MPs look at sign

By Shaun Inguanzo
THE Dandenong Retail Traders’ Association (DRTA) has taken a fight to have Dandenong Southern Bypass signage placed along Cheltenham Road to the Victorian Parliament.
So far dissatisfied with responses from both the State Government and ConnectEast, who constructed the bypass, the DRTA approached Upper House member for the South Eastern Metropolitan Region, Gordon Rich-Phillips to raise the matter in Parliament.
DRTA chairman Roy Aspinall said Cheltenham Road lacked signage to point motorists to the new bypass.
The latest move follows ConnectEast’s failure to notify local press of the bypass’ opening late last year.
Mr Aspinall said Cheltenham Road carried an enormous amount of traffic and he felt people using the road may not be aware that they could bypass one of the busiest roads in Greater Dandenong by taking the new $25 million road.
“To me the whole idea (of building the bypass) was to get traffic off Cheltenham Road but people really don’t know where the bypass is,” Mr Aspinall said.
“I sent an email to the Roads Minister (Tim Pallas) at the time and got a letter back from South Eastern Integrated Transport Authority (SEITA) that said they had contacted 600,000 households in the area.
“Now, that’s all very well but it’s not the person who lives in Dandenong you necessarily need to tell.
“It’s the person driving a truck from Geelong, Bendigo or wherever who go to Gippsland and want to bypass Dandenong who needs a sign.”
Mr Rich-Phillips raised the matter in Parliament earlier this month.
“I have asked that signs be erected where Cheltenham Road intersects with Springvale, Chapel and Perry Roads directing traffic to the Dandenong South Bypass.
“Hopefully this should also ease congestion at the Hammond Road intersection as most of the heavy traffic will have exited Cheltenham Road by then,” he said.
But, so far, the State Government has remained tight-lipped on the matter, responding to Mr Rich-Phillips’ question by saying “the Minister has that in hand.”