By Sahar Foladi
A long stretch of Princes Highway has topped the list for the most complaints in Greater Dandenong, according to a recent RACV survey.
The ‘Mr Melbourne Road’ survey showed the highway’s section between Westall and Heatherton roads was the most lamented by respondents.
RACV Head of Policy, James Williams said the feedback would provide insight into how road safety can be improved.
“The top concerns highlighted with this section of the Princes Highway included overall road inadequacy to support high demand and growth, lack of infrastructure for cyclists and congestion.”
RACV received feedback from 5,000 motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and public transport users in the inaugural ‘My Melbourne Road’ survey.
Participants were able to conduct the survey online where they could drop a pin on the map and fill out information about how that section can be improved from a safety perspective.
Respondents said they found the highway section dangerous because of bottle-neck congestion where three lanes of traffic merge into two lanes.
“I find this road dangerous due to sudden changes from three lanes to two, with drivers often making last-minute decisions or attempting to cut the queue,” one respondent mentioned in the survey.
“There really needs to be some clear and safe bike paths – at the moment this is not safe for cyclists,’” another said.
“This is dangerous because the congestion is just too much with cars merging on and off this road.”
A Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said vital safety upgrades are being rolled out by the department in partnership with the government’s Transport Accident Commission, as part of a $457.57 million Road Safety Program.
“We continually monitor our state’s transport network for potential improvements to ensure all road users can get where they need to go safely.
“Road safety is a broad and complex issue that requires a strategic, multi-faceted and coordinated approach and we welcome community feedback as part of that mix.
“We’re continuing to build safer roads, ensure speed limits are appropriate and promote safe driving behaviour but driving down road trauma takes all of us doing the right thing every time we hit the road.”
In 2021, RACV conducted a similar survey called ‘My Country Road’ which had more than 4,000 participants from regional Victoria.
“The feedback resulted in road upgrades, proving that speaking up can make a difference,” Mr Williams said.
“From here, RACV will engage with governments to address the findings and advocate for improvements to the roads that the My Melbourne Road survey identified.”
