Masons Rd Mernda: Neighbours against one-way trial
It’s been labelled the worst road in Whittlesea but a six-month trial of making Masons Rd one-way has shown promising signs, according to the council. But locals are not convinced.
North
Don't miss out on the headlines from North. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The six-month trial of making one of the worst roads in Whittlesea one-way is coming to an end, but some neighbours say it has made no difference to improving safety.
Whittlesea Council put the trial in place along Mernda’s Masons Rd eastbound between Epping Rd and Wilkes Court to determine if road safety and conditions would improve.
The road has been the scene of several crashes over the years, including a fatality in 2018, with neighbours lobbying for upgrades.
According to the council, early results from the trial, due to end on August 3, have been positive.
There have been no crashes causing injury recorded by emergency services; the condition of the road has deteriorated at a slower rate; and traffic has decreased by 81 per cent (data from other local roads suggests around 61 per cent can be attributed to the trial and 20 per cent attributed to coronavirus restrictions).
Before the trial ends, residents are invited to provide feedback and then the council will consider a number of options for the future of the road including maintaining one-way access, closing the road at a given point, west of Wilkes Court, or returning to two-way flow.
Wilkes Court resident John Dagher said making the road one-way had added an extra 12km to his journey to work every morning.
Mr Dagher said the change also hadn’t slowed down speeding drivers and people were still driving down the road the wrong way.
“People think because traffic is going one-way they can speed up a bit faster because they’re not expecting cars to come the other way,” he said.
“But on my way home nearly every single trip there’s a car going up the wrong way.”
Mr Dagher said he wanted to see the road return to having traffic in both directions, and wanted the council to either pave the road or put in speed humps or a speed camera.
“Changing it to one-way or closing the road is not the answer,” he said.
Masons Rd resident Tina Marshall, who previously labelled the road the worst in Whittlesea, also wants the road to be returned to two-way traffic.
Ms Marshall wants the council to leave the road gravel but put in some traffic calming measures, like speed humps, around the Wilkes Court area.
“It would get rid of dust, it would get rid of the speed of the traffic and they’re our two biggest issues,” she said.
The public can have its say on the future of the road until August 3 at whittlesea.vic.gov.au/masonsroad or via email engineering.services@whittlesea.vic.gov.au
A drop-in session will be held on July 29 between 3-7pm at Mernda Villages Community Activity Centre. RSVP by phoning 9217 2006 or by emailing engineering.services@whittlesea.vic.gov.au.
The feedback, together with input from emergency services and other road users, will help inform the council’s decision on the future of the road.
MORE NEWS: RESIDENTS SAY CLOSING ROAD NOT THE ANSWER