City of Casey’s Cr Lynette Keleher, Narre Warren South MP Judith Graley, residents Derek Gardener and Michele Halsall are calling for improvements at a dangerous Hampton Park intersection. 83775 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS
By Lia Bichel
HAMPTON Park residents, Casey Council and a local MP are calling for urgent upgrades to a notoriously dangerous intersection.
Narre Warren South MP Judith Graley says she has been contacted by frustrated residents who want the State Government to install traffic lights at the Pound and Shrives Road intersection to improve safety for drivers and pedestrians.
She said the intersection was recently the site of “another” avoidable accident and lengthy delays for frustrated motorists.
Ms Graley said she had also recently been contacted by the City of Casey requesting that she advocate on their behalf for an urgent safety upgrade.
“The City of Casey is seeking immediate safety improvements to this intersection, including the reduction of the speed limit through the intersection, installation of advanced warning signage and traffic signals,” Ms Graley said.
“I have raised this matter in parliament and have written to both the Minister for Roads and VicRoads. Unfortunately the Minister and VicRoads have both responded that funding for an upgrade is unlikely.
“The Baillieu Government’s dithering on this important safety issue means that local motorists will continue to be put at risk. I call on the Minister to stop making excuses, listen to local residents and fix the problem.”
VicRoads Acting Regional Director Metro South East Anita Curnow, on behalf of VicRoads and Minister for Roads Terry Mulder, confirmed there were no plans to upgrade the intersection.
“VicRoads receives many requests each year for intersection improvements throughout Victoria. VicRoads considers factors such as the number and type of vehicles using the intersection, the need to cater for pedestrians, the historical safety record of the site, the impact that intersection modifications would have on the performance of the surrounding road network, and the cost to implement the treatment,” Ms Curnow said.
”Based on these factors, there are currently no plans to undertake improvement works at the intersection of Pound Road and Shrives Road.”
