The City of Casey welcomes commitments from both major political parties for upgrades along the Clyde Road Corridor if elected at the upcoming State election.
Funding announcements include:
- $175 million from the Liberals and Nationals to upgrade Berwick-Cranbourne Road, including duplication from Berwick to Sladen Street, Cranbourne, and upgrades to a number of intersections
- $70 million from the Labor Party to install traffic lights at the intersection of Berwick-Cranbourne Road and Thompsons Road.
City of Casey Chair of Administrators Noelene Duff PSM said Council had been advocating for many years for the much-needed upgrade to the Clyde Road Corridor, which comprises Clyde Road, Berwick-Cranbourne Road and Clyde-Five Ways Road.
“We welcome these commitments by both major parties, and these upgrades would certainly go some way toward easing traffic woes along this busy stretch of road,” Ms Duff said.
“The Clyde Road Corridor is one of the busiest and most congested arterial thoroughfares in the city, recording the highest number of congestion and safety related complaints from our community. Those who travel along this corridor regularly know all too well that the 12-kilometre trip from Berwick to Clyde can take more than 40 minutes.
“Further to that, safety remains a major concern along this busy arterial road. For two consecutive years, Clyde Road Corridor ranked eighth in the AAMI Crash Index and there have been 265 recorded crashes along this stretch in the past five years.”
Ms Duff said Clyde Road Corridor was the main north-south arterial road corridor in Casey, providing a vital connection between Berwick, Clyde, Clyde North, Cranbourne East and Cranbourne.
“In the past five years, the population of Clyde and Clyde North has tripled, making it one of the fastest growing areas in Victoria. This rapid population growth is leading to record car ownership and increased pressure on Casey’s transport network.
“While we are pleased that a number of major projects have already been undertaken along this stretch of road, including the Berwick level crossing removal, duplication of O’Shea Road and upgrades to the intersection of Clyde and O’Shea roads, further improvements are urgently needed.
“These projects may improve traffic and safety for some sections of the road in the short-term, however, Council’s traffic modelling still shows an increase in traffic, year-on-year. This trend is set to continue with further development and population growth placing even greater pressure on our roads.”
As part of this project, the City of Casey is advocating for:
- the duplication of up to 14km of arterial road
- new signalised and upgraded intersections
- new shared paths
- new bus stops and increased bus frequency
- pedestrian crossings
- improved traffic management technology, and
- early planning and upgrades of Clyde-Five Ways Road and Ballarto Road to cater for future growth.
Ms Duff said Council was seeking support from the Victorian and Australian governments to undertake a business case to deliver a costed plan for upgrades along the entire Clyde Road Corridor.
“Ultimately, the Clyde Road Corridor will service a population of more than 200,000 by 2041.
“That’s why it is so important that this project becomes a priority for the Victorian Government and that a business case is undertaken to determine the full project scope and cost.
“We would like to see commitments from all sides of politics towards upgrading the entire Clyde Road Corridor to improve safety and reduce congestion.”
For more information about the City of Casey’s Connecting Casey advocacy campaign, visit www.casey.vic.gov.au/advocacy and follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/connectingcasey