Michaela Meade
Hume council will not spend ratepayer’s money to extend Patullos Lane, Campbellfield, to the Hume Highway.
In February this year, councillor Sam Misho moved a motion calling on officers to prepare a report outlining the merits and considerations of an extension to Patullos Lane from Roxburgh Park to the Hume Highway.
According to the report, which was presented at last night’s council meeting, the cost to extend the road would be close to $70 million.
Officers said the extension was beyond the scope of road infrastructure that would generally be provided by council, and that there would be limited benefits.
Cr Misho said that while he agreed with the report, he thought it was “very, very vital” that something be done about the road.
“I would like to express my concerns about the congestion that we have and the … lack of attention paid to our roads,” he said.
“Whilst I do agree with this report, I really believe that something should be done [for] the congestion we have.”
Cr Naim Kurt said Patullos Lane was a “canary in the coalmine” when it came to the broader road infrastructure issues in Hume.
“Our community has missed out before from the state government and potentially we’re looking at missing out again,” Cr Kurt said.
“[It’s] appropriate that council doesn’t proceed with this – $70 million dollars is just money that we don’t have to deliver at the moment.
“But I think this does set the framework and the story… we need to reduce congestion for our residents moving into the north.
“It’s just taking too long for people to get out of their estates and to work and back home in the evening.”
Cr Joseph Haweil said it was disappointing for residents of growing suburbs in the north to not have appropriate road infrastructure around them.
“I think that [it] is having a detrimental impact on the lifetime wellbeing and living conditions of our residents,” he said.
