah Highway at the Killara Road intersection, with Evelyn MP Bridget Vallence’s proposed funding to duplicate the Maroondah Highway not matched by the re-elected Labor State Government.
Killara Road currently proves to be difficult for Coldstream residents and the Coldstream CFA to turn right out of, with many resorting to turning left and doing a U-turn.
Coldstream CFA Captain Sean Bethel said those invested in the duplication are not feeling very good about its chances.
“During peak times, and especially on a fine weekend, as we have had more recently, it’s extremely hard to get out onto the highway. The proposed duplication and lights would make things easier to turn right out of Killara Road and Station Street and even turning right out of the estate would become a lot safer,” he said.
Evelyn MP Bridget Vallence said the local residents deserve to be safe.
“It was the community that came to me when I was first a candidate and then again once I was elected, concerned about this and when I door knocked Coldstream in 2018, most people were concerned about it, we will keep this campaign up,” she said.
Seville East safety concerns reignited
A serious crash on the Warburton Highway at Douthie Road in Seville East reignited the concerns of locals who have been seeking safety measures for years.
Police believe a truck may have been driving erratically before it collided with a Nissan Patrol on Tuesday 29 November at around 1pm, with the Warburton Highway not reopened until about 6.30pm following the incident.
Seville East resident Joel Supple is the admin of the Seville East Traffic Safety group on Facebook and said the group keep working on the issue until they get what they think is the safest outcome for themselves and their kids.
“We are not going anywhere. We started about five years ago after a number of accidents and the death of one driver, and have made numerous attempts to get VicRoads to address the issue, everything from having plans drawn up, to getting the support of our local MP Bridget Vallence and lobbying to transport ministers,” he said.
Back in 2019 VicRoads conducted an extensive investigation into the stretch of the highway from Peters Road to Douthie Road.
Mr Supple said he feels like politics is being played with people’s lives.
“People aren’t paying attention, but that’s why we need turning lanes, why we need safety barriers, you need safety as much as you can. We feel like we are not being considered important, that our lives aren’t valued,” he said.
VicRoads data collected between 2014 and 2019 has 17 separate accidents noted on the stretch of the Warburton Highway between the Douthie Road and Old Warburton Highway intersections.
Ms Vallence said the statistics are really telling.
“The statistics have demonstrated clearly that there’s a high rate of accidents, and that there have been, tragically, fatalities on this stretch of road. We [The Victorian Liberal Party] made a $5 million pledge to widen the road and make turning lanes to fix this and only a matter of days after there was another serious accident,” she said.
“The Seville CFA, Yarra Ranges Police, other first responders and local residents all tell me how dangerous this stretch of road is and how it needs to be fixed.”
Road rescue rates rise
2022 was a dangerous time to drive, with the number of accidents requiring rescue increasing across the Yarra Ranges.
Healesville SES Unit Controller Andrew Worley said they responded to 25 road rescues this year.
“We definitely noticed an increase after the lockdowns, after people started going out and about a lot more. The roads are back to being almost as busy as they used to and we urge motorists need to drive to their conditions,” he said.
“We’ve had storm and flood events one after and the roads are not in as good condition as they used to be, with hazards left over from these events. Hopefully, we will see those rescue numbers come down in 2023.”
