Wednesday, 14 August 2024

 David HODGETT (Croydon) (19:05): (775) My adjournment this evening is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for priority to be given to permanently fix the large number of potholes in the roads as well as the overgrown and rubbish-laden centre median strips in and around the Croydon district. One of the regular complaints raised with my office is the appalling state of the VicRoads-managed roads and centre median strips in the area. I have written to the minister on several occasions to raise the lack of any maintenance on the median strips and have received a stock-standard response that effectively states that this is not a priority for the government.

If this is the case, I would therefore hope that priority be given to the incredibly poor state of our roads, particularly Hull Road. Hull Road is a major connecting road from Croydon to Mooroolbark and is used by cars, trucks and buses all day, every day. The road condition deteriorates daily and is seriously dangerous to drive on, particularly when drivers are swerving to avoid potholes, which can cause damage to their vehicle, and sometimes swerving onto the wrong side of the road. Local online public noticeboards are littered with irate drivers who cannot understand why proper repairs are not carried out. Randomly, road crews will come along and fill the holes with a temporary solution, but with the amount of traffic that travels this road every day this only lasts a couple of days before the holes reappear.

The district of Croydon is the gateway to the Dandenongs, and with the current poor state of the median strips and the degrading roads this gateway is currently not looking its best. Minister, I urge you to make the roads you are responsible for in Croydon a priority and fix them.