Businesses fed up with state of road

The two roads are home to many of Drouin’s larger industrial enterprises, the Drouin ambulance station, about 180 storage units on three sites and is the main access and roadside parking for the Drouin cemetery.

Seventeen organisations were represented at the quickly convened meeting bringing to a head frustration built over 10 years,

Weerong Rd runs between Old Longwarry and Wellwood Rds and the business owners are angry nothing has been done to address its narrow width for an industrial area and used daily by many heavy vehicles, the safety of staff, customers and transport operators as well as ambulances based in Darcon Way.

They claim little has been done by Baw Baw Shire council other than occasional filling of potholes that reappear after about a week because of the amount of heavy vehicle traffic.

Meeting convenor Peter Dutneall, owner of a caravan and boat storage business, said there had been many “near accidents” due to the surface and narrow width of Weerong Rd with vehicles having to pull off to the side of the road and stop to allow oncoming traffic to pass.

Cemetery Trust representative Tim Wills said parking problems were exacerbated at the cemetery where parking at funerals – there are about 60 per year – was along the side of the built road.

The shire has told us parking is not allowed on the nature strip and that the trust would have to pay if it wanted parking bays constructed, he said.

A suggestion by Peter Ward that businesses engage a traffic engineering consultant to prepare a case to Baw Baw council was well received for consideration as part of a wider action plan to upgrade Weerong Rd.

West Ward shire councillor Keith Cook, the only ward representative invited to Thursday’s meeting, suggested businesses respond to the “Have Your Say” section on the shire’s website ahead of the closing date next Thursday for initial submissions relating to council’s 2020-2021 budget.

Cr Cook said council “did not have a lot of money” to maintain its extensive road network and relied heavily on State and Federal government grants.

Also suggested by businesses was to seek advice from Member for Narracan Gary Blackwood, especially in relation to possible funding from the Latrobe Valley Authority because of the amount of employment the Weerong Rd-Darcon Way area provided and its economic contribution.

It was pointed out that the owners of the properties and businesses pay substantial annual council rates and had paid into the shire’s Developers’ Contribution Plan for little return.