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Thursday, 16 August, 2018
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■ Monash may be better, but local roads are still clogged, so let’s...
Finish the job! By Andrew Cantwell
Traffic chaos on Thompsons Road in Cranbourne North is a regular headache for motorists. 163062 Narrow, bordered by power lines and drains and the scenes of frequent accidents, roads like Clyde Road have been shamefully neglected in the haste for urban expansion. While in Lyndhurst, the increasing number of motorists on their daily commute means speeds along the ever-busy Thompsons Road drop to almost a third of normal travel speeds in peak times. Nearby Pound Road is little better. Our suburban arterials are woefully inadequate for the volume of traffic trying to take advantage of the new Monash lanes and speed limits. And there are few workable alternative
routes for when the Monash is out of action. A recent crash on the Monash near Beaconsfield brought Melbourne-bound traffic to a stop, while outbound traffic came to a crawl as motorists slowed to cop a look at the wreckage. There is much work to be done. And we want your help in pushing government to commit to prioritising works in the South Eastern growth areas, where some of Australia’s fastest growing suburbs and municipalities are located. In the lead-up to the State Election on 24 November, we’re asking you to list the roads you consider the most congested in the South East.
FACTORY DIRECT BLINDS FOR LESS
Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS We intend to share your pain with the parties and contenders vying for your vote and ask what they intend to do about it. Each and every week until the election we’re going to share your stories, ask the hard questions of government, the parties and the candidates, and then share their responses with you. The South East needs a better deal on roads, deserves a better deal and must get proper and appropriate financial commitments from those who seek power in your name. We’ll do our best to find out what’s on offer, and your votes can help seal the deal. Turn to pages 4-5 for more.
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In July, the State Government proudly trumpeted that the Monash was open for business - all lanes on the $400m revamp open and speeds were back to 100km/h … you could have been forgiven for thinking all our transport woes were solved. But ask any commuter in the South East who relies on access to the Monash, who weaves their way through suburban ratruns, cramped side streets and traffic bottlenecks to either start or end their daily commute or who try to get their kids dropped off or picked up at school times … the work on fixing our roads is far from finished. Congested feeder roads and side streets waste hours - and collectively, years - of people’s lives each week in an issue that has long been identified as critical to the productivity and prosperity of workers and businesses alike. Each working day in the South East, the stress is written afresh on the faces of thousands of annoyed and helpless drivers. In Pakenham, recent freeway works to install on-ramp signals has meant traffic in the morning peak is now banked up along Cardinia and McGregor roads - back to the Princes Highway at times - as commuters queue to await their turn at the lights. The on-ramp lights are an added frustration to motorists already fed up with having to negotiate the level crossings on those roads - a situation that is bound to get worse when the Metro Trains marshalling yards at Pakenham East are opened. Around Berwick and Cranbourne, roads which were built many decades ago and that were suited to orchards, market gardens, horse paddocks and hobby farming, are now asked to handle traffic from ever-expanding housing estates.
FRANCHISEE OF THE YEAR WINNER 2018
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