By ANEEKA SIMONIS
COUNCIL has spent $70,000 in ratepayer money to shift a pedestrian crossing “a few metres” on Lakeside Boulevard in Pakenham.
It’s being justified as an important community safety improvement by Cardinia Shire Council, however not everyone is convinced on the pricey project, since discovered to have been wrongly attributed to VicRoads as the funding source.
Pakenham resident David Connor is one taxpayer up in arms over the expensive move.
“At first I thought I must be imagining things or had misunderstood,” he said when he read up on the project as detailed in the latest edition of council’s quarter release magazine, Connect.
“There is another pedestrian crossing, probably less than 100 metres down that same road, directly in front of our Cardinia Cultural Centre, with very poor visibility especially at night with no overhead lighting, orange flashing lights and is secreted amongst trees on both sides of the road and centre median strip.
“Given its close proximity to the school and shopping centre, surely that money could’ve been better spent upgrading that pedestrian crossing.
“It beggars belief that anyone would move a crossing ‘mere metres’ at a cost of $70K when another pedestrian crossing further down the same road is so lacking.”
The Gazette contacted VicRoads – published in council’s magazine as the sole source of funding – to understand the state funding priority for shifting the crossing a few metres up the road.
However, they said they had nothing to do with the project and had called council to confirm the print error.
“We have called council and they’ve confirmed it was funded by them,” the VicRoads spokesperson said.
However, council’s Infrastructure Manager Andrew Barr is sticking by the “walk safer” project undertaken in February and March this year.
“The changes to the crossing were not about its position per se, but about improving visibility,” he said.
“The few metres needed to achieve this were a minor adjustment, but the benefit of increased safety for both pedestrians and commuters is considerable.”
The works included two new lane traffic islands, relocated signage and flashing lights, new line marking of the crossing, improved drainage and removal of overhanging branches.
