Hume councillors are being urged to push for the upgrade of a rail crossing that’s creating frequent traffic snarls and leading to risky behaviour in central Sunbury.
Sunbury-based councillor Jack Medcraft wants the council to write to the state government seeking action on the Gap Road level crossing.
About 18,000 vehicles a day use Gap Road.
Cr Medcraft said traffic in the area had become increasingly choked since electrification of the train line in 2013.
Population growth is also making matters worse, with traffic often banked up in surrounding streets, jamming a nearby roundabout.
‘‘It’s great to have a rail service, but if you’re not going to address the traffic problems, what’s the point?’’ Cr Medcraft said.
‘‘Boom gates are down for longer. Trains are coming through every few minutes.
‘‘To both political parties, I would be saying, if you want Sunbury people to take you seriously, get this crossing done.’’
Drivers often accelerate to beat boom gates and pedestrians sometimes walk around barriers, but Cr Medcraft said the crossing was more than just an inconvenience.
He said possible solutions included an underpass or relocation of the main train station to a planned stop at Sunbury South.
‘‘It’s a major safety issue,’’ Cr Medcraft said. ‘‘If the road went underneath, you could eliminate all of that.’’
As reported by Star Weekly, the crossing and nearby roundabout were not mentioned in VicRoads’ priority list released last October.
The Sunbury Residents Association has previously called for a third railway crossing towards Vineyard Road to ease congestion.
Mayor Helen Patsikatheodorou said the council would support any measure to improve safety and traffic flow.
‘‘The state government announced last year that it would fund a study of this intersection, and we’re keen to see the corner improved,’’ she said. ‘‘While an underpass at the railway crossing would make a huge difference, council will continue to ask the government to install traffic lights at the corner of Gap Road and Horne Street.’’
Cr Medcraft said people were sick of the area being overlooked.
‘‘Sunbury’s going to be one of the biggest growth corridors in the west. If we can’t get this fixed now, what sort of problems are we going to have in 10 years time?’’ he asked.
