Residents oppose road closure
A proposal to close a 200 metre section of Lillico Rd, Warragul and forcing motorists through a new residential estate has been described as ridiculous by some local residents.
Christies Rd residents John Roberts and Chris Olsson last week addressed a Baw Baw Shire meeting, urging councillors to abandon plans to close a portion of Lillico Rd, between the access to a new estate and Eve Rd.
Citing safety, accessibility for heavy vehicles and basic common sense as reasons not to close the road, Mr Roberts and Mr Olsson said they could not understand what would be achieved by council closing the road.
The portion of road is proposed to be closed as part of a 369 lot residential estate. The closure will essentially divert traffic wanting to travel between the Lillico end to Brandy Creek, or vice versa, off Lillico Rd, through the new estate.
The matter was presented to council for determination last week. But, after listening to submissions from Mr Roberts and Mr Olsson, council decided to defer a decision until its August 22 meeting.
Officers recommended council begin the process of closing the road, saying new roads in the Brandy Creek Estate would provide continued access to Lillico Rd.
Mr Roberts and Mr Olsson welcomed council’s decision to defer the matter and gain more information.
Mr Roberts told council despite ongoing questions of officers, he had not received any valid reason of why Lillico Rd needed to be closed.
“They tell me it is enshrined in the precinct structure plan but I put it to you, the PSP is not the 10 commandments and it is not set in stone,” he said.
Mr Roberts said there was a huge amount of traffic travelling along Lillico Rd each day, including school buses.
He said the design of the new road alignment at Eve Rd and into the new estate was unsafe.
“These residents will have difficulty seeing traffic coming from the west,” he said.
Mr Olsson, who operates a heavy haulage company from his Christies Rd property, said he used Lillico Rd daily.
If council proceeds with closing the section of road, Mr Olsson will have to navigate his heavy vehicles through the residential estate, including a roundabout which he said was not designed for large vehicles.
“I have to move onto the wrong side of the road to access the roundabout. It is a shocking design and I don’t know how it got past council.
“I can gross up to 80 tonnes on some of the loads I carry and that takes a lot to pull up.
“It (the roundabout) is dangerous for large vehicles like we operate. It’s not the size of the roundabout, it’s the access into the roundabout. Safety has to be a priority,” he said.
Mr Olsson demonstrated to The Gazette on site on Friday how difficult it was for him to navigate his truck around the estate roundabout.
If the proposed section of Lillico Rd is closed, he will be required to do this every day.
“The roundabout is there now but if they close that section of road we will have to go into the new estate, around the roundabout and then make another 90 degrees turn back onto Lillico Rd,” he said.
Moving the matter be deferred, Cr Danny Goss said the submitters raised some “serious safety issues.”
“I think we should put it off so we can sign off on these issues once and for all,” he said.
Cr Mikaela Power said she appreciated council was on a timeframe but some of the points raised during the submissions needed further clarification.
“I really want to make sure I have heard all the information,” she said.