DIY dividing lines painted by frustrated motorist on congested Craigieburn Rd

UPDATED: A driver frustrated with the wait to widen a road in Melbourne’s northwest has painting in an extra lane.

The DIY line markings have added an extra lane to Craigieburn Rd heading west.

A MYSTERY motorist who appears to be fed up with waiting for Craigieburn Rd to be duplicated has taken action themselves, by painting dividing lines along a lane of the road.

An unknown person has sprayed white divider markings along the notoriously-congested roadway, from the Craigieburn Leisure Centre.

The do-it-yourself lines stretch around 200m along the road, in what seems to be a guerilla-style duplication campaign.

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The line markings come almost a month after Tahanee Paterson painted warnings about a 50km/h limit on the road outside her Ferntree Gully home in Melbourne’s outer east.

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Hume councillor Casey Nunn said she noticed the new dividers on Tuesday morning and at first thought they were official.

But a closer look revealed the lines looked more amateurish than official road work.

Cr Nunn said whoever painted the dashes was potentially trying to get the State and Federal Governments to commit to funding the duplication of Craigieburn Rd.

“I guess they’re sick of waiting for Craigieburn Rd to be duplicated, so they decided to do it themselves,” she said.

“I guess you can’t really blame them.

“It’s just a band-aid solution, because what really needs to be done is for the road to be duplicated.”

A long-time campaigner who has started a petition to get the road duplicated, Jim Overend, said he had also noticed the dividers.

“I had a bit of a laugh and I thought, ‘Residents are standing up and trying to do something themselves, because people are tired of waiting for the road to be duplicated’,” he said.

“It may not be the right way to do it but it is someone doing something.

“Although what I would prefer is for the whole road to be duplicated and be made safer for everyone.”

Mr Overend said the false dividing lanes ended at a spot in Craigieburn Rd which actually split from one to two lanes

“It’s to make it clearer where the divide should start, because there are cars all over the place down there — it’s a nightmare,” he said.

Brian Westley, VicRoads’ Acting Regional Director Metro North West, said they were aware of the line markings and had reported the incident to police.

He said the markings would be removed “as soon as possible” during the night to minimise the impact on traffic.

“We strongly advise against any member of the public painting their own line markings on our roads as this is not only illegal and classified as vandalism, it also poses a safety risk for drivers and other road users,” he said.

Sergeant Michael Free from Fawkner Highway Patrol, which covers Hume, said he had obvious “real safety concerns in regards to people painting on roads”.

“Not only for their own safety but for the safety of others, as it could confuse other drivers about what is actually required when driving, as to whether they are meant to be in one lane or two,” he said.

Campaigner Mr Overend, who started the ‘Duplicate Craigieburn Road West and Install traffic lights at Dorchester St’ Facebook page, encouraged everyone to continue advocating for the project.

“Just for people to keep pushing — sign the petition, talk to your MPs and do whatever you need to do get it done,” he said.

“Keep standing up and fighting, because the more and more we do, the more they can’t ignore it”

“I actually won’t stop fighting until I see bulldozers on the road, ripping it up.”

The makeshift line markings on Craigieburn Rd are not observed by everybody.