A local advocacy group has welcomed Melton’s council’s inclusion of a road safety upgrade on Leakes Road in Rockbank in its draft budget, but is continuing in its fight for traffic lights at a notorious interchange.
Council os proposing to allocate $220,000 to design a roundabout and raised pedestrian crossing at the Leakes Road and Westcott Parade intersection in Rockbank, pending adoption of the draft budget later this month.
In a Facebook post, from Melton councillor Phillip Zada said the inclusion follows a motion he raised earlier this year to fast-track safety improvements in the area.
“Waiting for traffic lights from the state shouldn’t mean doing nothing in the meantime,” Cr Zada said in the post.
He said the roundabout will reduce collisions and dangerous U-turns.
Local advocacy group Leakes Needs Lights advocates for traffic lights at the Leakes Road on and off-ramps to the Western Freeway in Rockbank, and member Donna Southern said the roundabout budget inclusion is “a step in the right direction regarding better safety“.
“Personally, I’m very happy to have a roundabout put in there because it’s a very dangerous intersection … whilst it’s not a silver bullet, it’s not a hundred-per-cent solution,” Ms Southern said.
“Also, the pedestrian crossing is a must-have, absolutely essential for that intersection … every day at that intersection there’s people trying to cross the road to get to the train station … I actually witnessed one lady get clipped by a car.“
Ms Southern said the group is continuing to advocate for the traffic lights.
“We are still pushing to get even temporary traffic lights in the interim, because it really is a death trap trying to get out of there,” she said.
“It’s not really fit for purpose any more that little road … in Victoria’s Big Build as part of the broader Western Freeway upgrade, we’d like to see the Leakes Road intersection be prioritised.”
Melton mayor Steve Abboushi said the council is “hopeful” that the Leakes Road interchange traffic lights will be considered as part of $1 billion in federal funding to upgrade the Western Highway between Caroline Springs and Melton and is awaiting details from the state.
“We will continue to advocate on behalf of our residents for the upgrades needed to make the Western Highway safer for all,” Cr Abboushi said.
A state government spokesperson said that planning work for the Western Freeway Upgrade between Melton and Caroline Springs is progressing, and the government is “identifying the highest priority areas of the freeway to be upgraded and determining how the upgrade could be staged for construction.”
Star Weekly understands that upgrading existing interchanges – including at Leakes Road – has been among the upgrade options explored by the state.
