SUBMISSION NO: 322 - ATTACHMENT 3

VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS ENGAGEMENT FEEDBACK ANALYSIS REPORT

SEPTEMBER 2017 CONFIDENTIAL

Country Roads Engagement Feedback Analysis Report

VicRoads

WSP Level 15, 28 Freshwater Place Southbank VIC 3006

Tel: +61 3 9861 1111 Fax: +61 3 9861 1144 wsp.com

REV DATE DETAILS A 08/09/2017 Draft

B 18/09/2017 Final

C 26/09/2017 Revised Final

This document may contain confidential and legally privileged information, neither of which are intended to be waived, and must be used only for its intended purpose. Any unauthorised copying, dissemination or use in any form or by any means other than by the addressee, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this document in error or by any means other than as authorised addressee, please notify us immediately and we will arrange for its return to us.

2271547A-STE-REP-001 RevC Confidential September 2017

TABLE OF 1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1 1.1 Document purpose ...... 1 CONTENTS 2 KEY MESSAGES TO VICROADS ...... 3

3 FEEDBACK THEMES ...... 4 3.1 Road condition and maintenance ...... 4 3.1.1 Freight and truck movements ...... 4 3.1.2 Maintenance ...... 5 3.1.3 Vehicle damage ...... 6 3.1.4 Roadside vegetation ...... 6 3.2 Freight movements ...... 6 3.3 Tourism ...... 7 3.3.1 Driver behaviour ...... 7 3.3.2 Safety and access restrictions ...... 8 3.3.3 Maintenance ...... 8 3.4 Road safety ...... 8 3.5 Future priorities ...... 9 3.6 Perception of VicRoads ...... 9

4 REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY ...... 11

LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Summary of activities ...... 2 Table 4.1 Key themes level of interest by region (number of comments) ...... 11 Table 4.2 Regional key engagement feedback ...... 11

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1 Summary of engagement feedback by theme ...... 4

LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A Localised feedback

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 DOCUMENT PURPOSE

This document provides a summary and analysis of the engagement outcomes from the Country Roads Engagement Program undertaken by VicRoads, between 12 February and 13 August 2017, across nine regional areas in Victoria: Barwon, Central Highlands, Gippsland, Goulburn, Great South Coast, Loddon Campaspe, Mallee, Ovens Murray and Wimmera Southern Mallee. It provides a summary of stakeholder feedback classified by key themes and highlights key messages from the community. As part of the country roads program, between 12 February and 13 August 2017, VicRoads conducted a state-wide regional engagement program to gather community input and ideas on how to better plan, build, manage and maintain country arterial roads in Victoria. Involving nine Regional Partnership regions, the engagement process was designed to be explorative and in accordance with VicRoads’ aim of having community engagement as a continual component of VicRoads initiatives. The engagement approach focussed on encouraging community participation to influence decisions about required upgrades across Victoria country roads and sought to identify the main challenges and opportunities that local communities experience when using the country roads and transport network. The engagement program included several engagement activities, which are summarised in Table 1.1.

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Table 1.1 Summary of activities

ACTIVITY PURPOSE TARGET AUDIENCE NO OF PARTICIPATION NUMBERS ACTIVITIES EngageVicRoads Encourage state-wide feedback on key issues Residents residing in regional 1 — 430 participants online platform associated with country roads on an interactive map areas, or using regional road — 949 comments and 1635 votes networks — 10,000 unique views — 3,343 map views — 980 downloads of the Conversation Starter1 Great South Coast Gather stakeholder feedback regarding regional roads Residents and road users in the 3 — 64 participants engagement Great South Coast region — 185 comments Community forums Identify community concerns, areas of interest, ideas, Regional community members 8 — 242 participants and comments regarding the country road network — 676 comments Stakeholder meetings Share information with key stakeholders and discuss Key stakeholders2 12 — 91 participants issues and concerns regarding the country road network — 71 comments Stakeholder forums Gather stakeholder input on key topics 3 As above 15 — 905 comments — 209 participants Email submissions Seek public feedback regarding Victoria country roads Regional community members, 42 — 42 emails special interest groups VicRoads and Facilitate discussion and exchange of information to VicRoads staff and 30 — 47 Participants Transport for Victoria identify concerns and gather specific input on country representatives from Transport for — 112 comments staff insights roads Victoria Facebook Facilitate interactive communication and public Victorian residents 1 — 277 participants commenting to gather information regarding issues and — 350 comments perceptions from the stakeholders

1 Available at https://engage.vicroads.vic.gov.au/countryroads/news_feed/discussion-paper 2 Key stakeholders included: freight operators, transport industry, businesses, tourism operators, special interest groups, road users, cyclists, motorcycle groups, government agencies, Regional Development Victoria, Regional Cities Victoria and Victorian Farmers Federation 3 Key topics included: Growing our regions; Reducing lives lost on country roads; Building a more resilient and reliable country road network; Growing regional economies through improved and efficient freight access; Enhancing regional Victoria as a tourist destination

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2 KEY MESSAGES TO VICROADS A number of key messages emerged from the country roads engagement. These are summarised below.

— Across all regions, country roads are viewed as being in poor condition. Freight and truck movements, poor long- term maintenance regimes and funding for country roads are seen as key contributing factors to deteriorating road condition.

— The freight industry is viewed as playing a critical role in the lives of rural communities and economies. Roads need to be upgraded to support efficient movement, enhance accessibility to regional areas and markets and manage competing interests of road users.

— Poor road condition is seen to have direct impacts on the productivity of the regional economy. It results in inefficient freight movement and accessibility, greater need for vehicle repairs, and produce damage during transportation to market.

— The country road network plays a significant role in regional tourism. To ensure regional tourism opportunities are realised, roads must be properly maintained to enable safe and clear access to all areas and tourism destinations.

— Maintenance of the country road network needs to meet the growing demand of the tourism and agricultural industries. Challenges currently faced on the country road network include increasing size of truck loads and freight movements, increasing numbers of regional cyclists and domestic and international tourists.

— Driver behaviour presents a number of safety risks on country roads and solutions including improved signage and driver awareness and education campaigns should be considered in future planning and maintenance regimes.

— Currently, the country road network does not offer appropriate infrastructure for shared use, including cyclists and pedestrians. The installation of shared paths and dedicated lanes to address safety concerns should be considered in future planning.

— The approach to ongoing maintenance of the country road network is a state-wide concern. Where possible, VicRoads should work in partnership with local councils, government, economic development groups, regional transport working groups and key transport agencies to plan for and coordinate long-term planning and prioritisation of key upgrade and maintenance requirements.

— There is some support for exploring alternate funding sources to contribute to the maintenance of country roads. This could include levies on major freight companies, and fees for key regional industries who frequently use the country road network.

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3 FEEDBACK THEMES The following section provides a themed summary of stakeholder feedback received during the country roads engagement program. The below figure indicates the prevalence of each identified theme in the engagement feedback.

Tourism Freight 5%(163) Other topics 8% (276) 10% (337)

Future Priorities 14% (468) Road Safety 20% (652)

Road Maintenance 43% (1417)

Figure 3.1 Summary of engagement feedback by theme

3.1 ROAD CONDITION AND MAINTENANCE The condition and maintenance of country roads was a strong theme throughout the engagement program. Participants discussed impacts of freight and truck movements on the country road network, road maintenance and upgrade requirements, vehicle damage due to poorly maintained roads and roadside vegetation.

3.1.1 FREIGHT AND TRUCK MOVEMENTS Freight and truck movements on country roads, and the impacts of ‘‘I'd like to see companies using some of these movements on road condition was a significant issue for their profits to fix the roads and the residents across the majority of the nine regions. Concerns regarding problems they've caused. I'm actually a truck environmental impacts and amenity impacts from the noise of engine driver that carts their products and I'm a breaks were highlighted by Great South Coast community forum little frustrated at the lack of concern about participants as key issues. the problems they've caused’ (Facebook comment). In Gippsland, community forum participants discussed how the weight of trucks resulted in wide-spread damage to the regional road network. Debris left behind by truck hauling sand was also identified as an issue. Others suggested that existing lanes are not wide enough for freight and resulted in increased risks associated with overtaking.

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Central Highlands community forums participants spoke of the conflicting use between truck drivers, private cars and cyclists. They expressed a need for more education for truck drivers sharing the road with other drivers and cyclists. However, others felt that residents should consider greater rail travel to free up roads for freight movement. Participants at the Wimmera Southern Mallee stakeholder forums reflected on the changing needs of the farming industry in the use of the country road network, noting how industry increases in size and production levels are driving greater demand for bigger and heavier machinery to transport goods through the region to market. One trucking representative suggested that moving heavy vehicles off the road would result in savings that could be put towards rail rather than road maintenance. Also, it was suggested that there is incompatibility between tourism and trucks in the region and the roads due to narrow lanes and lack of overtaking lanes. Freight industry representatives also stated the need to have wider lanes for trucks and the need for better access and connectivity to the region to increase productivity. Some participants suggested control measures to address some of the issues associated with freight and truck movements. These included curfews for trucks, rail replacement freight movements and charging freight companies to pay for road maintenance. Other participants were concerned about safety issues related to trucks moving through residential or community roads to avoid using highways that may be in poor condition. As explained by an industry representative, this is due to the inadequacy of country roads to respond to the freight industry's needs: ‘As a Machinery Dealer in Warracknabeal I find it absolutely frustrating to move machine from one side of town to the other. Our machines are getting bigger and wider every year and we are stuck with a Bridge [Rainbow Road Bridge] that can't even handle a FWD Tractor on Duals. Our only option is to go through the centre of town and contend with power lines and more people which is not only a traffic hazed but dangerous to the public’ (Engage VicRoads Wimmera Southern).

3.1.2 MAINTENANCE Road condition and maintenance were the most frequently raised issues across all nine regions. Stakeholder and community ‘Local government roads are in very poor condition and need more funding to manage participants particularly commented on the lack of adequate this. This is an issue see all over the state. resources for road maintenance throughout the country road network, VicRoads arterial roads are mostly in good particularly in the case of roads maintained by local councils. One condition but when leaving these roads (it) participant from the South West Roads forum shared: becomes an issue with transport, business, family, jobs, tourism and safety’ (Mallee ‘‘The state of the roads in this area of Vic [Moyne Shire] in stakeholder forum). particular is deplorable and shameful. Instead of repairs 80 km/h zones pop up which frustrate motorists even further because no one in government seems to understand how utterly dismayed we are down here that roads are chronically underfunded in this region…’ Participants shared a need for VicRoads to ‘go beyond the reactive approach and the temporary solutions (‘band-aid’ treatment), such as patching or reducing speeds, to fix and maintain the country roads’. Rather, participants felt that VicRoads needs to implement long-lasting repairs and continual maintenance to prevent future damage. Suggestions for improving road safety through maintenance and upgrades included:

— widening roads and shoulders and adding dedicated overtaking lanes to reduce dangerous driving — better maintenance of road surfaces — improved signage — improved line marking including installation of adequate fog marking — sealing country roads with granite not bitumen for increased durability and lower maintenance requirements

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3.1.3 VEHICLE DAMAGE The impacts of road condition on private and hire car damage was also a recurring theme across the majority of regions. Participants spoke of the ‘increased wear on suspension and tyre wear’ from poorly maintained and surfaced roads (Mallee community forum participant). One participant from Bairnsdale shared: ‘Parts of the roads, they’re good and there’s parts of the road that aren’t quite so good and when you get on a rough road or a corrugated bit of road, or the highways got a few pot holes in it and everything, it’s surprising the sort of damage it does to your vehicle and you’ve just got to do your maintenance every week. So, yeah, a bit of improvement in the road (would) be a big help’. A participant from the South West Roads forum shared: ‘I'm from Mount Gambier and last time I drove to Portland I hit an unmarked pothole and did $150 damage to my car and had to buy a new tyre for another $100. So now I don't go there anymore and spend my money in SA instead. There are lots of people here doing the same thing, which is a loss to the Vic economy’.

3.1.4 ROADSIDE VEGETATION Participants spoke of increasing concerns regarding overgrown vegetation during the community and stakeholder forums, including vegetation covering signs (in Anglesea and Lorne), growing on or overhanging shoulders. While some participants felt that greater effort was need to maintain roadside vegetation, others expressed the importance of protecting roadside vegetation. As shared at the Loddon Campaspe community forum: ‘There are many native and protected species emerging in the area, and mowing them stops these plants helping to diffuse oncoming headlights, acts a slowing mechanism for cars that may leave the road and will also lead to less maintenance when they shade out the grass. Mowed roadsides in regional areas mean that the introduced grasses along the sides of roads are the only green source of food for our native wildlife - attracting them to road sides to feed. Leaving road sides in their natural state would not encourage wildlife to roadsides and also preserve our native flora’.

3.2 FREIGHT MOVEMENTS

Participants recognised the role and voiced the importance of the ‘Our roads are incredibly important to … freight industry to the livelihoods of rural communities and economic growth because, you know, we’re economies. As shared by one community forum participant, ‘all agri the Victoria’s food bowl and so much of our business and farming in our area use roads to transport everything for produce is transported by road’ (Loddon their livelihood (Loddon Campaspe community forum). Similarly, in Campaspe stakeholder forum). Gippsland, participants shared ‘we’re a very freight-reliant region in moving our products around’ (Gippsland community forum). The challenges associated with freight movements on country road networks were also frequently raised across all nine regions during community and stakeholder forums, EngageVicRoads comments and via in-person feedback provided to VicRoads staff. Example comments include:

— ‘Huge volumes of trucks use [Cape Otway Road between Moriac and Princes Highway] when the road is just not built for it (…) Coming into a small town, trucks should be encouraged to use the highway and not this route’ (Engage VicRoads participant, Barwon).

— ‘The Country Roads 20-year plan should include considerations about alternative routes for heavy vehicles (particularly) out of the Gisborne CBD’ (Woodend community forum).

— ‘Due to the poor road conditions companies are taking alternate routes, ultimately increasing the cost to the business and the primary producer’ (Kerang stakeholder forum).

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— ‘The amount of trucks using [Gisborne Road north of Lebrex Road] is extremely high. There are many properties whose entrances are on this road and turning in and out of driveways and side roads has become very dangerous in certain areas (…) diverting the majority of trucks back onto highways from this rural road should be an option, but I do realise they use this road as a shortcut to/from Ballarat or Geelong’ (Engage VicRoads participant, Central Highlands).

— ‘Need a decent truck resting area. There is a large space of land between the railway line and the road that would be awesome for a big truck resting area. It would save trucks having to drive right through town to the sale-yards at night time’ (Engage VicRoads participant, Mallee). Further, as shared by Corangamite Shire Council:

— ‘The poor condition of country roads has economic impacts represented in truck tyres that last 60 per cent of their expected lifetime, brakes and suspension units being replaced twice more than five years ago, trailers cracking and needing repairs within three years despite an expected lifetime of 10-15 years’.

— ‘The road capacity, bridge and major culverts on key routes has a major impact on business productivity. There are numerous load limitations in the form of bridges, culverts and inadequate road pavements, which prevents B Doubles and Higher Mass Limit vehicles access and creates unnecessary detours and inefficiencies. It also serves as a barrier to innovation and capitalising on new and emerging technologies such as high productivity PBS and more fuel-efficient vehicles’.

— ‘Further challenges for the freight industry include accommodating the growing mass and dimensions of trucks and agricultural equipment using the road network. With the freight task expected to increase substantially in the future, unlocking key freight routes is essential’.

3.3 TOURISM

The role of the country road network in regional tourism as well as ‘Tourism generally, nature-based tourism, the impact of tourism on the safety of the country road network was food tourism, (…) are actually a really acknowledged across the majority of regions, including Barwon, important part of the economic future for Central Highlands, Gippsland, Owens Murray, Loddon Campaspe Gippsland (…) the roads network that and Mallee, amongst community forum participants and key actually enables that to happen is going to stakeholders. be really critical for the future (…) we need to understand what their patterns are and their visitor journey and then adapt to that’ 3.3.1 DRIVER BEHAVIOUR (Morwell Community forum participant). Driver behaviour and general awareness and adherence to road rules was identified as a concern amongst country residents and stakeholders. They shared, ‘tourist driver behaviour is a concern, with many international drivers not remembering to drive on the left-hand side of the road when driving along roads such as the Great Ocean Road’ (Council email). Further comments included:

— ‘Missing signs at key visitor nodes between Princetown and Boat Bay (Peterborough) causes visitor confusion and erratic driver behaviour’ (community forum participant). — There is a need for overtaking lanes and ‘speed differentials for caravans, boats, trucks. Self-drive tourists can be very dangerous, particularly during high tourist seasons’. Some suggestions to address and improve tourist driver behaviour included driver education awareness activities and programs, multilingual messaging on roads, additional signage for tourism routes and key destinations, better sharing of information via GPS and other technology, and reduced speed limits.

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3.3.2 SAFETY AND ACCESS RESTRICTIONS Residents across the regions expressed concern regarding the condition of some country roads and the associated safety risks this ‘As someone who is involved in the timber harvesting process, having these roads fixed presents to tourists and visitors. They explained how poorly properly (not just filled in) would make my maintained roads deter visitors and tourists, leading to unrealised life and many others Safer… Driving to a local and regional economic opportunities. bluegum plantation at 4am can be dangerous enough when you consider the kangaroos The opportunities and risks associated with cycling tourists in that tend to kamikaze into cars’ (Forums regional areas were also frequently raised. As shared by one Engage VicRoads South West Roads participant, ‘there is a unique opportunity in Victoria with short participant). distances between the picturesque country towns to encourage cycle tourism. Consequently, all ancillary country roads should be designed with safe shoulders for cycling and road signs erected for shared roads’ (Loddon Campaspe, Facebook). Others highlighted the importance of maintaining or building more roads to encourage tourism in regional areas and to prompt longer visits. As shared by one participant at the Gippsland community forum, ‘tourism… (is a) a really important part of the economic future for Gippsland… the linkages, the roads network that actually enables this to happen is… really critical for the future’. Throughout the engagement, a number of suggestions were made to improve safety and address accessibility for visitors and tourists. These included a more ‘consistent approach to speed limits by making them constant and road appropriate, more centre of dual roadway wire rope fences, ‘use of TSS to enforce speed limits and conditions of motor vehicles’, dedicated cycling paths to encourage destination tourism in key cycling areas, and better use of technology to reach out to road users and stakeholders who rely on GPS and smartphones for traffic information and wayfinding.

3.3.3 MAINTENANCE Maintenance of the country road network was also identified as a concern relating to regional tourism. As shared by one local council ‘The condition of these roads and the safety risks for those travelling them is a primary via email, ‘The best way VicRoads can support tourism is to provide concern. The extent of poor road conditions better pavements, have a proactive approach to roadside vegetation such as edge breaks, push outs, pavement removal such as trimming of trees, spraying and weed control, to cracking, rutting and potholes, ensure safe road edges and better sight lines’. notwithstanding the topography of the routes, means motorists drive to avoid these Wimmera stakeholder forum and Facebook participants suggested defects resulting in near-miss or actual implementing funding measures to support road maintenance, accident occurrences. (Corangamite Shire including road pricing for wind farms or big developments, and an Council, Email). ‘e-tag type charge for tourist buses using key tourist areas such as the Great Ocean Road to fund ongoing works and repairs’ (Anglesea stakeholder forum).

3.4 ROAD SAFETY

Stakeholders from the community forums across all nine regions frequently shared safety concerns associated with the country roads ‘Australian roundabouts are very dangerous network. Again, the impact of trucks on public and pedestrian safety places for cyclists. Cycling infrastructure should be built in to every road upgrade was a pertinent theme with participants sharing the importance of VicRoads undertakes in the Macedon Ranges considering the needs of all roads users, including cyclists, residents drive to avoid these defects resulting in near- and pedestrians, in road design and planning. miss or actual accident occurrences’ (Engage VicRoads participant, Loddon Safety concerns associated with cyclists was also raised by a number Campaspe). of stakeholders including the Bike Safe Macedon Ranges organisation, with some calling for dedicated cycling lanes to be added throughout the road network, especially in highly popular tourist destinations in the Loddon Campaspe region.

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As noted by one stakeholder group, adding dedicated cycling lanes would ‘avoid cyclists mixing with the very fast moving single lane traffic with nowhere to go if a car comes too close’. Others commented on the importance of cyclists needing ‘to comply with traffic regulations and should not be on highways or motorways’ due to safety. The impact of some drivers driving well under dedicated speed limits, and frequent changes to speed limits within short distances of the road network were also identified as safety concerns. Suggestions to improve safety on the country road network included:

— use of speed humps and other traffic control measures to address issues of speed — driver education and awareness initiatives — traffic signage in tourist destination areas in languages other than English — constructing bypasses in areas experiencing high freight and truck movements — focussing on improvements to ancillary roads, including upgrades to enhance pedestrian and cyclist safety — adding pedestrian crossings, reducing speed limits and adding traffic and street lights to improve pedestrian safety — greater coordination with traffic officers and police to enforce traffic rules, including adherence to ‘zipper merge’ and keeping left unless overtaking in dedicated areas.

3.5 FUTURE PRIORITIES

Engagement gathered a range of suggestions to inform future ‘Access to major supply routes is a key VicRoads priorities in planning for, maintaining and upgrading the advantage for many businesses (…) It is country road network. These are summarised below. important that road infrastructure is kept to a quality standard to facilitate easy access — Use data collected over time, as well as future condition into the region’ (Email sent by Corangamite assessment measurements, to understand and plan for the Shire Council). renewal of arterial roads back to an acceptable standard.

— Secure adequate funding and long-term commitments from government to meet the renewal of the road network in order to accommodate the growing, tourism, agribusiness and innovation economy in regional areas (Stakeholder email).

— Work to coordinate local government and VicRoads planning and funding cycles to better plan for required road upgrades (Ovens Murray stakeholder forum).

— ‘Adequately fund maintenance and upgrades to the poor road network to permit travel at 100kmh where appropriate. Reduction in speed limits, lowering limits to 70 or 80km/h on country roads hurts regional economies and does not address the deteriorating condition of the region’s state-funded network’ (Local council, email).

— ‘Better roadside drop off areas including specific bus drop off areas’ (Loddon Campaspe stakeholder forum).

3.6 PERCEPTION OF VICROADS

Perceptions of VicRoads’ engagement processes and organisational reputation gathered throughout the process were mixed. Positive feedback was more likely amongst key stakeholder groups, including councils. As shared by the Mayor of Hindmarsh Shire Council, Wimmera: ‘It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to… address some of our concerns and different areas of the state would have different concerns, so it’s fantastic that we can get our message across of what we need here and what’s relevant to our Shire’. Further positive feedback on the engagement process from the Gippsland region referred to the VicRoads staff as a ‘great group of people who actually took notes, listened to you, discussed in a very friendly manner how you thought improvements could be made, and implemented’.

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According to one participant, VicRoads is responsive in addressing community concerns and gave the example of repairs performed on Metung to Swan Reach Road which needed to be fixed due to a high number of accidents and hard to see in the fog: ‘Within weeks VicRoads had done the road! Awesome job well done thank you VicRoads’ (Facebook comment). Another participant from the Ararat community forum expressed that VicRoads is willing to listen tries to resolve concerns, such as through the overhead wildlife crossings that VicRoads is building that was product of their conversation: ‘I take my hat off to VicRoads for the time and attention that they’ve spent on all the matters that we’ve raised’. Amongst the regional community, participants also shared experiences of unattended enquiries and complaints, poor response times and short-term solutions to maintenance and upgrading of local roads. A level of distrust was also observed regarding VicRoads community engagement processes being a ‘tick the box’ exercise, when a decision had already been made: ‘Let me guess, VicRoads will hold ‘community consultation" sessions, pretend to consider the suggestions provided by locals, and then proceed with dropping the speed limit as that is the easiest and cheapest solution’ (Facebook comment). ‘No consultation with the locals. In my previous meetings with VicRoads, they have been a waste-of-time as the decisions had already been made by VicRoads’ (Facebook comment). ‘"Quick fixes" are always implemented such as grading or spot fixes but nothing resolves the actual issue of commercial heavy use of this road’ (Engage VicRoads participant, Barwon). ‘One of the problems is that the cheapest tenders are accepted to 'patch' deteriorating areas. The patchwork soon breaks down and becomes a problem. This indicates that best practice is not employed by contractors… One of the common jokes in the South West is that potholes remain for generations. If only it was a joke’ (Forum South West Roads participant). ‘The roads remind me of a third world country something which I find hard to accept given the amount of revenue VicRoads take from us at every opportunity. This begs the question that before we fix the roads should we not first fix the organisation that is responsible for them because clearly they are not doing their job properly’ (Forum South West Roads participant).

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4 REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY The Table below indicates the prevalence of each theme across the region, including the number of comments relating to each theme.

Table 4.1 Key themes level of interest by region (number of comments)

Barwon Central Highlands Gippsland Goulburn Great South Coast Loddon Campaspe Mallee Ovens Murray Wimmera Southern Mallee Regions All Forums Roads Southwest

Freight movements 6 33 42 12 10 20 36 37 37 14 29

Tourism 22 7 40 6 9 23 17 20 8 1 10

Road safety 39 15 168 22 26 126 88 76 34 15 43

Road condition and 113 79 374 43 171 148 170 135 78 11 95 maintenance

Future Priorities 54 45 72 16 45 59 68 72 11 18 8

Legend:

Strong interest (100+ comments)

Moderate interest (between 50 and 100 comments)

Limited interest (-50 comments)

A summary of key feedback and messages heard during engagement across each region is provided below. More localised information and feedback is listed in Appendix A.

Table 4.2 Regional key engagement feedback

REGION KEY MESSAGES

Barwon — Freight disturbs traffic movement through the area and contributes to congestion and road damage. — The movement of tourists through the area has increased traffic congestion and has contributed to road damage. — Road maintenance, additional lanes and signage is required at key locations to improve traffic movement and safety for road users and cyclists. — Road users and local residents have reported road damage and have requested improvements to VicRoads, but they are yet to see any improvements.

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REGION KEY MESSAGES

Central — There are obvious signs of surface damage and upgrades are required. Highlands — Freight traffic is a hazard for road users and residents of the area. Lowering the speed limit and diverting the trucks onto highways should be considered as an option. — There are several intersections that are dangerous and require improvements such as traffic lights, turning or slip lanes, nights lights. — Consideration needs to be given to cyclists requirements, including dedicated lanes. — VicRoads needs to focus on long lasting results rather than temporary repairs.

Gippsland — Country roads are heavily utilised by tourists, locals and a significant number of cyclists and need upgrades to respond to and balance the needs of these road users. — All Victorians deserve rural roads that they can rely on. The poor road conditions that users experience should be addressed. — Rural roads need to respond to the future growth of the region. — It is important that country roads are maintained so tourism destinations are well connected. Linking Phillip Island, Mount Baw Baw, Wilsons Promontory and Lakes Entrance would encourage tourists to stay more than one night in Gippsland by building a comprehensive Gippsland tourism experience. — Freight has a major impact in the region. The sand quarrying company for example causes impacts on country roads. Infrastructure needs to keep up with manufacturing industry.

Goulburn — Road maintenance and upgrades (bypass, overtaking lanes and widening of the Hume Freeway) are required in the area. — Local residents are concerned about the increased number of heavy vehicles using main residential streets resulting in noise, vibration, traffic congestion and safety issues. — Roads are patched but never properly fixed. — Country roads are not safe for pedestrian traffic.

Great South — There is a need to balance the needs of all road users, including private cars, freight, gas trucks, Coast pedestrians and cyclists. — The region receives high numbers of tourism, attracted by key tourism destinations including Shipwreck Coast and the Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road and Port Campbell National Park. This can result in traffic impacts that need to appropriately addressed. — Roads need maintenance including vegetation removal and clearing of table drains. Recent maintenance work is not enough to resolve ongoing issues. — Upgrades such as shoulders, roundabouts and overtaking lanes are required. Currently the roads in the South West especially in the Green Triangle Region are unsafe for local and tourists alike. Additional funding is required for long-term maintenance. — Reducing the speed is not the solution to ongoing traffic issues. It costs the business and resident community more in time and money. — Residents are concerned about dangerous intersections, narrow roads, poor drainage, slow repairs performed by VicRoads, and impacts of poor road conditions on buses and trucks. — The Portland Port is vital for industry and tourism and needs quality roads to connect it to the region.

Loddon — There are concerns about environmental impacts caused the removal of roadside native trees and Campaspe shrubs, groundcover and wildflowers, as it provides habitat for diverse species. — Consideration needs to be given to reduce truck movements on ancillary, country roads and through townships. Roads are not designed or suitable for B Double trucks, yet these vehicles are using the road network. — Consider a reduction of speed limit to reduce native animal roadkill. — Roads throughout the region are inconsistent for dealing with cycling and motor traffic.

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REGION KEY MESSAGES

Mallee — Country roads are too narrow for the amount of trucks that use those roads. Road maintenance and widening should be a priority. Truck resting areas need to be built. — Road maintenance must occur more frequently. Traffic lights, roundabouts, slip lanes and shoulders must be provided. — Many trucks (especially during grain harvest) and school buses use local roads. This causes safety issues for residents and results in damage to road shoulders.

Ovens Murray — B Double traffic has increased dramatically over the past 10 years and is having detrimental impacts to road condition. — Roads need to be sealed and maintained to make freight traffic more efficient. This would increase the economic benefits to the region. — Murray Valley Highway needs investment. There are very few sealed shoulders to retreat to and with the increase in caravan traffic and log trucks the risk of accidents has increased. More overtaking lanes are crucial to make this road safer. — Cycling tourism is increasing in the region and road works and maintenance need to include the shoulder of the roads to ensure it is safe for cyclists. The state should consider including dedicated cycle lanes.

Wimmera — The roads in the region are important to move grain, milk and produce from the north to markets Southern in the south and to the port. The pressure on the roads increases during the harvest season. Mallee — Alternative modes, such as rail, should be considered to move produce through the region and decrease pressure on country roads. Furthermore, truck companies could pay levies to the Council to support road maintenance. — Speed limits are a key concern and there are mixed views as to how to respond. Some suggest reducing limits to increase road users’ and wildlife safety. Others suggest to raise speed limit to increase traffic efficiency. — There are some roads that need maintenance. There are rough and uneven surfaces, potholes, cracks, lane marking are difficult to see at night time and under wet conditions, — The current condition of the roads indicates poor maintenance that does not provide long-term results. — The roads that are used by farmers and heavy loaded trucks are not always the highways, but back roads diminishing the condition of the community roads. — Council could assist producers to be located close to the terminal and reduce traffic movement through some roads. — Mobility through the region has increased for farmers that need to transport produce and large equipment between one farm to another creating additional challenges for the roads. — The roads are not wide enough to support the growing farming economy in the region.

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LOCALISED FEEDBACK

A1 LOCALISED FEEDBACK Feedback provided on EngageVicRoads included a significant amount of localised comments. These have been themed and summarised for regional use below.

REGION BARWON

Freight — Cape Otway Road between Moriac and Princes Highway is too narrow for trucks and is rough. The road is unsafe due to freight movement and poor profile. — Freight movement along Join Avalon Road up with Bellarine link via Point Henry Bay crossing. — Freight movement through the Princes Highway, Cox Road, Bacchus Marsh Road and Street. Georges Road intersection complicates the south-bound traffic from Bacchus Marsh Road and the north-bound traffic. Freight movement also causes traffic delays from Cox Road.

Tourism — Tourist travel below the recommended speed limit, causing congestion and delays and dangerous overtakes by other drivers. It is required to increase the awareness and road capability. — Lorne Great Ocean Road. Road signs need to be translated into Asian languages. Provide better signposted pull out lane. Improve cyclist safety. More signs are required on Great Ocean Road to guide tourist in the area. — Better signage is required for major tourist destinations. — The Surf Coast Highway (B100) from the railway crossing at Grovedale to Torquay is rough and bumpy. It's not a great road for tourists to the Great Ocean Road and Torquay, and for that matter for daily commuters. A sign ('Traffic Hazard Ahead') has been in place for years at Thompson's Creek. When will the hazard be fixed? — With the increase of tourists to the area, drivers continue to ignore road signs and drive recklessly. Bigger safety barriers should be provided near properties along the roads. — Small towns are becoming popular attractions and stop offs in the region. Accidents are more prevalent now with road users being unfamiliar with the area. — The country roads need more safety barriers and more safe spots to pull over to avoid safety issues related to tourist driving thru the region.

Road Safety — Birregurra-Forrest Road and Wickham Lane intersection and Birregurra-Forrest Road and Callahans Lane intersections. Sharp right-left turns and lack of road signs and night lights have caused accidents and may cause more. Properties located near the intersections need safety barriers to protect them from cars that could crash into their front yards. — Mt Pleasant Road and Thomson Street intersection requires traffic lights. — Princes Freeway, Geelong. Speed limit should be raised to 110 km/hour. — Colac-Lavers Hill Road between Gellibrand and Kwarren, Gellibrand. Road floods. — Torquay Road between Winter Street and Grove Road, Grovedale. A set of pedestrian lights close to Aldi is required to improve pedestrian safety. — Inverleigh-Winchelsea Road between Thomas Road and Peel Road, Inverleigh. This section of the road is too narrow. — Great Ocean Road and Bells Boulevard intersection, Jan Juc. Better signage is required to avoid current near misses and dangerous and too wide turns. — Portarlington Road and Melaluka Road intersection, Leopold. Very narrow and short left turn into Melaluka Road when driving from Drysdale and beyond. It is also hazardous to through traffic in the left lane of Portarlington road due to vehicles slowing abruptly from 80kph to make the turn. — Geelong - Ballan Road from Anakie to Lovely Banks. The road shoulders are a hazard to road safety. There are sections where the road pavement is rough. — Marcus Hill Swan Bay Road and Banks Road intersection is a dangerous cross road with poor viability (sic) and high-speed limit.

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REGION BARWON — Ghazepore Road between Whites Road and Russel's Road, Mount Duneed. The bike lanes are poorly maintained and riders are forced into the main traffic lanes. Bike lanes are required on Ghazepore and Horseshoe Bend Road. — The Surf Coast highway (B100) from the railway crossing at Grovedale to Torquay is rough and bumpy. A sign ('Traffic Hazard Ahead') has been in place for years at Thompson's Creek but the hazard hasn’t been fixed. — The condition of the Hamilton Highway between Inverleigh & Geelong is bad. A dangerous intersection with reduced speed limits causing increased risk of accidents. No overtaking lanes are provided and it's too risky to overtake slow vehicles safely due to amount of traffic. Large potholes and breaking up of asphalt. — The Princes Highway and Timboon - Colac Road intersection is dangerous. Several accidents prove that urgent modifications are required. — The C129 route cuts directly through two of coastal townships - Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove - along town centre and residential roads. Due to freight traffic, it has become a dangerous divide within and between the towns with frequent bottlenecks back-ups. It's time to utilise peripheral roads and create a proper bypass. — The Winchelsea - Deans Marsh Road and Cape Otway Road intersection is dangerous and speed reductions implemented by VicRoads have been ineffective. This intersection needs to be staggered.

Road — New Irrewillipe Road, Bungador. Road breaks up constantly, even after repairs. Maintenance — Some participants expressed their satisfaction with the duplication from Winchelsea to Colac. — Forest Road between Gums Flat Road and Firetrail Track: uneven and bumpy surface. — Birregurra-Forrest Road between Birregurra-Deans Marsh Road and Cemetery Road: dip in the road where the road has sunken down. — Birregurra - Deans Marsh Road between Barwon Street and Birregurra - Forrest Road: road is sunken and uneven increasing risks of accidents. — Princes Highway along Colac and Colac West shows road deformation, cracks in the road surface, bumps and pot holes. Urgent repairs are required on Cororooke Road, Rossmoyne Road, Boylans Road, Deans Creek Road and Murray Street between Corangamite to Grant Street. — Colac-Lavers Hill Rd, Lavers. Poor road condition making drivers reduce speed to avoid vehicle damage. — Colac-Ballarat Road near Irrewarra Station Road has cracks and small chunks of bitumen lifting. Additionally, there are not warning signs approaching to the train crossing. — Bells Boulevard between Sunset Strip and Bones Road and the intersection of Bells Boulevard and Rip View Close present serious deterioration, bumpy surface, deteriorated edges and bitumen for 5-8m. — Princes Freeway near Rennie Street and Cozens Road. The outside lane Geelong-bound has been resurfaced terribly which provides a noisy trip when traveling in that lane. — Murradoc Road near Grassy Point Road, Manifold Road and Bluff Road intersection. Road is uneven and cycle lane to narrow and unsafe. — Inverleigh - Winchelsea Road near Thomas Road and Cape Otway Road between Buckley Road and Layard Road. Congested roads with heavy traffic, single lane bitumen with gravel shoulders wash away with floods, rocks flicking up into windscreen, patches to massive potholes won’t last. — Currently the roads in the south-east especially in the Green Triangle region are unsafe for local and tourists alike. — The Regent Street and Princes Hwy intersection is both dangerous to ride and drive through. The road has completely deteriorated on the western (Hospital) side of the intersection, with loose gravel and potholes in abundance.

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REGION BARWON — Lighthouse Road between Great Ocean Road and Manna Gum Drive, Cape Otway. Road is too narrow, dangerous surfaces. — Cororooke Road near Browns Lane, Cororooke. Road floods due to soil build-up and lack of drainage. — Anglesea Road and Blackgate Road intersection, Freshwater Creek. Additional lanes and signage, overtaking lanes and sealed edges of the road are required.

Future Priorities — Widen Cape Otway Road between Reservoir Road and Mt Duneed Road. — Widen The Esplanade between Grieve Avenue and Lewis Street to include shoulders/cycle lanes. — The Birregurra-Forrest Road near Wickhams Lane corner is unsafe for tourists who are not familiar with the area. — Provide safety barriers and safe areas for slow traffic to pull over on Deans Marsh - Lorne Road between Point Addis Road and Five Mile Track. — Provide lane markings or bollards to deter illegal turns on Great Ocean Road and Erskine Ave intersection. — Better signage for traffic pulling out of the service station and for traffic turning onto Princes Hwy is required. — Princes Highway near Swan Marsh intersection. An extension on dual lane from Colac to Camperdown is required. — Grubb Road between Hwy and Shell Road is inadequate for current traffic levels. — Geelong – Bacchus Marsh Road south of Granite Road: — upgrade to two or three lanes each direction or provide overtaking points along the road — perform resurfacing works — the undulating section between Davies Road and Gilmore Road needs to be flattened to allow for more forward visibility of cars on overtaking lanes. — Moolap: Point Henry Road. — Build freeway over Bay with a bridge and causeway linking Point Henry to Avalon. — Incorporate space for very high-speed rail route. — A drawbridge or swing bridge could be used - in a closed position, high enough and only needing to be opened for shipping movements. — Build a road/rail tunnel under the bay.

Perceptions of — ‘Quick fixes’ are always implemented by VicRoads but nothing resolves the actual issue of VicRoads commercial heavy use of Cape Otway Road between Moriac and Princes Highway. — Poor conditions of the roads are constantly reported to VicRoads but roads are not repaired. — Identify the worst roads in Victoria based on the state of the roads themselves and then fix them. Don't leave it to governments and councils and lobbying. Create a body to independently assess road conditions and fix the worst roads first.

REGION CENTRAL HIGHLANDS

Freight — Jacksons Creek Road between Quarry Road shows heavy-haulage and local traffic conflict in Ararat. — Quamby Road and Pyrenees Highway and Barkly Street intersection, Ararat. Two straight ahead lanes are required so that cars can overtake/out accelerate heavy trucks. It would also be useful to have two lanes eastbound. — There is too much freight movement along Midland Highway near Shelford - Bannockburn Road, Bannockburn. Fyansford-Gheringhap Road needs to be rebuilt, widened and include two passing lanes.

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REGION CENTRAL HIGHLANDS — Gisborne Road north of Lebrex Road, Coirnadai. The road is used as a shortcut to/from Ballarat or Geelong by trucks creating hazardous conditions. Access to properties located along this road is dangerous, mainly where trees are close to the road. — Gisborne Road north of Buckleys Road, Darley. Trucks exiting the quarry create hazardous conditions. Advanced warming signs and warning lights for vehicles heading towards Gisborne are required. — The roundabout at Learmonth Street, Wiltshire Lane and Ballarat -Carngham Road needs traffic lights and the roads joining the roundabout need to be duplicated. — Smythes Road and Hertford Street should be duplicated from Albert Street. — Woolpack Road between Bacchus Marsh Road and Werribee River, Maddingley. An extension of Woolpack Road is required. This freeway should be connected with a road diverting the Gisborne Road traffic around to this interchange. — Midland Highway between Meredith and Lethbridge is dangerous, rough, narrow, with few safe passing stretches. It has been patched but that’s not enough. This road should have been duplicated 15 years ago. — Sunraysia Highway between Miners Rest Road and Victoria Street must be dual lane in both directions in addition to having slip/turn lanes. Safe access for heavy vehicles into/out the saleyards is required at the proposed CVLX Saleyards development. Sunraysia Highway must be dual lane in both directions in addition to slip/turn lanes.

Tourism — Pronk Track near Old Blackwood Road, Trentham. Reduce speed limit to 80 km/h overall and 60 km/h near villages, improve traffic signals, create safe walking and cycling tracks near roads, widen shoulders for cyclist and pedestrians, maintain the road surface and clear scrub near bends.

Road Safety — Learmonth St, Alfredton Road could be duplicated. — The Western Freeway and Bacchus Marsh Road intersection is dangerous. The bridge at this location could be widened and have ramps to and from Ballarat, as well as a ramp towards. The bridge/intersection needs more street lights. — The Sturt Street and Russell Street intersection (Ballarat) needs a roundabout to improve safety. Mair Street between Doveton Street and Humffray Street should be duplicated, more lights at Grenville Street and get rid of the roundabout. — Build a roundabout at Clyde Road, Kelly Road and Bannockburn- Geelong Road intersection. — The “T” intersection at Clarendon-Lal Lal Road and Midland Highway is extremely dangerous. It needs turning or slip lanes for traffic turning in all directions. — The right turn lane on Western Highway near Warrayatkin Road, heading towards Ararat, is not visible. — There needs to be a sealed shoulder for cyclist on Gisborne Road. This road is not safe because cyclists are forced directly onto a narrow road with 100kph vehicles for approximately 10km. — Remove all trees within 100m of the intersection at Mortlake - Ararat Road and Moreton Road. Also, stop signs do not help trucks clear intersections when fully loaded. — Station Street near Grant Street has become more dangerous since the new station park was built. The road is too narrow and has too many blind spots. The road needs to be widened and needs lines painted. — Rainwater does not run off and accumulates along tyre ruts and deep puddles on Ararat - Halls Gap Road between Smith Road and Moyston West Road. — There are road safety issues at Western Highway near Pykes Creek Reservoir, in particular the Ballan-Ballarat direction. — The Geelong - Bacchus Marsh Road and Ballan Road intersection needs to be redesigned, also reduce the speed and increase the size of the turn off towards Werribee from Bacchus Marsh.

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REGION CENTRAL HIGHLANDS — The Geelong - Bacchus Marsh, Glenmore Road and Nerowie Road intersection is dangerous. The road needs to be widened to have dedicated lanes to both Melton and Rowsley and a flow through lane. This intersection may benefit from having a roundabout, or traffic lights. The road needs resurfacing. — A second lane should be built east bound between the Burnbank Street roundabout and the Creswick Road lights to alleviate congestion at peak hour. This work should include an additional turning lane for north bound Creswick Road traffic. — Glenelg Highway (Wickliffe) is disintegrating.

Road — The surface dressing on Western Highway near Modesty Lane is loud, rough and already starting Maintenance to strip away. — The Midland Highway, Ballarat to Geelong is heavily used by trucks and buses causing road damage. The road is rough, sinking, and needs both maintenance & widening. Overtaking lanes are required to improve efficiency and safety. — Glenelg Highway near Mortlake-Ararat Road intersection is very dangerous. Glenelg Highway road surface is dangerous. — Midland Highway near Meredith Racecourse Reserve needs to be widened and needs more passing lanes. — Both sides of Western Freeway near Monteville Lane are rough. — A new section of Western Freeway near Monteville Lane already has potholes and the edge of the carriageway is falling apart. — The Ballarat-Geelong road is in poor condition. It is rough, narrow with few safe passing stretches. It has been patched and patched again.

Future Priorities — Ararat, Western Highway needs a bypass. — The Main Street and Grant Street intersection (Bacchus Marsh), needs to be upgraded and the roundabout is a safety hazard for pedestrians and motorists. Some speed humps could help to resolve the situation. — The intersections at Main Street and Fisken Street and Bacchus Marsh Road and Woolpack Road intersection need traffic lights or even a roundabout. — Western Highway (Beaufort), needs at least two 60 km/h lanes. — Widening the bridge to include a turning lane or redirecting traffic onto Glendonald Rodd would make the intersection at Gillies Road and Clunes-Creswick Road safer. — The Gisborne Road bridge over the Western Freeway and Clifton Drive need to be upgraded to include roundabouts and other improvements. — Fyansford - Gheringhap Road north of Booley Road needs a major over haul. The road is too narrow and needs a shoulder. — Consider making the Midland Highway near Lethbridge Airport a dual lane each way to Ballarat. — The upgrades to the Ballarat line and the removal of the level crossing at Parwan Road railway are an opportunity to upgrade intersections and improve traffic efficiency in the area. — There is an opportunity to implement ramps to and from Ballarat on Western Freeway near Halletts Way. — The intersection at Western Freeway and Old Melbourne Road should be a grade separated junction.

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REGION CENTRAL HIGHLANDS

Perceptions of — VicRoads needs to be more responsive to improve roads such as Midland Highway between VicRoads Meredith and Lethbridge. — VicRoads has neglected Ararat-Mortlake Road over the years. Tree removal from table drains is another hazard that VicRoads fails to address. — VicRoads needs to fund more road improvements. — The road repair department of VicRoads needs to be run like a business, with less inspectors & supervisors and more high-quality teams doing deep full base structure rebuilding.

REGION GIPPSLAND

Freight — Cuthbert Street near Walpole Street is unsafe to sustain increasing freight movement. Freight traffic is caused by the area boom and growth. — Roads in the South Gippsland area are critical for efficient freight movements and a growing industry. — Trucks hauling water, quarry trucks, milk trucks and the concrete trucks are loud and very hard on the roads.

Tourism — Tourist travelling from Melbourne to Sydney go through Gippsland roads, adding cars and pressure to the roads. More signals need to be provided on the road, the signals should be translated as well.

Road Safety — Some participants felt frustrated because VicRoads reduces speed limits due to the road condition instead of fixing the roads. — Speed limits should be appropriate to conditions, area, season and use. Speed limit should be reduced for vehicles driving through Stratford. — There should be better consideration for cyclists using roads, paths and passing road works. — Issues around motorised scooters were raised in relation to licensing, policy and safety.

Road — There’s significant concern about the general maintenance of roads and road sides in South Maintenance Gippsland, including vegetation and removal of dead wildlife. — The need for shoulders, grade separations and service roads were identified in certain areas. — Most VicRoads’ roads are fine. More issues on unsealed roads. — Intersection at Barry Road south of South Gippsland Highway needs better signage to avoid more fatalities. — Tyers - Walhalla Road (Rawson - Tyers Road) near W18 track has poor profile (deformations). — Korrumburra - Wonthaggi Road south of Clancys Road has many uneven and rough areas. Motorist do not drive 80 kmh. — Korumburra - Wonthaggi Road near Sommers Crescent is rough and has potholes. — Meeniyan - Promontory Road, north of Bartons Road. Road is uneven and needs maintenance works. — Maintenance work is required on the South Gippsland Highway between Bena and Korumburra. — Traffic moving through the South Gippsland Highway bridge over Bass Valley Road needs to slow down due to a large bump. — The road surface of Drouin South, Main South Road between Dyall Road and Wilkinson Lane are in poor condition. Fix the road and reinstate previous speed limits. There is no need to reduce the speed zone. — The intersection at Main Street (Princes Highway) and Dawson Street has poor profile. Road over laps where pedestrians cross and cause unwanted road noise. — Thomson Road near Churchill - Traralgon Road has extremely rough surface with sudden dips in road surface and potholes on edges. It causes vehicle damage.

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REGION GIPPSLAND — Layers of asphalt peeled off road surface on Monash Highway north of Balfour Place. — Princes Highway between Nilma and Darnum was excavated, reformed and resurfaced, but repairs didn’t last. — Hazeldean Road between Jones Road and Darnum Allambee Road has bumps.

Future Priorities — The safety barriers on Barry Road, south of South Gippsland Highway are to stop cars falling off to the side of the road as road users bounce along the patchwork quilt of repairs. — Bass Highway between Anderson Road roundabout and Leongatha needs overtaking lanes to improve traffic efficiency currently being diminished by tourist/caravan, many large trucks/deliverers vans and slower drivers. — Cape Paterson - Inverloch Road between Cape Paterson and Inverloch is in desperate need of shoulders. There is an opportunity to generate tourism by adding a dedicates bike/walking path along the coast line. — The Hyland Highway, Carrajung Lower Road and Canty Road intersection could be considered to be straightened out to prevent the adverse change of direction. — There needs to be footpaths along Bass Highway near Grantville - Glen Alvie Road to connect the various estates around Grantville so people don't have to risk injuring themselves on uneven ground or walking on the road. — A roundabout is needed at the Bass Highway (McKenzie Street) and Murray Street intersection and at the intersection of Murray Street & Billson Street. — Traffic control is required at the intersection of Bass Highway, White Road and McKenzie Street. — Traffic control is required at Bass Highway west of South Dudley Road, outside the Wonthaggi Vet Clinic. — The Bass Highway and Korumburra Road intersection needs traffic lights immediately, it cannot wait until the end of 2018. — A roundabout is needed at the intersection of Graham Street and Cameron Street. — If Wonthaggi is going to be a 'peri-urban centre' more funding needs to be directed to this region. The infrastructure in this area doesn't cater for the current population nor the 'regional hub' or peri-urban centre. — Corinella Road near Argent Road needs to be upgraded. — Footpaths are required on Cuthbert Street near Jamieson Street to keep children and older people safe. — Corner of Cuthbert Street and Balcombe Street is heavily utilised and needs upgrades. Large vehicles have to use shoulder to navigate around the corner. This creates major potholes and breakage on roadside edge.

Perceptions of — There has been a waste of money with the implementation of “safety” barriers and wire ropes VicRoads where there was no need along Gippsland Highway. The quality of the repairs is not durable and the road deteriorates again in no time. This is not the case in other states. — There doesn't seem to be much competence at VicRoads if they allow money to be wasted on shoddy work. Most of the repairs performed by VicRoads deteriorate quickly and are not levelled out correctly. Even when roads are ripped up to make a new one. — We operate the quarry on the Tyers-Thompson Valley Rd. The quarry is outputting approximately 17,000 truck movements each way. We contribute to the deterioration of the roads but we also contribute $13,000 in registration per truck. Would like to see the road network in a safe condition for everyone. Currently it isn't.

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REGION GOULBURN

Freight — Broadford and While Pyalong residents are concerned about freight movement through their towns. — Many semi-trailers and B doubles use the Melba Highway. The section from Healesville to Mt Slide is totally unsuitable for these vehicles especially with the narrow bridges around Yarra Glen. There also should be restrictions on use of exhaust brakes in the Yarra Glen region. — Ford Road is a busy residential road and a major school route to five schools. It also has a large Aged Care facility. This road should not be made into a truck route. — Residents are concerned about the increased number of heavy vehicles (trucks & Bdoubles) using main streets such as Stevenson and Robinson due to the noise, traffic volume, safety and the impact on tourism.

Tourism — VicRoads could work with the three shires (Mitchell, Moira, Murrindindi, Strathbogie) to create a regional tourist route from the airport all the way to Bendigo. — Roads need upgrades to build bays for trucks and caravans to turn around.

Road Safety — Funding is needed for interchange improvements. — Kilmore-Lancefield Road has a section of high risk. — High Street Seymour is very congested. Community suggests variable speed times and LED lighting. — Participants would like to see plans to build cyclist paths. — Wire rope barriers are too close to the road and do not allow for easy flow. More clearance and pullover areas are required. — Roads lack of emergency phones, shelter, seating, lights, signage. — Residents are concerned about safety issues along the following roads: — Melba Highway and Healesville - Kinglake Road — Doyles Road near the Channel Road intersection — Goulburn Valley Highway between Maroondah Link Highway and Maroondah Highway — Maroondah Highway from Merton to Yea — Towong Road near Corryong College, Senior Campus — Wyndham Street between Sobraon Street and Wilmont Road — Murchison - Violet Town Road between Violet Town Boundary Road and Ben Kell Road — Ford Road — Hume Freeway Wallan — Northern Highway between Fullards Road and High Camp Road — Broadford-Flowerdale Road near Elliots Road intersection — Goulburn Valley Highway near Victoria Road

Road — According to some participants more funding for road maintenance means also more employment Maintenance opportunities. — Participants suggested sealing shoulders a little wider to accommodate the cyclists when rebuilding/resurfacing the roads. — In Hume Highway, there are areas that haven’t been maintained in ten years. — The Bundoora end of western Ring Road needs to be cleaned up. The litter is out of control. Education programs could be implemented to avoid littering.

Future Priorities — One of the biggest issues is performing traffic planning around roads before the growth starts. A traffic management plan around northern road corridor from Beveridge to Kilmore is required. — Wallan and Wandong-Heathcote junction need a bypass. The community need roads right this minute (Wallan-Kilmore Bypass), but also need planning for the next 25 years.

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REGION GOULBURN — Western loop of the Kilmore-Wallan Bypass, with b-doubles going through what is basically a horse and cart track. It could become ultimately a local road that supports and supplies road services as an 80km/h road. — Another north south link is really important for long term planning. — Widening freeways. — Main Street in Kilmore (Sydney Street) meets every single criterion for a 40kph speed limit rather than 50kph. — O’Gradys Road: both ratepayer associations agree that the 50km/hr speed limit needs to be extended. — Participant suggest creating VicTraffic app to log in complaints, get traffic information, hazards information, etc. — Opportunities for mixed use road, including cyclin paths.

Perceptions of — VicRoads is not throughout with its assessment regarding the road capacity: “Ford Road near VicRoads Goulburn Valley Highway intersection should not be made into a truck route (…) Who mysteriously permitted a 19.5 m wide Ford Road to be gazetted a BDouble road. It could not possibly have passed a road safety audit. B double trucks turning into Ford Road have to travel onto the wrong side of the road (…) De gazette this road before litigation takes place VicRoads” — Doyles Road near the Channel Road intersection is dangerous and uneven “only meters from my children's bedroom. Lucky for Vicroads the last massive wheel and tyre only mangled my fence and slammed into the brick wall beside the window, and not through it. The way the trucks and quality of the intersection are going that lucks sure to run out one day.”

REGION GREAT SOUTH COAST

Freight — Participants complained about noise impacts from trucks using engine brakes. — Damaged roads have increased maintenance costs on trucks. — The large trucks travelling though the region, and specifically into Portland, drive at high speed and threaten the safety of road users while causing considerable road damage. — Truck drivers and other road users risk their safety when driving in roads with potholes. Deteriorated roads also cause vehicle damage. — VicRoads should use the ideas that are proven in other countries to regulate freight movement, such as taking trucks off the road between peak times. — The harvesting of the bluegum plantations has added significant pressure to the road network.

Tourism — Great Ocean Road experience extends into hinterland and on inland roads. Funding for key north south linkage from Great Ocean Road to PHW (and back to Melbourne) is essential — Cobden-Warrnambool Road is an inadequate tourist route — Princetown Road is a major tourist route but it is “unsatisfactory” — There is a lookout located on the edge of Lake View Road here. Commonly, international tourists use this and when they pull out of the area to drive south, exit the lookout on the wrong side of the road. A set of big white arrows need to be painted on the road here - just like those on the GOR. — Traffic signs, roadside pull-offs and safety measures must be provided around areas frequently visited by tourist and where wildlife abounds

Road Safety — Participants highlighted the need for more overtaking lanes. — Participants requested cycling and pedestrian paths and improvements on roadside signs. — Drivers do not comply with 80km speed limit on Portland Ring Road. — Need a cycling/walking trail around the Portland Ring Road to improve safety.

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REGION GREAT SOUTH COAST

Road — Need to lengthen time at Heywood pedestrian crossing. Maintenance — Need to keep up with grass cutting and improve road drainage. — All the roads in Western Victoria need urgent and major work, not just remedial pothole filling. If the authorities want to promote the area for tourism, then they must present the state in the best light possible. — The Ring road and the main highways that lead to the Port need to be maintained to support the industry in the region. The Port is vital for industry, tourism and for job growth within the Glenelg shire. — Road maintenance need to be long-term and support heavy traffic in the region. Road repairs need to include wide shoulders with smooth sloping edges along all roads to avoid damage to tyres and rims when running off the road. — Proper engineering controls and improved road quality should be implemented rather than reducing the speed limits. — More overtaking lanes and dual carriageway from Geelong to Warrnambool and beyond are required to support caravans and freight traffic. — The road network from Mortlake to Warrnambool needs to be maintained. — Deteriorated roads, narrow lanes and high volumes of traffic cause safety risks for cyclists in areas such as the intersection of regent Street and Princes Highway. — Rainfall has an impact on road condition. Maintenance must be performed in roads that cannot cope with drainage and flooding roads in the Glenelg Shire region. — More money needs to be allocated to support the councils in performing road maintenance. — There is an imbalance in the distribution of the funding allocated to road maintenance across the region. For example, roads in the city of Warrnambool are constantly maintained while roads in the Moyne Shire are being neglected.

Future Priorities — Need to improve bus area at Bolwarra school. — Ensuring the Ring Road and the main highways that lead to the Port of Portland will help ensure that industry are able to rely on the Port to export their products.

Perceptions of — Per a participant VicRoads is not responsive to stakeholders requests. “The intersection of Princes VicRoads Highway at Fitzgibbons Lane corner needs a crossover to turn 'right' from Princes Highway into Fitzgibbons Lane. So many people have had rear end collisions when waiting to turn right. VicRoads know about this intersection and it seems they are waiting for a fatality before fixing it.” — The Henty Highway and Wyatt Street intersection is dangerous. Per a participant, many near misses occur when a vehicle “is slowing down to turn left into Wyatt St, a car is sitting in the middle of the road at the Wyatt St/Henty Hwy intersection giving way to oncoming traffic, and the semi-trailers come over the hill from Sth Portland and have nowhere to go. We report this to VicRoads each year and they say it is fine by the map. The map doesn't show the rise a couple of hundred metres back, vehicles are unable to see intersection until they are over the rise!”. — A participant stated that there is not continuity from VicRoads staff to follow through specific cases “I was visited by our roads overload John of Vicroads, whom unfortunately was destined for far greater things than fixing my death-trap out front, so he hand-balled the matter to Bill of Vicroads, who although instilled great confidence also had a higher calling, in turn leaving it in the safe hands of Trevor of Vicroads to save us all from impending B Double doom... and around we go on the Vicroads Merry Go Round that is Life.”

Project No 2271547A WSP Country Roads Engagement Feedback Analysis Report September 2017 VicRoads Page A-10

REGION LODDON CAMPASPE

Freight — Community concerns over noise pollution and truck damage to roads on roadsides in Gisborne township. An alternative route for heavy vehicles out of the Gisborne CBD must be achieved. — Participants requested protecting the amenity of the township and the character and liveability of Gisborne. The town should not be designated as a truck route. — East-west link needs to be built. Having another connection would cut a lot of traffic from local areas. — Other participants suggested removing ban on trucks at night on Princes Highway. — Drivers get paid by kilometre so slowing traffic and poor road conditions affect them. — Traffic is bad due to trucks travelling through Gisborne. A bypass for traffic travelling to Bacchus Marsh and Geelong is required. — All ancillary roads to main freeways should be considered shared roads with motorists educated to slow down to road conditions, 80kms, and watch out for wildlife, stock, slow moving vehicles and most important, cyclists. — Trucks numbers on ancillary, country roads and through townships must be reduced. Education campaign required for sharing roads with cyclists.

Tourism — A member of a local mountain bike club requested a bike path between Woodend and Hanging rock and a shouldered road on Black Forest drive, both are popular areas amongst cyclists. — Cycling is possible on side roads but arterials without shoulders are unsafe.

Road Safety — Speed reduction to 80kmph on Bacchus Marsh Road would be appropriate to protect human and wildlife. — The speed needs to be reduced in Gisborne township from town centre along Aitken Street to Melton Road. There should be speed humps in 60 km zone in township. — Instead of reducing speed limits, VicRoads should maintain the roads. — There are not enough rest areas on Calder Road. — Need for more shoulders/pull off areas where roads are narrow, state forest areas. There not overtaking lanes along Tylden-Trentham Road and beyond. — Wire rope barriers are too close to the road and do not leave room for pull off areas. Damage results in a long length of protection being degraded. If roads must have wire barriers, they must be repaired faster.

Road — Roadside vegetation. The Macedon Ranges has many endangered and precious native vegetation Maintenance that needs protection - from roadside clearing and "perceived" dangers. — VicRoads shouldn’t mow the centre verge along freeways. There are many native and protected species emerging in the area, and mowing them steps these plants helping to diffuse oncoming headlights, acts a slowing mechanism for cars that may leave the road and will also lead to less maintenance when they shade out the grass. — Mowed roadsides in regional areas mean that the introduced grasses along the sides of roads are the only green source of food for native wildlife - attracting them to road sides to feed. — The recent Station Road roundabout project has not considered wildlife corridor between Magnet Hill and Gisborne Marshlands Reserve, which has already led to a number of kangaroo fatalities. Additional consideration needs to be given to providing safe passage for wildlife now and in future projects. — Melbourne/Kilmore intersection will get gridlocked in future. — The road from Alma Vale (near Beveridge) to Kal Kallo southbound on the Hume Highway is in poor condition.

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REGION LODDON CAMPASPE

Future Priorities — State Government needs to continue the support and investment for Aitken Street, Station Road and Saunders Road intersection as per the previously agreed community concept plans developed by VicRoads. — Appropriate roads infrastructure should be provided to support growth of Gisborne Regional Centre. Overhead lights are required to be consistent with the Gisborne Station Road/Calder Freeway roundabout. — CFA does not have designated carpark, VicRoads needs to work with Council to provide it. — VicRoads should remove the fallen trees off property fences/against fences. — Access to train station/car parks is insufficient and more facilities (toilets) are needed. — Participants would like to see more infrastructure to cycle in Woodend, specially for children going to school and around Braemar College.

Perceptions of — VicRoads website needs to be updated more frequently. VicRoads — VR needs a stronger environmental department to ensure protection of precious native vegetation alongside country roads. — The exotic trees planted by VicRoads along country are not being maintained and look bad. These minor issues give VicRoads bad PR. — Repairs to safety barriers are not being done fast enough. This leaves VicRoads open to liability claims should further collisions occur. — VicRoads has some bad reputation in rural communities, in part due to the over spraying, which has killed precious species, not enough oversight on contractors and re-planting no-native vegetation. — VicRoads doesn’t seem to know “how much produce, grain, manufacturing etc. is produced in this region, as the roads to the larger rural centres north west of Bendigo after leaving the Calder are disgraceful”.

REGION MALLEE

Freight — Sea-Lake Robinvale Road, especially Manangatang to Robinvale Road is too narrow for the amount of trucks that now use the road. Road maintenance and widening should be a priority. Grading of loose stones to fill deep gutters lead to numerous damaged windscreens — The Robinvale to Manangatang section is in poor condition. We run passenger bus services daily along this stretch and loose a windscreen a month on average. — The roads to larger rural centres after Bendigo and the Calder are disgraceful. As large users of the roads, sending this many heavy trucks along the current Murray and Loddon highways is culpable to the cars and trucks. Often no lines, shoulders and the like. — Need a decent truck resting area. There is a large space of land between the railway line and the road that would be awesome for a big truck resting area. It would save trucks having to drive right through town to the sale-yards at night time.

Tourism — There is an influx of tourists in the region, including itinerant workers. There is a lack of knowledge of road rules among the tourists. Some tourist show “crazy driving behaviour”. — Signage is required to guide visitors along the tourism trails, so that people know where they’re going, what they’re doing, what they can do, where they can park. — The region has several opportunities to promote tourism. Roads must be maintained so it is easier for tourist to travel and enjoy the travels across the region. More rest stops, with toilets facilities, separation between heavy vehicles and grey nomads or just mums and dads, benches, shading and obviously more passing opportunities coming into the town are required. — Need to form partnership with NSW to improve access for tourists.

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REGION MALLEE — Self-drive tourists can be very dangerous, particularly during high tourist seasons. — “Driving caravans, can't do high speeds” making traffic inefficient.

Road Safety — Walters road is a school bus route and the condition of the road is full of potholes and not wide enough in places. — The Robinvale, Sea-Lake, Manangatang road is very narrow. It has many freight trucks and farm machinery travelling along it. — The Mallee Highway is very narrow and potholed. — The Robinvale - Sea Lake Road north of Annuello - Wemen Road is extremely dangerous, deep gutters on the edge of the bitumen, cause the rear trailers of B-double trucks to fishtail towards oncoming traffic. — The Koondrook Road near Kenny Road Sweeping has overgrown shoulders with grass. The entire length of road is one massive fire hazard. — Cars regularly do not abide the 40km speed limit down Eleventh Street near Pine Avenue. — The 50kph on the Northern approach to the Charlton township need to be relocated back to the railway. This would help reduce the risk of an accident — The highway between Lake Boga and Swan Hill needs overtaking lanes. Driving on this road daily you come across someone sitting on 80km/h and holding traffic up, and then you have impatient drivers almost causing head on crashes. — Sea Lake-Robinvale Rd is dangerous. Needs widening and centre lines. — Annuello Wemen Road between Finlayson Road and Robinvale Sea Lake Road is the most terrifying road in Victoria. The road narrows between Moss Tank and the Robinvale Rd and the edges are like cliffs. You need to stop to pull over safely for oncoming traffic and sometimes there isn't time.

Road — Robinvale - Sea Lake Road north of Annuello - Wemen Road is in desperate need of widening, Maintenance — Walters Road is a bus route and used to shift farm machinery along. The condition of the road is full of potholes and we don't think the road is wide enough to allow for machinery and implements to travel along. — Road condition all along Murray Valley Highway is terrible, no shoulders, huge 200mm push outs and drop off's. The whole Loddon from Serpentine to Kerang particularly. — Robinvale-Sea Lake Rd is very narrow in parts (too narrow for white line) between Chinkapook and Manangatang. Due to poorly maintained shoulders the edges are crumbling away. Many trucks (especially during grain harvest) and school buses use this road and it is very dangerous especially on a crest. — The section of road between Donald - Swan Hill Road near P Dillons Road is disgusting, narrow and not made for trucks. — The Loddon Valley Highway near Appin Road has holes that have had flimsy attempts to repair. Save time and repair properly please. — Curlewis Street surface is a disgrace; you should hear what tourists think! — The St Arnaud - Wycheproof Road, north of St Arnaud between the Slaty Creek Rd and the Borung Highway at Wooroonook is in poor condition. The pavement condition is severely undulating along various lengths of this location.

Project No 2271547A WSP Country Roads Engagement Feedback Analysis Report September 2017 VicRoads Page A-13

REGION MALLEE

Future Priorities — The new Swan Hill bridge is desperately needed, and NOT into the middle of the city. VicRoads must work with Council and NSW to secure a new flyover bridge to the north of the city centre. — Reducing the speed to 80kph doesn't make any difference to awareness and improving safety of this railway crossing, just creates another revenue raiser. — The Birchip Sea Lake Road has its shoulders fallen away and the bitumen has broken away, narrowing the road. The dangerous part is the B-Double trucks back trailers fall off the road due to the cliff edges, then start swaying. The large dips in the road also contributes to the swaying of the trailers. Don't put up an 80km speed restriction, fix the road!

Perceptions of — VicRoads is not responsive to stakeholder’s request. For example, Victorian Farmers Federation VicRoads Manangatang branch have written several letters (no response to any) expressing their concern and met with two VicRoads representatives but they have not seen any improvements yet. — VicRoads needs to consider “simple things like slashing the grass when building roads.”

REGION OVENS MURRAY

Freight — Livestock freight to and from both sides of the Great Dividing Range would become more frequent if the entire Corryong- Benambra Road link was sealed, therefore increasing the economic benefits to the agricultural industry. — B Double water tankers using narrow country arterial roads, spec. Albury/Myrtleford Road via Yackandandah. Not only the damage to the roads and the road safety aspect in narrow town streets, but the damage being done to the old, narrow stone bridge is taking its toll. — B-Double Water Tanks use the Wodonga Road near Basin Creek Road along with other large vehicles. There’s overtaking opportunities with a narrow winding road, short sight distances, no shoulders and trees close to road. The Historic Stone Bridge wasn't designed for these loads and it will only be a matter of time before it feels this impact. — The west bound Murray Valley highway will require major roadworks very soon. The B Double traffic has increased dramatically over the past 10 years and the road is literally falling to pieces. The heavy vehicle alternate route around Rutherglen has been in the pipeline for many years. Please, just do it.

Tourism — Need to support tourists in Milawa. Hard to cross the Snow Road for pedestrians, because there are no footpaths down to Brown Brothers, old 'no stopping' signs and people park in unsafe locations. — The Cudgewa Bluff Falls is a major tourist attraction however the signage to the Falls from the Cudgewa Valley Road is non-existent. Needs a big sign. — The Bluff Falls is a tourist attraction and the road itself is narrow. The traffic can also flow up this road way too fast. For such a narrow and windy road with many large trees to the sides of the road, the speed limit needs to drop considerably. — Sealing the Corryong to Benambra Road will increase tourism on both sides of the Dividing Range and enhance visitor experience. — Tone Road (Ryley Street) between Ovens Street and Reid Street. Brown tourist directional signs seem to indicate King valley wine region is only 10kms away which is totally incorrect. — There is a lot of dead wildlife around the lookout. — With the amount of tourists visiting the township of Bright every week something has to be addressed regarding the traffic management. Two intersections need roundabouts urgently. They are the intersection of Gavan Street and Camp Street near Morses Creek and Ovens River.

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REGION OVENS MURRAY

Road Safety — A pathway and crossing on Snow Road, improved lighting at intersection will help prevent a future incident. There is also need for a crossing for the local school children. — Dangerous school crossing on Kiewa valley Highway Tawonga. It's poorly marked with no assistant. — The Whitfield Road and King Valley Road and the Kiewa Valley Hwy and Anzac Parade intersections need a roundabout. The intersection has poor visibility and is confusing enough to locals. — It would be wonderful if there were a pedestrian (dual use for push bikes, like the track between Baranduda and Wodonga) track all along Osbornes Flat Road. The road is narrow and winding and it feels unsafe, particularly crossing bridge. — Murdoch Rd between White St and Cribbes Road- with the relocation of Cathedral college, and as a main feeder Rd into Wangaratta, mornings are a significant risk for school children and people crossing this busy Rd. A pedestrian crossing is needed.

Road — Calls for passing bays and sealed shoulders to avoid delays caused by right turning vehicles and Maintenance improve safety. — Intersection improvements, including sight distance and conditions, and improved road signage are required. — Difficult decisions made five years ago to make Wodonga more pedestrian friendly are now paying off, with raised pedestrian crossings changing the way people walk around the city. Wangaratta now needs support to deliver on its plans, while Rutherglen has been “planned to death” and action is needed to make it a great place to be. — Severe potholes and undulations on Anzac Parade near Powell Drive have been in existence for well over 6 months. Other road works have been conducted in the same area, but this patch has not been touched.

Future Priorities — Oxley-Meadow Creek Road has become a heavily transited road due to the Hurdle Creek Gin Distillery. Even though this is not a VicRoads’ road, the residents request help from the public agency because the Rural City of Wangaratta refuses to address the situation. Residents are concerned about blinding dust causing an accident. Sealing this dangerous section of road would be a wonderful support to the booming cycling and Tourism economy. — Education and awareness campaigns about specific needs for truck drivers, cyclist and other road users are necessary to prevent traffic accidents.

Perceptions of — According to a participant, VicRoads relies too heavily on systems now, which means getting VicRoads simple things done like signs changed or a speed zone altered are dragged out. — The much-needed road safety treatments are welcome but VicRoads needs to communicate more and use local people to promote the benefits of its programs. — According to a participant, the community ‘has been told in the past (in writing from VicRoads) that the Wangaratta - Whitfield Road and King Valley Road intersection is not a priority because no one has been killed at the intersection; BUT with the increase popularity of the King Valley, the upgrade on the Mansfield-Whitfield Road and the increase in Cycle tourism, the safety issues of this intersection needs to be addressed. Vehicles park unknowingly on the roadway and adjacent to the awkwardly positioned Give Way sign or just drive across the four lanes’. — VicRoads would do well to prioritise taking ownership of the link between Ovens Murray and Gippsland (Jamieson - Licola Road near Mt Sunday and Silvermine Spur Road intersection). In a rate-capping environment, Local Government do not have capacity to maintain or develop this route.

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REGION WIMMERA SOUTHERN MALLEE

Freight — Heavy haulage and freight conflict in Horsham, on a national highway. — It would be nice not to have to slow to 80 for this short stretch along Western Highway to Stawell. Could a service road be built to provide one entry and one exit - a bit like Lillimur- to Kiata? — The road surface on Stawell-Warracknabeal Rd, between Brybtirion Road and Warranooke Road is crumbling badly and despite being continually patched, is now in poor condition. The road is a detour road when the Western Highway gets closed, and this is further exacerbating the problem. — A differential speed limit at Western Highway near Best Road (80 east bound downhill) so vehicles can accelerate to 100km/h west bound after the last junction.

Tourism — Nhill-Harrow Road. Since the trailer exchange was built it's not used. Dropping the speed limit back to 80 for such a long way means that the non-100 km/h in and out of Nhill now stretches for over 6km. This seems excessive for such a small town — Due to the silo art coming to Rupanyup, the Woods' Farming & Heritage is attracting a lot of tourists. The turn off at 109 Wimmera Highway, is in an 80km zone, which should be reduced to a 60km zone for safety reasons. A lot of caravans are coming and going from this area, and needs a safer speed past this zone.

Road Safety Participants expressed concerns about traffic safety along the following roads: — Western Highway bridge over Harvey Lane — Mount Victory Road — Dadswells Bridge: Western Highway — Grampians Road between Redman Road and Mt William Road — Warracknabeal: Borung Highway bridge over Yarriamblack Creek — Hopetoun: Henty Highway between Goyura East School Bus Route Road and Goyura West Road — Netherby - Baker Road between Zankers Road and Warraquil Road — Nhill - Yanac Road near Nhill - Diapur Road and McKenzie Avenue — Nhill - Yanac Road between I Kennedys Road and Oreillys Road and Boyeo - Tarranginnie Road near Nhill - Yanac Road — Kiata South Road between Hall Road and Jordan Road — Stawell - Avoca Road between Kirkella Road and Sycamores Road — Main Street, Barnes Street and Scallan Street roundabout — Birchip-Rainbow Road between Beulah and Birchip — Henty Highway between Beulah and Warracknabeal especially from Galaguil, Beulah to Brim — Murtoa-Glenorchy Road and Horsham-Lubeck Road intersection — Western Highway near South Australia border — Western Highway entering Nhill — Casterton Naracoorte Road near Dergholm — Antwerp and Jeparit: Dimboola-Jeparit Rd between both townships — Jeparit: Lorquon Rd, Nhill-Jeparit Rd and Four Mile Beach Rd intersection and Jeparit- Warracknabeal Roadd — Horsham: Baillie Street/Western Highway near Urquhart Street — Murtoa: Wimmera Highway between Dooen corner and Murtoa and between Murtoa township and Henty Hwy intersection — Fyans Road bridge near Jack Road — Wimmera Highway (Cromie Street) — St Arnaud - Wycheproof Road, north of St Arnaud between the Slaty Creek - Sutherland Road and the Borung Highway, St Arnaud-Wycheproof Road between Church Road and Sutherland Road and between Slaty Creek Road and Nicholls Dam Road

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REGION WIMMERA SOUTHERN MALLEE

Road — It is not uncommon to see road signs used to advise motorists that roads are in poor condition. Maintenance There is a belief amongst the community that if there was more road maintenance the roads would be in better condition and less likely to deteriorate. — Participants consider that the following roads are in poor condition and need maintenance: — St Arnaud - Wycheproof Road, between Church Road and Cope Cope Road — Borung Highway between Dimboola and Warracknabeal — Blue Ribbon Road between Thomas Road and Dimboola - Minyip Road — Warracknabeal - Birchip Road — Silvermines Road between Edwards Street and Powell Street — Western Highway — Breen Street near Hamilton Street — Sunraysia Highway — Ledcourt Glenorchy Rd btw Western Highway and Stawell Ledcourt Road — Canterbury St between Mill Street and Alma Street — Henty Highway between Schofields Road and Goyura East school bus route road, Goyura East Road and Rosebery Tip Road, Two Mile Road and Schofields road — Hopetoun-Sea Lake road near centre hill road

Future Priorities — It's long overdue for Victoria to re-build Western Highway, this worn-out bitumen to the standards in South Australia. — Victoria's road is an embarrassing sub-standard affair, especially at night. — The Glenorchy Rd between Wimmera Hwy and Glenorchy township Highway for approximately 10 km east of Rupanyup is in urgent need of reconstruction. — Footpath needs to be continued along Bowen St, Arnaud from Navarre Rd to Sturt St.

Perceptions of — Vicroads have been constructing roads of extremely poor quality in recent years. Seems like they VicRoads are more interested in saving money than putting an effort into road construction that will last and provide a smooth surface. Some major highways, like the Western highway between Ballarat and Ararat have required a major overhaul after only approx. 12 months. — The surface is so poor at Litchfield (Donald and St Arnaud: Sunraysia highway). Have reported the poor road condition previously to VicRoads but never heard anything back.

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