Tuesday, 29 August 2023

Western Freeway sound barriers

Steve McGHIE (Melton) (13:23): My members statement is about a delayed promise provision of sound wall barriers along the Western Freeway to protect residents of the Silverdale estate. In 2018 the Melton City Council moved and passed a motion allocating $2.1 million to install sound barriers to alleviate the frustration of Silverdale estate residents experiencing excessive traffic noise. Last year council pulled that funding and reneged on their commitment to residents because they failed to act quickly enough before the cost to deliver the project increased. It is shocking that the developer of Silverdale estate was not held accountable for the provision of this necessary infrastructure. It is, I believe, a major failure of council planning. I also hold concerns that the setback from the highway for many of the properties was woefully inadequate.

The noise for residents is simply unbearable, and the severity of this only mounts as increased traffic develops on the Western Freeway, a major thoroughfare of Melbourne’s western growth corridor. Once sitting on local resident Geoff Tweedie’s verandah I was astounded by the overwhelming level of noise. When we examined the issue from his neighbour’s residence it became apparent that even while standing in his backyard a metre apart we could not engage in conversation due to excessive noise. This situation is intolerable for the residents. It is even more of a slap in the face when they see developments going up around them being built with the necessary sound wall protection. It is time for the Melton City Council to reconsider their position on the provision of this sound wall and put the Silverdale estate ratepayers’ quality of life as a priority by building the sound wall.