By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Congestion woes on Chapel Road, Keysborough South are building into a crisis, say residents and councillors.
The issue hit a “tipping point” with a majority of Greater Dandenong councillors voting down an 102-dwelling estate at 182 Chapel Road on 14 February.
It’s part of a further 338 dwellings planned in four “super sites” at 182, 185, 199-209 and 220 Chapel Road.
The looming crush is being felt at schools such as Keysborough Gardens Primary School.
Acting principal Sherri Jenkins says the school pick-up time was a “daily challenge” for up to 15 staff who must act as traffic cops.
After-school traffic banks up along Homeleigh Road at the Chapel Road lights for an up to 30 minute grind.
“It’s not a sustainable system.
“We are dealing with local residents complaining, they’re trapped in their driveways and sometimes our parents are double-parked. At the same time we’re trying to make sure our kids are safe.”
Ms Jenkins ponders the impact of not just the ‘super sites’ but 25 townhouses being built on the opposite side of Homeleigh Road.
“We’re a growing school so all of the proposed development around Chapel Road will have a huge impact on traffic flow.”
The campus opened on a compact site two years ago.
It already has growing pains – with little room for the 250-plus extra students expected by 2025.
Not to mention a current parking shortage for staff and parents.
Possible solutions are a second supervised crossing and a stronger push for walking to school.
Keysborough resident Gaye Guest said the issue on the narrow, once country road was at a “tipping point”.
It used to service six farmsteads rather than being a major thoroughfare for thousands of homes.
“Emergency vehicle and service vehicles access is a huge problem on the narrow roads which are filled with parked cars.
“On Chapel Road there are no more places to park in the 600-metre stretch of road that now has a bus route on it.”
Future developments should be limited to spacious residential blocks, instead of dense townhouses, Ms Guest says.
“The brakes need to be put on and we all need to take a deep breathe and start thinking about the detrimental effects that these hideous ‘estates’ are having on the area as a whole.”
According to the council, each ‘super site’ estate complied with Greater Dandenong’s planning scheme.
Each had been through a “full planning assessment”, including traffic, environment and infrastructure matters.
City of Greater Dandenong itself has noted “significant” congestion at peak times such as 8am-8.15am on weekdays, as well as increasing traffic volumes and a car parking crush on side streets.
Its recently updated Keysborough South traffic study blames poorly performed traffic signals at Dandenong Bypass.
It hoped that the newly opened Mordialloc Freeway may divert traffic from Chapel road.
Greater Dandenong councillors agree the area has reached a crunch point.
As a shopper at the area’s shopping centre, Cr Tim Dark said he was “acutely aware” of the traffic congestion.
“There’s going to be significant issues when all the townhouses are built.”
The mounting problem exposed a gap in the state’s planning laws, Cr Dark said. And the council “has to deal with the hand that we’ve been given”.
Cr Rhonda Garad said “conservatively” the four super-sites could lead to an extra 1000 vehicles using the road.
“It’s inconceivable from a traffic management point of view.
“Residents are emailing and texting me – they’re worried that the quality of their lives is becoming compromised.
“It’s going to be extremely difficult to shop, to get educated and to function in Keysborough South.”
The council’s planning powers were “extremely limited” to curtail developers, Cr Garad says. Akin to a “tick-box exercise”.
“We understand the zoning was decided more than 20 years ago under the former City of Springvale – that’s when it was set in stone.
“But I don’t understand how we went from the big blocks in (nearby) Lake View Boulevard to these extensive dense super developments concentrated in one area.”
She is skeptical about whether each super site’s cumulative impact on traffic was being truly gauged.
“It’s a weakness of the planning scheme that it looks myopically at each application.”
In the meantime, there was little room to widen Chapel Road’s carriageway, Cr Garad said.
A potential solution was more effective public bus services, running every 30 minutes, to encourage less car use, she said.
Mayor Jim Memeti, who voted in favour of the 182 Chapel Road development, concedes that residents are letting council know “they’re not happy with the amount of townhouses”.
“They’re calling it over-development but the Government calls it affordable housing.”
There was a case for upgrading Chapel Road, he said.
“What residents say, and what the council and the Department of Transport say about traffic volumes are two different things.”
Greater Dandenong engineering director Paul Kearsley said large developers’ traffic impact assessment must be prepared by a qualified traffic engineering consultancy.
It must consider the current and future road network’s capacity, including the impact on nearby intersections and known future developments.
Mr Kearsley said it was too early to assess Mordialloc Freeway’s effect until travel patterns “settle”.
