One way out

By Bridget Cook
CASCADES on Clyde residents are rallying together to push for more than one road in and out of their estate, amid safety concerns.
The residents have started a petition, which currently has 68 signatures, calling on the Casey Council to connect Linsell Boulevard.
Linsell Boulevard runs between Narre Warren Cranbourne Road and Berwick Cranbourne Road, in Clyde North and Cranbourne East.
However, the section of road between the Cascades on Clyde Estate and Hunt Club Estate is not joined, with about 150 metres of unmade road between the two.
Cascades on Clyde resident Lisa Sturzaker, who is leading the push, said this caused residents of both estates and surrounding areas additional travel and inconvenience when accessing schools and other amenities in the City of Casey.
“If you want to go into Cranbourne or even to the school on the Hunt Club side, you have to go all the way around,” she said. “What should be a two-minute trip, takes at least 15 minutes. It’s ridiculous we have to go all the way around because of bureaucracy getting in the way of finishing 150 metres of road.”
Ms Sturzaker said only having one road in and out of the estate, caused many concerns for residents.
“When the recent floods hit Casey, Linsell Boulevard became flooded meaning there was no entry to or from the estate for anyone who did not have a four wheel drive,” she said. “Having just one exit of an estate in an emergency is not acceptable. If there was a fire in the area, we would have zero way out.”
Ms Sturzaker said if Linsell Boulevard was also completed, there would be a chance of getting a bus service to run in the area.
The News posted the issue on our Facebook page, and was flooded with comments from other local residents who had similar concerns.
Resident Greg Bain said having one exit/entry was a real safety issue.
“During the recent floods we were only just able to access and exit the estate at the entry of our estate,” he said. “If an emergency situation was to happen due to floods or fire you would be stranded.”
Cascades on Clyde resident Kelly Pidkowa said it needed to be connected for many reasons, but convenience and safety were the main two.
“Going by most maps, it is connected,” she said. “Most of our family and friends, when they came here for the first time, went through the Hunt Club as it was more convenient, instead of going all the way around to Berwick-Cranbourne Road. “They soon realise they can’t get through and back around they go.”
City of Casey manager strategic planning Liam Hodgetts said uncompleted roads were common across growth areas in Melbourne as urban development rolled out over what was once rural farmland.
He said it was the council’s role to co-ordinate infrastructure such as road construction.
“In situations such as Linsell Boulevard, this is reliant on the developer who owns the land to first build the road to service their estates and, upon completion, hand the road over to council ownership and ongoing management,” he said.
“Council is currently negotiating with the developers of the Hunt Club Estate to facilitate the acquisition of land and construction of the incomplete section of Linsell Boulevard.
“Negotiations are progressing well and it is hoped that the developers will commence road construction in 2011.
To sign the petition visit www.gopetition.com/petition/43388.html