FOUR traffic black spots in the City of Whittlesea, including one where children have been injured, will be fixed under a $508,000 federal government grant.
The dangerous roads are Darebin Drive, Thomastown; Victoria Drive, Thomastown; Pindari Avenue, Mill Park; and McKimmies Road, Mill Park. Work will start in August and end in March, 2014.
But federal funding for other major roadworks across the growing municipality was minimal, according to Whittlesea council’s advocacy and communications director Griff Davis.
He said the federal government’s Roads to Recovery Program had promised Whittlesea $386,000, a “tiny amount” out of the $373 million spent nationally.
The Roads to Recovery grant was only a “small proportion” of the money needed to upgrade McKimmies Road, between Betula Avenue and Garden Grove Drive, Mill Park, and the council would have to fund the rest, he said.
“McKimmies Road is also just the tip of the iceberg in terms of our municipality’s major roads that are in desperate need of improvement,” Mr Davis said.
“Other major roads such as O’Herns Road, Findon Road, Bridge Inn Road and Yan Yean Road are also under enormous pressure from population growth promoted by the federal government.
“The federal government is encouraging population growth but is not backing it up with the basic services and infrastructure, which is unsustainable for our municipality.”
The black spot funding is for:
• Darebin Drive, Thomastown: In the past five years there have been five casualty crashes, four involving pedestrians under 10. The $66,000 safety work includes reducing speed by installing speed humps and a raised pavement children’s crossing.
• Pindari Avenue, Mill Park: In the past five years there have been 11 casualty crashes, including five serious injury accidents. The $147,000 work includes speed humps and a raised pavement children’s crossing.
• McKimmies Road, Mill Park: In the past five years there have been three serious injury and eight other injury crashes, including head-on collisions. The $162,000 work includes installing guardrails and traffic islands.
• Victoria Drive, Thomastown: In the past five years there have been seven casualty crashes. The $133,000 work includes speed humps and a raised pavement children’s crossing.
