Zoe Moffatt
Questions regarding Romsey’s road infrastructure have landed on the steps of Parliament House, following advocacy from community action group Better Futures Romsey (BFR).
Northern Victoria MP Wendy Lovell questioned Roads and Road Safety Minister Melissa Horne about planned improvements to Romsey’s road infrastructure during a recent parliamentary sitting week.
“For quite some time members of [Better Futures Romsey] have attempted to ascertain what plans the government has to improve road infrastructure throughout the Romsey region,” Ms Lovell said.
“Residents of Romsey currently have no easy access to a major freeway to Melbourne, despite research detailed… that in 2021, 28 per cent of the population commuted to the metropolitan area.
“Will the minister detail any plans the government has to improve road infrastructure for the Romsey community into the future?”
Ms Horne said efficient road infrastructure is a priority for the state government, and the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) and will continue to monitor this section.
“DTP receives many requests related to road infrastructure projects,” she said.
“All are prioritised based on… current and predicted future traffic volumes, historical safety records of sites and the impact of treatments on the performance of the surrounding road network.”
BFR founding member Hal Pritchard said the question is one they have been asking for a while now, and they don’t feel like they are being listened to.
“I’ve been asking Mary-Anne [Thomas] that question for months with no answer,” Mr Pritchard said.
“[Ms Horne’s response] is such a long winded, round about way of saying nothing, it’s pretty appalling.
“Most people I’ve shown [the answer] to have said it could have come from a Utopia episode.
A spokesperson from Ms Thomas’ office said they have received a number of emails from Mr Pritchard with questions about Romsey, but they relate to the Romsey Structure Plan.
They said the questions have been referred to the relevant offices in the Victorian government for response.
A state government spokesperson said they have delivered vital road safety improvements across the Macedon Ranges
“Major repair work along four-kilometres of Melbourne-Lancefield Road [is now] complete,” they said.
Ms Lovell also asked Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll to detail any plans the government has to improve the public transport services.
