Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Adjournment

Evelyn electorate roads

Ms VALLENCE (Evelyn) (19:00): (6246) The matter I wish to raise is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. The action I seek is for the minister to explain to my community why the Andrews Labor government has so far failed to fix dangerous and congested roads through the Evelyn electorate; once and for all commit to road safety upgrades through the Yarra Valley, including in particular the Maroondah Highway in Coldstream, especially at the Killara Road and Station Street intersection, and Warburton Highway in Seville East, especially between Peters and Douthie roads; and explain if there is any strategy for road upgrades in Lilydale after congestion along Main Street has significantly worsened as a result of the government’s rail Level Crossing Removal Project.

The Coldstream community—the residents, the traders and the CFA firefighters—are all sick and tired and fed up with the Andrews Labor government dragging its chain on duplicating the Maroondah Highway and on fixing the dangerous intersection where Killara Road and Station Street cross the Maroondah Highway. This issue has been dragging on for years and years. The Andrews Labor government simply has no excuse, because working together with the federal Liberal MP we have secured $20 million in commonwealth funding, which Premier Andrews, the roads minister and his transport department are now unacceptably sitting on. When will this road be duplicated? It needs to be confirmed as a project in the upcoming state budget and progressed beyond the seemingly never-ending planning phase. We need a start date for the works. We just need the government to get on with the job.

In Seville and Seville East the residents and local emergency services first responders—the Yarra Ranges police and the Seville and Wandin CFA brigades—are frustrated and fed up with being ignored on the urgent need to fix the Warburton Highway between Peters and Douthie roads in Seville East. It is incredibly disappointing that the Andrews Labor government still fails to listen to these communities, who are still unable to cross the road safely to get to and from their homes. The school students have no way to cross safely at this dangerous crest from the bus stops. The visibility is extremely poor, and it is just not good enough that the Andrews Labor government’s response so far has been just putting in a few flimsy reflector poles and reducing the speed limit to 80 kilometres per hour. This has not worked, and the action I seek is for this dangerous road to be fixed and adequate funding to be put into the budget.

In Lilydale the Labor government removed the rail boom gates and replaced them with traffic lights, only making traffic congestion worse on Main Street and making Main Street less safe. Locals and commuters are completely frustrated. Minister, what is the roads strategy through Lilydale? When will you fix the mess this government has made with Main Street, Lilydale, and will this include a plan to build the Lilydale bypass? After eight long years this Labor government has a history of neglect of roads through the Evelyn electorate. It is not fair, it is not good enough, and my community will await a response.