Chaos at Woodend’s notorious Urquhart Street and High Street intersection has been flagged in parliament.
Liberal Northern Victoria MP Wendy Lovell has called for the Victorian government to prioritise upgrading the intersection.
Ms Lovell spoke in parliament to expedite the upgrade by releasing the design plans for consultation, and committing to fund the works.
“The intersection of Urquhart Street and High Street is well known to be a dangerous intersection with a confusing layout,” she said.
“The government has begun work on designing the new intersection, but has been too slow to start community consultation.
“The Minister for Roads and Road Safety must expedite the intersection upgrade by immediately releasing the design plans for consultation, and committing to fund the works.
“Road safety should be a priority of the Victorian government.”
Users of the intersection contend with main street congestion, a confusing layout with several turning points and high volumes of traffic accessing service hot spots including the Coles supermarket and train station.
The intersection has no traffic lights or other measures to assist drivers and other users.
Complaints about the intersection traffic has been persistent since Coles re-positioned itself at the busy corner in 2018. Users continue to report cases of near-misses.
More than four years have passed since Macedon Ranges Shire Council first sought action from the Department of Transport.
The council renewed calls for action in December last year, seeking information on when the government would release proposed intersection designs for public consultation.
Works for the intersection were listed as a ‘medium-term’ project in the draft Woodend Integrated Transport Study in 2022. At that time, the council anticipated a four-to-seven year timeframe for the works.
