Wednesday, 18 June 2025

 Anthony CIANFLONE (Pascoe Vale) (19:20): (1200) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for the minister to provide an update on the work the Victorian Labor government is doing to improve road safety across Pascoe Vale, Coburg and parts of Brunswick West, including along Cumberland Road in Pascoe Vale. Since being elected, we have continued to invest in improving road safety throughout my community. We have delivered the Upfield level crossing removals project, which has removed the level crossings at Moreland Road, Reynard Street, Munro Street and Bell Street, getting rid of those dangerous level crossings once and for all. Introducing the active transport world-class corridor through central Coburg is part of that project of course. We continue to work on extending the Upfield shared trail all the way to the M80 ring-road, with construction due to commence there later on this year.

Construction is currently underway along Gaffney Street all the way down the hill between Cumberland Road and Pascoe Vale Road to improve safety for Pascoe Vale Primary School families, namely, and people going to the Pascoe Vale station. We have provided funding to Merri-bek council to fix up the Landells Road and Essex Street intersection as well. We have improved safety along the Derby Street corridor for active transport users. We have allocated $1.25 million for Nicholson Street to install safer speed and road safety measures. The Bell Street bridge, for Coburg High families, has had speeds reduced to school speed limits during school hours. And of course we are currently undertaking a road safety review, a holistic review, of Melville Road, which will include the likelihood of a speed reduction to 50 kilometres as a standard speed limit and extended 40-kilometre school speed zones along that corridor. But of course there is much more to do, including along the Cumberland Road corridor, which connects people from Bell Street to Boundary Road, from south to north. It connects people as well to the Tullamarine Freeway in the south and also to the vital links of Gaffney Street and Sydney Road corridors further to the north. It traverses and connects locals with the Pascoe Vale RSL, Pascoe Vale Primary School, Pascoe Vale train station, Strathmore college, St Oliver Plunkett Primary School, the local shops at Gaffney Street and Kent Road, the Pascoe Vale Community Centre, the Sussex Neighbourhood House, the Pascoe Vale Outdoor Pool, the Pascoe Vale Senior Citizens Centre, Jack & Daisy cafe and the Carson Cafe. There are five local early childhood centres or kinders along that corridor as well, and also the Cole Reserve sporting precinct, Pascoe Vale Girls College and Westbreen college. It is a busy corridor indeed.

Previously it was former member for Pascoe Vale Christine Campbell who helped secure the funding to fix up the O’Hea Street intersection with a signalised crossing. But there is more to do. Since the COVID-19 pandemic locals have experienced increased traffic volumes and congestion. More vehicles are undertaking speeding and hazardous driving behaviour and more rat-running in local streets like Westgate Street, Eastgate Street, York Street, Wills Street, Milton Street, Myer Street, Hayward Street and Anderson Street. Locals will welcome a number of new initiatives being considered to make the corridor safer for all, including safer speeds, the potential reduction to 50 ‍kilometres as a new standard speed limit, enhanced safer pedestrian crossings along the corridor and potential opportunities for new pedestrian crossings further north, particularly at the Pascoe Vale pool and Cole Reserve end of the corridor.