Fatima Halloum
The Werribee Main Road and Princes Freeway interchange could soon be set for improvement as the state government seeks feedback for potential upgrades.
The changes are hoped to reduce congestion, improve travel times and increase connectivity at the busy intersection.
Major Road Projects Victoria are seeking comments from the community about how the interchange is currently used, the possible impacts and any useful suggestions, to help shape planning and development options.
Wyndham resident Phil Farrelly said he purposely avoids the intersection as often as he can.
“All the upgrades they’ve done so far have made it worse. The main problem I see is the lack of pedestrian overpass, going from the station through to the schools,” he said.
“In the morning you have 500 kids trying to cross the road in amongst the traffic, it’s chaos and dangerous.”
Mr Farrelly said Wyndham’s roads could benefit from adopting strategies used overseas to reduce traffic and pedestrian crossover.
“I’ve travelled in Europe and Asia and they’re really big on separating pedestrians and traffic. Over here we put in a cheap set of lights which interrupts traffic flow, instead of building overpasses for pedestrians.”
Mr Farrelly believes there are other roads in Wyndham also in desperate need of upgrades.
“Another really dangerous place is the Caltex off the freeway in Werribee. The traffic is banked up for nearly a kilometre in the evenings and I’ve seen so many near accidents there, it’s just a matter of time before someone gets injured or killed.
While Mr Farrelly agrees community consultation should be part of the process, the final decision should be pondered by professionals.
“At the end of the day you expect them to know what needs to be done, the community are not road experts.”
Residents and business owners can complete a community survey online or attend community information sessions to have their say on the proposed upgrades.
