Road for recovery

By Kath Gannaway
NARBETHONG resident Tony Parisi has taken the next step in his campaign to improve the road conditions over the Black Spur.
Mr Parisi handed over a petition signed by 1597 people to Member for Seymour, Ben Hardman, for tabling in State Parliament.
Copies were sent to the Premier John Brumby and Minister for Roads Tim Pallas.
Mr Parisi started his campaign in 2009 with an open letter to Marysville Triangle and Yarra Valley residents seeking their views on safety issues for motortists using the Maroondah Highway between Healesville and Narbethong.
He said the results supported his concerns and should drive change.
In a letter to the premier he said accidents happened on a weekly basis and that “ … every resident in the community has a ‘near miss’ story.”
“The road is very windy, unstable and much of it does not have side barriers,” Mr Parisi said.
“On some bends both the right side rear wheels of the (logging truck) bogey end up over the white centre line and vehicles travelling in the opposite direction are confronted with significantly restricted road space.
Mr Parisi is requesting the government commit funding to construct a new road, which he said would address the safety issues and contribute to the region’s economic recovery.
He proposes that the existing road remain as an emergency back-up.
He said an alternative proposal would be to make the necessary improvements to the existing road to make it safe by widening the road by one metre.
Another option would see an upgrade of the Old Spur Road carrying outbound traffic, while the existing road would cater for inbound.
A total new alignment on the 1920 proposed rail line route would be option three.
Mr Parisi said support for improvements to the Black Spur road came not only from local communities, but from many other visitors from Melbourne and further afield.
“All who visit the area support a better and safer access road,” he said.