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Roads and transport upgrade plea

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Council is highlighting the need for better roads and public transport ahead of the November state election.

We are calling for the Dorset Road extension and upgrades to Napoleon and Wellington roads, to reduce the heightened risk of road crashes and congestion.

Council is seeking:

  • The 3-kilometre extension of Dorset Road, between Burwood Highway and Lysterfield Road
  • Upgrade of Napoleon Road, between Lysterfield Road and Kelletts Road, including 2.7 kilometres of road duplication and bus priority infrastructure
  • Upgrade of Wellington Road, from Napoleon Road to Berwick Road

Knox Mayor, Councillor Paige Kennett said the Dorset Road extension was desperately needed to accommodate a rapidly growing population.

“Rapid population growth in Casey and Cardinia and a lack of connectivity has resulted in increased congestion in Knox’s south,” she said. “Traffic is diverting onto residential streets and this has resulted in a higher rate of crashes compared with Greater Melbourne.

“The $80 million previously committed to this project was withdrawn based on a 2022 evaluation that only looked at the 20% population growth in Knox and failed to consider the population growth of 48% in Casey and 30% in Cardinia where motorists are coming from.

“This evaluation admitted that more detailed modelling wasn’t completed because of COVID lockdowns and the crash risk in this corridor would increase if the problem wasn’t addressed.”

Cr Kennett said Council was calling for urgent upgrades to Napoleon and Wellington roads, with residents frequently reporting costly damage to their cars from hitting potholes.

“These roads have been the subject of many complaints from our community, with large potholes causing damage to vehicles and potentially causing collisions in recent years,” she said.

“This is especially dangerous on high-speed arterial roads, with a heightened risk of collisions from drivers swerving to avoid potholes or losing control after impact.”

Council is also seeking funding for long-awaited public transport projects.

“This includes improved and increased local bus services, extension of the Route 75 tram to connect with the rail line at Upper Ferntree Gully and Bayswater, and the trackless tram between Caulfield and Rowville,” Cr Kennett said.

Trackless trams (also known as Trackless Rapid Transit) have dedicated lanes and use technology to control traffic lights, providing reliable and consistent travel times. Their average speed is 33-59km/h, compared with a traditional tram’s 16km/h.

“For many years, Knox has been leading the eastern region councils in advocating for this to happen as a priority,” Cr Kennett said.

“The trackless tram has the capacity to move, 1800 people an hour. It would take just 11 minutes to travel from Rowville to Monash University and 26 minutes to Chadstone Shopping Centre.

“The lack of public transport between Knox and Monash is clogging up our freeways and major roads, with residents forced to use their cars because of limited options.

“Improving roads and public transport is critical for supporting population and housing growth. Knox could have 43,000 new homes by 2051 under housing targets set by the state government, putting even more pressure on our roads and transport network. We need to act now to ease congestion in Melbourne’s outer east.”

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