Friday, 14 November 2025

 Jess WILSON (Kew) (17:18): (1413) My adjournment is to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I am seeking is the urgent prioritisation of road safety upgrades in the electorate of Kew. I have raised these issues time and time again in this place, and I have been repeatedly told by the minister that these upgrades will be considered as part of future road upgrades in the area. But the people of Kew need these upgrades now; they cannot wait until after someone gets hurt and the department is then forced to prioritise us.

First, there is the Willsmere Road and Earl Street roundabout, where traffic volume continues to grow through this intersection, particularly as we see the North East Link construction continue and more and more traffic coming off the Eastern Freeway. It is becoming harder and harder for pedestrians to cross here, as well as for motorists to safely navigate turning onto these roads at peak hour due to traffic banking up. This intersection is near the very popular Willsmere Village and the Willsmere community gardens near Kew East Primary School and many other local primary schools, meaning that families need to cross this road every single day to get to school. But the minister continues to advise me they do not propose to make any immediate modifications to this site. This is despite the fact that I know the Labor member for the Southern Metropolitan Region Mr Batchelor in the other place recently visited the site to hear from residents about the safety issues and undertook to speak to the minister, and still there is no action from the Labor government. Once again I urge the minister to direct the department to install a much-needed pedestrian crossing along Earl Street, making sure the roundabout is safe for pedestrians, for young people, for children and for the elderly, because it simply is not safe now.

The stretch of Barkers Road between Glenferrie Road and Auburn Road near Methodist Ladies’ College has no pedestrian crossing. I know the member for Hawthorn and I have sponsored a petition that has seen thousands of locals ask time and time again for the government to prioritise a simple pedestrian crossing for the many, many, many hundreds of school students that use this road every single day. There are a local cafe that people cross the road to try to get to, MLC and kindergartens. It is simply not safe. School students deserve a safe place to cross the road, and local residents are calling on this government time and time again to give some fair funding and install this upgrade.

Finally, the 16 tram terminus on the corner of Glenferrie and Cotham roads is not safe. We know this from local school students repeatedly saying there are near misses every single day. The minister needs to upgrade this pedestrian crossing intersection as soon as possible, listen to local residents and actually ensure that the electorate of Kew gets its fair funding when it comes to road safety upgrades and the importance of pedestrian crossings.