A local man wants the state government to alter the Palmers Road and Dohertys Road junction in Truganina due to a bottleneck caused by one road being wider than the other.
Upgrades to the intersection in 2021 included a cycling overpass, new traffic lights and the widening of sections of Palmers and Dohertys roads.
According to Chaitanya Chalasani, the decision to not widen Dohertys west of Palmers has made the intersection dangerous and difficult to pass through.
“They should have been upgraded at the same time, or at least have sections shut off,” he said.
“Sometimes it takes more than 20 minutes just to cross that section and it is a major bottleneck.”
“If an ambulance had to enter the intersection, it would be disastrous especially during peak hours.
“So what people are doing is trying to enter the Shell servo to short cut the intersection– then it only adds to the danger when they enter back onto the road.”
Mr Chalasani said the current bottleneck is made more dangerous due to the high volume of trucks in Truganina that compete with local traffic.
“It is a major spot for trucks as it is a logistics hub and what people do is they try and take short cuts,” he said.
“When I am around trucks, especially when they are merging at the point Dohertys forms one lane, I feel like my heart is racing because my car is a sedan and they are huge and surround me.
“Either they have to widen the whole section [of Dohertys Road], or they have to close or remove some entry and exit points that lead into Dohertys.”
A Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said the current junction was designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians, motorists and freight in a safe manner.
“As part of the Western Roads Upgrade, Dohertys Road was upgraded between Palmers Road and Grieve Parade to provide safer and more reliable journeys for drivers, pedestrians and freight operators,” the spokesperson said.
“We will consider upgrades to Dohertys Road west of Palmers Road as part of future network planning.”
