By Alesha Capone
The Point Cook Action Group is urging authorities to further upgrade the intersection of Point Cook and Sneydes roads at the same time as resurfacing works, set to take place later this year.
Resurfacing of Point Cook Road, from Sneydes Road to the freeway overpass, is set to take place later this year as part of the state government’s $1.8 billion Western Roads Upgrade.
Point Cook Action Group president Bob Fairclough said that it would make sense to install traffic lights and add an extra lane at the intersection while the road was resurfaced.
Mr Fairclough said motorists waiting to turn right at the intersection often “lost patience”.
“I believe people are taking their lives into their hands when they use this intersection – we really feel this upgrade is vital,” he said.
“It’s one of the major issues we are receiving feedback from Point Cook residents on. It’s a very dangerous intersection.”
The group last month launched a campaign advocating for the intersection to be upgraded, printing 500 postcards which state that an “urgent fix” is needed “in order to prevent a fatal accident at the intersection”.
The postcards were distributed at Point Cook cafes and the Point Cook Pop-Up Park, for residents to collect and send to the state government in Spring Street.
Wyndham council has included a request for the intersection to be upgraded in its submission on the state government’s 2019-20 budget.
On March 30, paramedics were called to a multi-vehicle accident at the intersection about 8.40am. An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said a woman aged in her 50s and a man aged in his 70s were taken to Footscray Hospital with upper body injuries.
Altona MP Jill Hennessy said that she had raised the matter of the intersection with the roads minister.
“I am committed to working with the government to ensure that the intersection at Point Cook and Sneydes roads is upgraded for the safety of the community,” she said.
A VicRoads spokesperson said: “We’ve heard from the local community about how we can improve traffic flow and safety on Point Cook Road.
“We continue to work closely with Wyndham City Council on a number of potential road safety improvements for the Point Cook Road corridor, including at the Point Cook Road and Sneydes Road intersection.”
