A set of traffic lights has been installed at the intersection of Wallace Avenue and Boardwalk Boulevard in Point Cook.
I’m a regular user of Wallace Avenue and, while it can sometimes be a little difficult to turn right at that junction, anyone with half a brain and a head that swivels both ways can manage it.
There are rarely more than five cars queued and I’ve never seen or heard about any major traffic accidents there.
So, who made the decision to stick another set of traffic lights in?
I say ‘another’ because there are now four sets of traffic lights in a 1.2-kilometre stretch from the top of the overpass to Dunnings Road.
It should take two minutes to drive that stretch, but regularly takes at least twice that. The new set of lights will probably triple it.
What have they been put there for? Is it forward planning for traffic that will come from the new Williams Landing train station?
Or another half-baked attempt to ease congestion? If anyone thinks sticking another set of traffic lights in will make us happier commuters, they’re delusional.
Try duplicating existing roads, building new ones and adding reliable, regular public transport.
Roads such as Forsyth Road, a mere 800 metres away, is used by more than 40,000 cars daily.
Despite these incredible numbers, there’s still no proper intersection where Forsyth meets Old Geelong Road, meaning many of us risk life, limb and the duco just to turn a corner.
We’ve put up with poor traffic planning for too long. Put the money where it will do the most good.
Emma Sutcliffe is a freelance writer. You can find her on Facebook at ‘Little River Emma’.
