By Ewen McRae
A large electronic advertising sign is set to be installed on the Hopkins Road overpass of the Western Highway, following a ruling by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Advertising company JCDecaux Australia received a permit for the sign from Melton council in November, 2018, but the decision was taken to VCAT by Maple Media, which claimed the sign did not comply with the council’s polices for signage and would affect road safety.
The sign was proposed to be 14.28×3.363 metres with an active screen measuring 39.93 square metres.
Maple Media claimed the sign presented a safety issue and would distract drivers, with the Western Highway considered a “black spot area” after three casualty crashes in the past five years.
But VCAT member Katherine Paterson concluded that the sign would comply with the council’s advertising signage policy and said that while the road was technically in a black spot, the type of road had to be factored in.
“Whether the road is a local street or a freeway, if there have been three crashes it is considered to be a black spot,” she said.
“If this was a local road it would be a cause for concern, however as it is a freeway that carries approximately 28,000 vehicles per day, in that context, three crashes between 2015-2018 is not significant.”
A permit was granted for the sign for a period of 15 years.
