Traffic torture

By Melissa Grant
KOOWEERUP residents who opted to have a quiet Easter weekend became hostages in their own homes as holiday traffic clogged the township’s roads.
Those brave enough to venture out found themselves in a traffic jam, the worst being on Good Friday when vehicles banked up past Manks Road.
Holiday-makers heading down to Phillip Island were stuck on Sybella Avenue for up to 40 minutes waiting to turn onto the South Gippsland Highway.
The traffic gridlock has again highlighted the desperate need for a Kooweerup Bypass, a long awaited project that is yet to attract any government funds.
Kooweerup Township Committee chairman Ray Brown said he – like many locals – wouldn’t be going out on long weekends until a bypass was constructed.
“We know the traffic is bad, we just don’t go out,” he said.
“There is no short-term fix.”
Kooweerup resident Lisa Van Dord took to the road about mid-day Friday only to be confronted with traffic mayhem.
“We were absolutely staggered to see the traffic banked from the South Gippsland Highway and Sybella Avenue all the way down to Manks Rd towards Pakenham where the cars were stationary,” she said.
Mr Brown said the Rossiter Road and Station Street intersection proved a nightmare for motorists, with those on Station Street waiting for at least 20 cars to pass before pulling out.
Kooweerup Township Committee secretary Geoff Stokes said the Good Friday blockage lasted two-and-a-half hours and was repeated on Monday night as holiday-makers headed home.
“We were very fortunate there were few trucks,” he said.
Cardinia Shire Council traffic counts in February revealed an average of 9,600 vehicle movements each day on Station Street.
About 12 per cent – 1152 – of those vehicles were trucks.
Port Ward councillor Stuart Halligan said the figures showed how much traffic had increased in recent times.
“The figures five years ago, when I was in charge at Kooweerup police station, were 35,000 traffic movements per week … so it’s virtually doubled since then.”
Police were out in force in Kooweerup at the long weekend, issuing infringements to anyone who broke the road rules.
Operation Bucket, on Healesville-Kooweerup Road on Good Friday, saw police issue 22 defect notices as well as five penalty notices to unlicensed drivers or for unregistered or unsafe vehicles.
Police also booked a truck driver who blew over the prescribed zero blood alcohol limit.
On the Easter weekend, police also intercepted: 76 speedsters, including a 45-year-old Officer man who had his car impounded after police clocked him at 148km/h in a 100km/h zone on Dalmore Road; nine drink drivers; and one drug affected driver who an off-duty police member witnessed driving erratically on Good Friday about 7.30pm.
The 25-year-old woman from the Pakenham area reportedly did three laps around the roundabout at the Racecourse Road bypass on-ramp before police intercepted her on McGregor Road. Police located drugs after searching her vehicle. The woman faces charges for driving under the influence, dangerous driving and drug offences.
Acting Senior Sergeant Graham Higginbotham said Pakenham police detected 275 offences from midnight Thursday to midnight Monday – a disappointing result which ranked among the 10 worst in Victoria.
“The number of drink drivers and general traffic offences – speed and seat belt wearing – was very disappointing,” he said.
“As a result, police will continue heavily patrolling roads within Pakenham and Cardinia.”