The proposed intersection changes at Tarneit Road, Princes Highway and Wattle Avenue have been slammed by a resident as a “cheap, stupid and uncaring” idea.
If the suggested recommendations made by the Department of Transport are adopted, residents travelling southbound on Tarneit Road will not be able to continue forward to Wattle Avenue, and the through-lane option will form a second right turn lane onto the Princes Highway.
Werribee resident Herb Gallina said the “unbelievably stupid” proposed solution would prevent people from being able to get home easily.
“[For] everyone who lives in the area of Wattle Avenue and the streets that run off it, that is one of the major ways to get [home],” he said.
“The solution to any traffic problems or congestion, should never be to stop the local traffic from getting there.”
The changes were suggested following residents’ concerns about increased traffic at the intersection.
Mr Gallina believes a main contributor to the congestion is the removal of the level crossing at Cherry Street intersection, which he said blocked a main option for motorists wanting to travel from the north end of the municipality to the south, leading them to use the intersection at Tarneit Road, Princes Highway and Wattle Avenue.
“If they close [Wattle Avevue], we’ll have to turn right and go down to Tower Road, and you’d have to go around the block and drive another couple of kilometres to get home,” he said.
“That’s exactly what everyone else is going to do, people who have been going down Wattle Avenue are going to go down Tower Road now.
“You’re just moving the problem and making several thousand residents insanely upset by the whole situation.”
A Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said community feedback would play an important role in shaping the department’s decision on the proposed changes to the intersection.”
“We will carefully consider the in-person and online feedback and we will keep the community informed about the outcome,” the spokesperson said.
