Wednesday, 7 February 2024

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:30): (676) My adjournment is to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for the minister to revisit the planned upgrade works along Ballarto Road in Skye with me to ensure the local CFA-requested controlled intersection at Potts Road and Ballarto Road is fixed quickly so that there is a safer mode of exit for all vehicles and less lengthy time delays, particularly for CFA emergency vehicles. The intersection along Potts Road, with the CFA fire station situated on its south-western corner, currently relies on an outdated and dangerous ‘Stop’ and ‘Give way’ sign system and has been overlooked in the current planned upgrade project. The intersection on the south-west corner of Ballarto Road currently has outdated, as I said, ‘Stop’ and ‘Give way’ signs. This system poses safety concerns, particularly for parents of schoolchildren who frequent the intersection for daily drop-offs and pick-ups at Skye Primary School. There is also a nearby school called Flinders college. There are also heavy haulage vehicles heading into the Quarry Road site in Langwarrin which use this intersection.

The Australian federal government co-funded a $36.5 million project together with the Victorian government. The federal government was going to provide $30 million; the state government was going to put in $6.5 million, but of course now we have Labor at both ends, in federal and state government. The project on Ballarto Road between Seaford and Skye has been described as:

… an important east–west link from Frankston–Dandenong Road to Western Port Highway, with approximately 18,000 vehicles using this busy road every day.

Why then has this most important intersection been overlooked? According to the Skye CFA, under the existing traffic management system even emergency vehicles with lights and sirens at code 1 experience delays at this intersection. ‘Our brigade’, they say, ‘has encountered numerous new issues over the years,’ emphasising the urgency of upgrading this intersection to guarantee the safety of not only our first responders but the community they serve.

The Skye CFA has said that its primary concern is the missed opportunity to transform the Potts Road and Ballarto Road intersection into a controlled intersection, a change that would not only enhance safety for the community but also ensure efficient response times when responding to emergencies for our volunteer firefighters stationed at Skye CFA. I look forward to the response from the minister and also visiting this CFA with the minister – and the intersection which I have now named.