State Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, has long been voicing his and the local community’s concerns about the standard of Princes Highway roadworks, which have caused a number of traffic issues.
And while works continue on centre line wire rope barriers and new surfaces, signage and line markings should be of equal fear according to concerned local resident, Zack Hibbins.
Mr Hibbins, who says he is not in the minority, drives the road regularly for work and has seen first-hand the dangers new line markings, covered markings and rumble strips and a lack of signage has created.
Mr Hibbins said he has called VicRoads on numerous occasions and without getting any answers after a month of attempts, he asked to meet up and discuss his issues.
“I rang them up and they said ‘they’ll make note of it’. A week later I rang again, a week later I rang again, I’ve been ringing them every trip down there for more than a month,” he said.
“Then I asked if we could meet up. The two people I spoke to, I think were from Ballarat, so they don’t really know these roads.
“When I first rang I kept raising concerns of the pathetic line marking and they tried to tell me they are waiting for the correct weather to reseal the road and potentially put the new lines on it.
“I said ‘it’s coming up to Easter, there is going to be so much traffic on the road, no one is going to know where they are going in this new environment’. It just fell on deaf ears.”
Mr Hibbins said new and old line markings coupled with poor or no signage could end in disaster and that it shouldn’t have to reach such a point before changes are made to the works.
“It’s horrendously dangerous,” he said.
“If they had appropriate signage, big enough for people to see, it would be a great starting point.
“Signage is a huge issue. When you travel from Bairnsdale to Paynesville there are these nice new white signs that indicate broken lines, straight lines, when it is safe to pass.
“There is no signage between Stratford and Bairnsdale and sitting on 100km/h, you’ve got new lines, you’ve got a farmer pulling up at a break to pull across the highway onto his property and someone will run straight up the back of him. It’s such a huge hazard, there is
no keep left signage, the lines indicating a break are difficult to see when crossed by previous lines.
“There is no way to get around, there is not enough room, as Mr Bull has indicated with the road widening works and sub-standard shoulder surface.
“Why can’t they go back and start again to avoid a major accident?
“I asked who was liable if there was to be an accident if there is no signage and they couldn’t answer me.
“They said the only people that can stop it is government, which is a shame.
“The two people from VicRoads said they can see the dangers, but they can’t do anything about it, it has to go through government.”
Mr Hibbins said the outcome of his meeting was that the VicRoads employees would take back four key points of information to divulge: line marking, signage, assessing rumble strips; and communication channels.
“They have been putting on social media when works are about to begin, but not when it is complete or even a phone number or email to give feedback,” he said.
Mr Hibbins said he would be meeting up with VicRoads staff again in a month’s time.
