By Kirsty Ross
POINT Cook Residents’ Association (PCRA) has slammed a council decision to axe all sugar gum trees along Dunnings Rd simply to ease possible gridlock.
“They are the only strand of trees above 15 metres high for several kilometres in the area,” said Ian Muir PCRA president.
More than 170 of Point Cook’s oldest trees will be axed now Wyndham City Council has joined VicRoads in a decision to widen Dunnings and Point Cook roads and install traffic lights.
They chose between five possible future upgrade options for Dunnings Rd, between Point Cook Rd and the Palmers Rd extension.
Three alternatives, with varying impact on the 73-year-old trees went before community consultation before councillors voted on the final decision in mid-March.
The upgrade will be performed in stages over the next 10 to 15 years, when state government cash comes to the table.
“Wyndham Council accepted option one of Vicroads’ draft plans, and this was obviously always going to be the preferred option,” said Mr Muir.
“Why did they bother going through the community consultation process?” he asked.
Mr Muir believed council preferred this option to avoid relocating existing infrastructure, light poles for the centre median lighting, and the correct positioning of the east-bound running lane.
The council intends to build a centre median and plant trees along it, build service roads on both sides of Dunnings Rd, and separate opposing traffic.
And a council report stated that the 60km/h speed limit would be preserved for safety reasons.
Council sent a letter and survey outlining the options and landscape responses to about 380 properties surrounding Dunnings Rd.
About 100 surveys were returned, with 70 per cent of responses supporting the first option for its road safety benefits.
“Over half of the survey respondents indicated that road safety was a higher priority than the preservation of the sugar gum trees,” Wyndham mayor Shane Bourke said.
“However, landscaping of the road was seen as important.
“Results showed that 68 per cent of respondents would like to see the road landscaped with native trees and mowed grass.”
Hobsons Bay City Council last week received a petition asking that the service road be retained and developed when work began on the upgrade to Dunnings Rd.
