Re the proposal to build 59 residences on the parcel of land at 3 Tower Road; The only available exit from that property is directly into Tower Road. Sadly, this will create a vehicle bottleneck for anyone wishing to head into Werribee township from Tower Road. For those living along Tower Road and its environs, they will experience a substantial increase in road traffic from the new residents heading towards Melbourne. The blocking off of the Tower Road/Princes Highway exit for vehicles wishing to travel towards Melbourne was a great idea safety wise, but unfortunately it meant quite a detour for folk who live in Tower Road and all the streets that run off or into it. It would have been far wiser to leave the exit as it was and move the traffic lights and intersection at Kelly Park back to the Tower Road exit. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen. Doubly unfortunate is that this happened at the same time that the railway overpass replacing the Cherry Street crossing occurred. This generated extra traffic down Wattle Avenue which is now the safest exit for Tower Road and environs users heading towards Melbourne or Derrimut Road. For residents of Wattle Avenue and Slattery Street they will also experience an additional increase in road traffic from those new residents coming from the city or Derrimut Road.
These streets were not designed for such traffic. It was only 11 years ago that Tower Road was narrowed to ensure it remained a residential street. As for the narrow Slattery Street, which is the new thoroughfare for Tower Road residents travelling home from the East, there are no footpaths. Cars often park in the street resulting in pedestrians having to venture further onto the road and frequently blindly! Increased traffic due to the changes made by Vic Roads will surely result in an accident soon enough and yet our voices go unnoticed; and now Wyndham Council is considering a development that adds even more traffic to this area?
I appreciate that Wyndham Council must be quite delighted in not only finding a use for this prime parcel of land that once belonged to the State Rivers, but also the revenue that 59 new residences will provide by way of rates. However, it would be really conscionable if Council could examine the proposal objectively, recognise the critical traffic problems it will add to and seek out an alternative solution that is a win for all.
I have no choice but to consciously object to the proposal as I see no community benefit from it and only traffic problems and potential traffic accidents down the track. With limited accessibility /access /egress there is also the possibility of a ghetto being created. For Tower Road residents I see only increased traffic, noise and bottlenecks.
By way of offering an alternative, please consider the aforementioned proposal of moving the lights and crossing currently at Kelly Park and repositioning these at Tower Road. This would solve many problems; allow the proposal to go ahead safely, reduce the traffic on Wattle Avenue and Slattery Street, remove the dog’s breakfast intersection for Jellicoe Street, reduce the traffic and noise on Tower Road and basically make everyone’s life easier and happier! Then again, I am no traffic designer, but maybe it can be looked into?
