Knox councillor Karin Orpen wants ‘traffic bottleneck’ on Burwood Highway addressed
A KNOX councillor has weighed into debate on bushfire safety in the Dandenong Ranges foothills.
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A KNOX councillor has weighed into debate on bushfire safety in the Dandenong Ranges foothills.
Cr Karin Orpen wants the “traffic bottleneck” on Burwood Highway addressed in the council’s 2016-19 emergency management plan.
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Cr Orpen said during bushfire emergencies in 1997 and 2009, traffic was banked up along Burwood Highway for kilometres as people fled from the hills.
“And it all meets at the junction of Burwood Highway where the national park and 1000 Steps are,” Cr Orpen said.
She has called on the council’s municipal emergency management planning committee to look at traffic and public access in the foothills in a significant emergency event.
She said the council’s emergency plan outlined what council did in an emergency, but this would take it one step further and look at how the council could mitigate risks.
She asked the committee to consult with VicRoads and Parks Victoria.
After new emergency management plan has been updated to address traffic management, it will be sent to the Victorian State Emergency Service to be audited, before it is adopted by the council.
Cr Orpen said several residents had also raised concerns about the council’s Draft Upper Gully plan, which proposes allowing three-storey buildings along part of the southern side of Burwood Highway.
“Already some people in the community are saying this is a really high fire-risk area, we already have a problem getting in and out, how can you be encouraging more people in the area?” Cr Orpen said.
The Draft Upper Gully plan is now out for public exhibition.
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