Tuesday, 31 March 2026

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (18:19): (2454) My adjournment matter is for the Premier, and the action that I seek is for the Premier to work with the Minister for Transport Infrastructure to immediately upgrade the boom gates at the Donnybrook Road level crossing and to work with the Minister for Roads and Road Safety to connect existing sections of Cameron Street and also extend it to Merriang Road to provide an alternative entry and exit point to the estates along Donnybrook Road.

Donnybrook residents were thrown into chaos yesterday afternoon when the boom gates at the Donnybrook station level crossing failed at about 3:30 pm. Right in the middle of the school pick-up rush the boom gate stopped working, forcing traffic to back up in both directions all the way back onto the Hume Freeway on the west side and all the way to the Epping Road roundabout on the east side. There was havoc at local schools as children were let out of class, but parents were not there to pick up the kids because they were stuck in the traffic. One student who caught the bus to a local stop where she usually meets her mother was frightened and worried when her mother was nowhere in sight and did not know what to do. This was incredibly stressful for parents and kids, and teachers had to set up temporary waiting areas to oversee the children and keep them calm.

This was not the first time the boom gates failed this month. It was not the second or third or even fifth time. Residents tell me this is a regular occurrence, and the 10th time in the past couple of weeks alone that these boom gates have failed. Donnybrook Road is already notorious for terrible traffic congestion every morning and every evening. The traffic traps commuters in their cars for an extra 45 minutes or an hour and robs them of time that should be spent with their families. Official advice was given that residents should avoid Donnybrook Road and use alternate routes, but for people who live in the estates along Donnybrook Road or send their kids to Donnybrook Primary School, there is only one road in and out of the estates. This means that every time the boom gates fail or there is a vehicle breakdown or a collision blocking the road, no-one can get into their estate and back home. Yesterday the boom gates were locked in their lowered position blocking traffic for about 2 hours after they failed, which residents tell me is the average repair time. This is not just some minor inconvenience. People are thinking about selling their homes and getting out of Donnybrook because the local road network is so bad, it is destroying their quality of life.

Upgrading the boom gates at the level crossing should have been done long ago, but it is an easy fix and can be done immediately. More concerning is the urgent need for an alternative road into and out of the estates at Cameron Street or Gunns Gully Road. There are many sections of Cameron Street that already exist, but they need to be joined up to provide a link to Merriang Road and to the Hume Freeway. This is not an impossible task and would provide a relatively quick solution to the road problem. Unfortunately the Labor government has ignored all calls by me and Mr Mulholland to provide alternate entry and exit points that would provide both safety and convenience to the residents of Donnybrook estates.