Eildon MP Cindy McLeish has called for urgent repairs to be made to the road leading into the Badger Weir Picnic Ground, which she said had fallen into disrepair by lack of maintenance and poor weather conditions.
Ms McLeish raised the issue in Parliament with the Minister for Environment and Climate Change on the 2 September, calling for immediate action.
“I have been contacted by concerned locals who have reported that the current condition of the road is horrendous. It is full of deep potholes, eroded and very difficult to drive over,” Ms McLeish said.
“This is at a time when a lot of people who live within the 5 kilometre radius are using this area for their one hour a day exercise, so there is regular traffic along this road.
MsMcleish described the entrance rad as “appalling” and said that visitors risk damaging their cars upon driving over deep potholes.
“Of course, given the pandemic and stage four restrictions that are in place in the Yarra Ranges, many people are unable to visit or use the grounds as they usually would. However, this is no reason to disregard repairs that need to take place.”
Leading into the summer period, outdoor locations such as this will be utilised to their
full potential by locals and visitors post-Covid-19.
Ms Mcleish said repairing the road now will ensure it is in an adequate condition during peak tourist season and that it is accessible for locals to still use while in stage four restrictions.
The Badger Creek Picnic Ground officially reopened to the public in April last year. The site received $1.69 million in funding from the state government after the area was destroyed by heavy storms.
“I hope the minister can see the significance in this project. It is one that can be achieved quite quickly, that will provide work for the road construction industry and placate locals who can currently access the picnic grounds, while setting it up for future use,” Ms McLeish said.
