By Kath Gannaway
VICROADS will hold two community information sessions this month in a bid to put Yarra Glen district residents in the loop regarding the Yarra Glen bypass.
VicRoads has been criticised by the owner of the land being acquired for the project, and by business operators in the town who say they were either not notified of the bypass, or that it simply won’t work.
VicRoads representatives attended the monthly meeting of the Yarra Glen Township Group last Thursday and announced the information sessions, to be held at Yarra Glen Racing Centre on Thursday 11 December from 5pm to 7pm, and on Saturday 13 December from 10am to noon.
YGTG chairman Malcolm Calder said discussions had left no doubt VicRoads intended to proceed with the project, which would put the freeway through the centre of land owned by Halina Adams.
Mr Calder said issues had been raised by the group concerning the roundabout at the southern end of Bell Street.
“From the community’s point of view, we need to take into account access to the railway yards; that area has potential for very significant development servicing the wetlands, the township, as an information centre, and in relation to the parking it provides,’’ he said.
Access from and into King Street from the roundabout, and the provision of pedestrian walkways in a way that does not restrict access to the railway precinct or wetlands, were also areas of concern.
“These issues had been raised before but we felt we needed to emphasise those points because we thought they were not adequately accommodated in the current proposal,’’ Mr Calder said.
He said VicRoads had reaffirmed Bell Street would remain a highway providing access to trucks – one of the concerns of business operators who say they stand to lose business if the main street is made truck-free.
Mr Calder said members of the YGTG would attend the information sessions to help people put their view to VicRoads. “This is an opportunity for the community to have some input into what is going on with the bypass project,’’ he said.
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