Thursday, 20 June 2024

Yarra Boulevard

Jess WILSON (Kew) (17:24): (729) My adjournment tonight is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I am seeking is improved community engagement on behalf of VicRoads with local residents about Yarra Boulevard. The boulevard is a unique road that runs alongside the Yarra River, and by day it is popular with cyclists and tourists alike who use it to get to the riverside walking trails and the newly refurbished Studley Park Boathouse. Unfortunately, by night the boulevard is a favoured spot for hoons who engage in dangerous speeding and antisocial behaviour. There have been multiple crashes and fatalities along Yarra Boulevard over the last decade, and locals will tell you there have been too many near misses to count, all caused by speeding motorists. Residents also tell me that overnight noise pollution caused by hooning on the Yarra Boulevard is impacting their ability to get a good night’s sleep and hence their overall wellbeing.

A key objective of the recent funding to upgrade Yarra Boulevard has been to improve safety along the road. It is clear that despite the measures taken to date by VicRoads, hooning continues to be a major problem. Boroondara police have been patrolling the area when resources allow and last month impounded the vehicle of a probationary licence holder for doing a burnout on Yarra Boulevard. I thank Boroondara police for their commitment to community safety in our area, but I note they cannot maintain a presence on Yarra Boulevard every single night.

Crime statistics in Boroondara show an alarming spike in a number of different categories, meaning our local police have their hands full at the best of times. They cannot be everywhere all at once. Residents will tell you that a few nights after the infringement was issued the hoons were at it again. It is clear that a more permanent solution must be found. Those who are responsible for making decisions about future safety measures on Yarra Boulevard must take the time to listen to residents who are most affected by the ongoing disturbances. Their message is very clear: what you are doing is not working. Before any more money is spent, VicRoads needs to meet face to face with the residents and hear firsthand about how measures taken to date are not delivering safety improvements. We cannot keep spending taxpayer money for little or no safety impact nor any traffic improvement or reduction in hooning behaviour. I ask the minister to make a representative of VicRoads available to urgently attend a community forum on safety measures at Yarra Boulevard.