Road fears

By Tania Martin
FEARS over crossing Mount Evelyn’s notorious York Road have been highlighted as key safety concerns following an audit.
Mount Evelyn Township Improvement Committee (METIC) secretary Jan Simmons said it was not surprising crossing the road was the biggest concern for residents.
She said the safety audit was identified as a top priority at the town’s 2009 planning day by young people in the community.
Ms Simmons said large aerial maps and questionnaires were positioned at schools, kindergartens at Morrisons and the council’s community link.
“Residents were invited to record any safety issues throughout the township,” she said.
Ms Simmons said 40 per cent of people raised concerns over some or part of York Road from the roundabout at Swansea Road to the top of the town.
Twenty per cent of people also identified issues especially with the long-awaited York Road-Wray Crescent intersection.
For more than 10 years residents have been waiting for a safe passage across the dangerous junction.
Work on the $1.3 million project was originally scheduled for May 2007 but has not yet been started.
But Ms Simmons said no one in town was confident the plan for the intersection was even going to work despite millions being spent to fix the ongoing problem.
She said there were already massive congestion issues without putting in traffic lights.
“Crossing York Road on foot is a nightmare, it’s one of the reason people don’t stop in Mount Evelyn and go somewhere else to start the trail,” Ms Simmons said.
She said there was still no clear indication of when work on the intersection would start.
Ms Simmons believes installing a pedestrian bridge over the intersection would have been a much better idea.
But she said that idea was rejected as part of the planning process.
Ms Simmons said it wasn’t just the York Road Wray Crescent intersection causing concern.
She said 32 per cent of people who responded to the survey had major problems with intersection around the town.
“One of the main issues in Mount Evelyn is getting across the main roads and if you have a pram and toddler in tow it’s really dangerous,” Ms Simmons said.
A report will now be prepared and will be available on the METIC website at www.metic.comfypage.com or by dropping into the community link between 1pm and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Ms Simmons said these safety concerns would now be raised with local and State Government representatives for further action. A further audit this year will report on their responses.