Lynbrook Heights Estate residents want Casey Council to seal the remainder of Lynbrook Boulevard to stop the traffic chaos. Back: Bob Adam, Bill Toan, Travis Ebbage and Iona Stevens. Front: Brendan Adam, Miles, Paige and Jane Weidemann and Mardy and Madalyn Ebbage.By Alison Noonan
LYNBROOK Heights Estate residents are sick and tired of motorists congesting their streets as a ratrun to bypass Hallam Road.
Caversham Terrace resident Miles Weidemann said locals were concerned about the increased traffic using residential streets as a shortcut from Hallam Road to the South Gippsland Highway.
The first 170 metres of Lynbrook Boulevard from the South Gippsland Highway is complete but the last 320m toward the Hallam Road intersection is still unmade.
Mr Weidemann said motorists were creating traffic chaos by opting to travel along the residential road Livingstone Rise to reach the sealed section of Lynbrook Boulevard.
“The latest traffic count was in excess of 3475 cars using these residential roads every day,” Mr Weidemann said.
“That is a huge amount of cars going past my front door.
“These roads are not meant to act as major thoroughfares. They are just local roads,” he said.
Mr Weidemann said the sealing of the remainder of Lynbrook Boulevard would alleviate this traffic congestion and create a safer living environment for residents.
“At the moment I have great safety concerns with the amount of traffic using our local roads.
“I didn’t expect to have so many cars and trucks going past my house when I bought into the area.
“People use it (Lynbrook Boulevard) to avoid the Hallam Road/South Gippsland Highway intersection because of the number of fatalities that have occurred there. They see it as the safer route,” he said.
Mr Weidemann said he was concerned that the traffic would continue to increase with the development of the Lynbrook Activity Centre and called on Casey Council to move swiftly to seal the remainder of the road.
“The road needs a priority put on it. I understand that council has money in its budget to seal the road but is waiting on VicRoads to install traffic lights at the Hallam Road/Ormond Road intersection.
“I’ve been patient but now I don’t know what else to do,” he said.
River Gum Ward councillor Wayne Smith said at last week’s council meeting that the completion of Lynbrook Boulevard was reliant on the upgrade of the Hallam Road/Ormond Road intersection, which is a State Government responsibility.
He said council considered the construction of Lynbrook Boulevard a high priority but now needed to convince the State Government through VicRoads. “The local roads are being used as a ratrun,” Cr Smith said.
“It will be a great benefit to the people of Hampton Park and Narre Warren South when Lynbrook Boulevard is sealed and will make the passage to the South Gippsland Highway much smoother.
“We expected it would have been sealed sooner than this. Council has already allocated its share of funding for the construction of the remainder of the road but we now need to get the money from the State Government,” he said.
A report presented to council at last week’s council meeting stated that council had recently identified the Hallam Road/Ormond Road intersection as Casey’s number one main road intersection priority.
However, it said the completion of Lynbrook Boulevard could not be achieved without the upgrade of the intersection. “Until a commitment by VicRoads/State Government is given for the works at the Hallam Road/Ormond Road intersection, no timing can be given for the completion of Lynbrook Boulevard,” the report said.
VicRoads Metro South East Regional Manager Steve Brown denied the Hallam Road/Ormond Road intersection was its responsibility, claiming the upgrade would be funded by a private developer.
“The proposal to install lights at the intersection of Ormond Road/Hallam Road is the responsibility of a private developer,” Mr Brown said.
“These traffic signals are part of a planning permit approval and would be funded by the developer and therefore any inquires regarding these signals should be directed to the developer or to Council,” he said.
