By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
Council says ‘no’ to sealing road surface…
YARRA Ranges Council has voted not to proceed with the construction of a sealed surface on Mikado Road in Mount Evelyn.
Proposed as a special charge scheme, partly funded by the affected land owners, to resurface the dirt road next to Morrison Reserve, the proposal was voted down during a council meeting on 23 June.
The benefit/cost ratio to the council for this project was considered too low for the council to commit to funding.
Due to only eight properties making up 11.5 property units along the road, the council would end up coughing up 68 per cent of the $661,300 total cost to construct a new road surface.
Mayor Maria McCarthy said she was hoping for a different outcome for Mikado Road.
“I’m disappointed council isn’t going forward with it, but I understand why,” she said.
“There are not many residents on the road, but it gets a lot of public traffic that causes issues for the residents.”
Cr McCarthy said the main issue was that Google Maps gives Mikado Road priority as an entrance into Morrison Reserve.
“Council offices have been working with Google Maps to change the route that they give to get to the reserve,” she said.
Council is trailing a new type of road surface called GATT developed by building and construction product manufacturer Boral.
GATT is being trialled on a number of roads in the Billanook ward over the next two years.
“This is an exciting new piece of road engineering,” Cr McCarthy said.
“Depending on the success of this trial, we are looking forward to trying this on other roads with Mikado Road being a prime candidate.”
