Residents of Barker and Bagshaw Streets in Harcourt are urging Mount Alexander Shire Council to seal the unmade roads in order to reduce the detrimental impact of dust and increasing traffic on local residents.
Barker Street resident Vera Hemkes recently contacted the Mail to voice her frustration at council’s lack of action on the issue.
Ms Hemkes has been campaigning council to address the matter for the last three years.
“I have gone to extreme lengths to get action. I’ve interviewed most of the residents on the two roads and put together a petition to council. In 2021, there was some idle promise that council would develop design plans in that year and possibly, yes possibly seal the roads but despite repeated attempts to contact council and get an update on the issue I keep hitting brick walls,” she said.
Ms Hemkes recently wrote to councillors and the Minister for Local Government querying where plans were at for the roads.
Ms Hemkes says there has been a lot of new development in the area since the petition was submitted and up to three more developments are reportedly planned for the surrounding area, but the roads remain unmade.
“It’s (Barker Street) the only unmade road of any significance within the town centre. Barker Street is the most densely populated road in the town gird. The dust levels, corrugations and potholes are not conducive to healthy living. It’s also becoming increasingly dangerous for pedestrians with no footpaths. Council has a duty of care to residents to address these issues,” she said.
A Mount Alexander Shire Council spokesperson told the Mail that subject to budget approval, Barker and Bagshaw Streets will be included on the list of roads forming the road design program for the financial year 2023/2024.
“In preparation, traffic counts are being conducted to provide additional data for consideration of the roads requested,” the spokesperson said.
“Once the design works for the road are complete, the project will then be submitted through the budget process for construction, pending the allocation of funding.”
At this stage, construction works for Barker Street are unfunded. Any proposals for new road maintenance and improvement works are required to go through council’s annual bid proposal process. For more information about roads within the shire, visit www.mountalexander.vic.gov.au/Roads.
