Don’t bypass Cranbourne’s needs

CRANBOURNE needs and should get a traffic bypass.
That is fairly much an indisputable fact.
Taking heavy traffic out of towns has been a matter of course for the past two decades, so why not for Cranbourne.
The problem seems to me to be an argument of what is a bypass because VicRoads is calling Clyde Road a Cranbourne bypass.
It’s not even close to Cranbourne.
Nevertheless, the City of Casey faces a massive task in convincing the powers that be in VicRoads otherwise and I doubt they will.
This is something that impacts on people from across the wider southeast region because many roads head toward and through Cranbourne and many people shop in the town.
Most of all, a major trucking industry is developing in the Lang Lang area and Cranbourne people do not want those trucks thundering through their shopping centre.
Also, trucking companies do not want trucks destined for the large Dandenong South industrial area to end up north of Dandenong several kilometres away.
This is what will happen if they are forced to use Clyde Road.
The duplicated Clyde Road will have enough traffic without being classified as a bypass for a faroff town.
Years ago, the easement was made available for a Cranbourne bypass from near Clairmont Avenue and Camms Road, about one kilometre north of the township, across to Narre Warren Cranbourne Road, south to Cameron Street, then back on to the South Gippsland Highway near the Cranbourne racecourse.
This was expected for many years and, although not a legal document, was listed in the Melway street directory.
Great expectation of a bypass existed for many years.
So what has brought about this change of thinking by VicRoads and caused its dogged rejection of Casey’s argument?
We are already seeing disharmony over this with Casey mayor Kevin Bradford sniping at Cranbourne MP Jude Perera because he thinks Mr Perera is fence sitting on the issue.
Cr Bradford said the council’s bypass proposal added only $12 million to the already planned upgrade of Cameron Street, Cranbourne.
He said the bypass simply provided a connection between the South Gippsland Highway and Cameron Street at Camms Road.
“The State Government has promised to upgrade Cameron Street at some time, which will cost $20 million between Camms Road and the South Gippsland Highway or, $40 million if the State Government decides to make itself build a bridge over the railway line,” Cr Bradford said.
“Whichever alternative it chooses, it needs to upgrade Cameron Street soon.
“VicRoads already owns the land and the road has been planned for years.
“Council’s Cranbourne bypass proposal does not require any different standard of road along Cameron Street than what the Government has to build anyway.”
My view is that if Clyde Road is used as the ‘Cranbourne bypass’ then far too many trucks will keep on keeping on through the beleaguered Cranbourne township.
The mayor has a very strong point on this one.