By Renee Wood
MacIntyre Lane road works in Yering have sparked outrage among some motorists who are disappointed the upgrades haven’t catered for better traffic access.
The $395,000 project funded by the State Government and supported by the Yarra Ranges Council was to widen the road and improve pedestrian crossing by installing a bay for Yarra Valley Trail users to have a safer cross over.
However, concerns have been raised as to why the upgrades haven’t included a widening for road users at the intersection to allow for a left turning slip lane on to Melba Highway.
Yarra Valley Rides owner Scott Bennett travels on the road frequently transporting passengers and said the intersection is always ‘bumper to bumper’.
“If you’ve got a horse float being towed or a boat or large SUV and they’re turning right no one can come through on the left and if you’ve got traffic banked back – it’s a nightmare,” Mr Bennett said.
“I just can’t believe they spent all that money and haven’t addressed the whole issue.”
Mr Bennett said the works have been a wasted opportunity which could have helped to address the traffic issue.
“It’s just wrong, it’s a disgrace,” he said.
“My issue is they’ve widened the road so pedestrians don’t get run over, which is fair enough, but they’ve narrowed the intersection and not made it wider for traffic to get through there.
“They could have widened it enough to have a slip lane turning left.”
Mr Bennett has lived in the area for 63 years and has owned Yarra Valley Rides for the past six years.
He has noticed the traffic heavily increasing on MacIntyre Lane in recent years and believes it’s due to GPS systems sending drivers to use the road and avoid traveling on Maroondah Highway through Coldstream.
“If you were coming from Ringwood and you set your Google maps for Stones or Yering Station – Google will force you on the MacIntyre lane – Google maps, I think has increased the traffic by 70 per cent.”
Director Environment and Infrastructure, Bill Millard said council’s priority was to improve the crossing for the Trail.
“Council’s priority has been to improve the safety of MacIntyre Lane as a future road crossing for the Yarra Valley Trail without impacting on the current function of the intersection,” Mr Millard said.
The project was part of the TAC Local Government Grant funding which supports local governments to reduce and possibly eliminate the risks of serious injuries or deaths for pedestrians and cyclists.
Yarra Ranges Council submitted an application to the Department of Transport which focused on making it easier and safer for pedestrians and cyclists to cross and access the trail.
The plans were provided to the Department and there were no requests for design changes to accommodate other issues.
“Both the initial concept prepared by Traffic Engineers and the detailed design which is now being constructed have been provided to the Department of Transport as the responsible authority for the intersection with Melba Highway,” he said.
“There was no request from the Department to alter the design of the intersection as part of the current works.”
The Department considers a range of factors when looking at the projects and plans such as pedestrians’ needs, road network impacts and crash reports – with two crashes were recorded at the intersection over the five-year period to December 2021.
A Department of Transports spokesperson said they have been working with the council to improve the safety on roads, including MacIntyre Lane.
“We will continue to monitor the intersection with Melba Highway to ensure it is safe and work with Yarra Ranges Shire Council on any future improvements that may be needed,” they said.
There are currently no plans for any further upgrades at this intersection and the Department will continue to monitor safety along the Melba Highway.
