Tooradin residents are renewing calls for a pedestrian crossing on the South Gippsland Highway to connect local estates and the Recreation Reserve.
Local mother of two Melanie Cliquet said families regularly face a dangerous choice between a long detour or darting across the highway to reach community facilities.
“There’s nothing between Bayview Road and the lights in town for people to cross safely,” she said.
“Kids who live in the estate have to either walk all the way back to the lights at Main Street or just run across the road.
“There’s no crossing. It’s really unsafe.”
South Gippsland Highway divides the residential area from the Recreation Reserve, which includes sports ovals, tennis courts, and a soon-to-be-completed skate park.
Ms Cliquet said it’s a busy road with a lot of people coming through here to go to Phillip Island.
Bass MP Jordan Crugnale said she was well aware of the community’s long-standing concerns.
“It has been raised by residents over a number of years, and more recently by the City of Casey through their advocacy priority list,” she said.
“People do cross the highway here because it’s quicker than going down to the lights and walking all the way back — safety is worth a longer walk.
“I really encourage members of the community to help me in my push, also by requesting this formally through the VicRoads Feedback site, which logs it with the department.”
Tooradin Ward Councillor Jennifer Dizon said a few residents had reached out to her about safety and pedestrian upgrades at this intersection.
“Council has added this to our active transport advocacy list,” she said.
“I will continue to advocate on behalf of residents to the State Government to improve state road infrastructure to accommodate Casey’s rapidly growing population.”
City of Casey confirmed that the Department of Transport of Planning (DTP) is responsible for managing South Gippsland Highway as it is a declared arterial road.
This includes managing the intersection with Bayview Road and investigating the need and feasibility of providing additional infrastructure.
In 2021, Council was advised by the DTP that pedestrian numbers were too low to warrant a pedestrian-operated signal under their traffic engineering guidelines.
In addition, there are site constraints and missing footpath(s) on the southern side, which will impact the feasibility of any pedestrian crossing project at this location.
Vice president of the Casey Residents and Ratepayers Association Anthony Tassone said it was time for action.
“This is a long-standing safety concern for families, children and older residents who need to cross a busy 80km/h stretch of highway used by heavy vehicles to access the recreation reserve,” he said.
“With upgrades coming soon at the reserve, including a new pavilion and skate park, pedestrian activity will increase, and it’s time this project was prioritised.”
A Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said:“We will continue to monitor the South Gippsland Highway at Tooradin and consider any necessary safety upgrades as part of future planning for Victoria’s road network.”
“We’re working hard to improve our roads and delivering safer infrastructure right across the state – making record investments to make sure families get home safe and sooner.
“We are investing more than $1.1 billion to deliver life saving infrastructure as part of our road safety strategy, including $412 million of new funding this year to reduce road trauma.”
