Above: Traffic banks up on Kooweerup’s Sybella Avenue as holidaymakers head down to Phillip Island on Boxing Day.
By Melissa Grant
KOOWEERUP residents have had enough of 70 heavy trucks rumbling through their streets each hour and are calling for the State Government to get moving on a bypass.
The push comes as the State Government prepares to draw up its budget for the new financial year.
Residents and businesspeople are rallying to get the a Kooweerup Bypass constructed as B-double trucks continue to cause traffic chaos in the small town.
They say about 70 heavy trucks pass through each hour, creating a nightmare for motorists and shoppers trying to turn into or cross Rossiter Road.
The Gazette has this week begun a “bypass or bust” campaign to support residents in their quest to get the project rolling.
VicRoads have come up with two proposed routes for the bypass but State Government funding needs to be guaranteed before either is constructed.
Cardinia Shire Port Ward councillor Stuart Halligan feared tragedy would occur if the project didn’t start soon.
“Residents are worried about the safety of the kids and the elderly and the community needs action sooner, they need it brought forward,” Cr Halligan said.
“With the congestion it breeds impatience and people start doing silly things.”
Kooweerup Township Committee chairman Ray Brown said he rang 000 on Boxing Day when traffic was banked from the South Gippsland Highway to the end of Sybella Avenue.
The town was again gridlocked on Saturday and Sunday as holidaymakers made their way to and from Phillip Island.
“We get a warm day here and the people from Phillip Island are coming back – it’s just horrendous,” Mr Brown said.
Kooweerup Township Committee Secretary Geoff Stokes said traffic through the town had increased dramatically since the opening of the Pakenham Bypass, with motorists keen to avoid driving through Cranbourne.
“Coming the other way (South Gippsland Highway) you have to negotiate 13 sets of traffic lights. This way you have one (at Livestock Exchange),” he said.
Kooweerup businesspeople Gwen Lengersdorf and Penny Theuma said Kooweerup was ill-equipped to cope with the increase in traffic.
“The town is just not built for it,” Ms Lengersdorf said.
“It’s up to the government to do something – Mr Brumby should come out here and have a look.”
VicRoads Acting Regional Director of Metro South East Graham Clarke said two options for a bypass of Kooweerup had been publicly displayed in September 2007.
“As traffic volumes increase in the Kooweerup area, VicRoads is considering options for improving the Healesville-Kooweerup Road between the Pakenham Bypass and the South Gippsland Highway, including a bypass of Kooweerup township,” he said.
Mr Clarke said VicRoads was also looking at improvements within the town, including the possibility of installing traffic lights at the Rossiter Road and Station Street intersection.
He said such projects were considered and evaluated on a state-wide basis.
Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas did not respond to inquiries from the Gazette before it went to press.
