Transport woes … Hoppers Crossing resident Aaron Parsons has come up with his own solutions to Wyndham’s road problems. 53046 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By Alesha Capone
HOPPERS Crossing resident Aaron Parsons has considered moving out of the area to escape Wyndham’s traffic troubles and chaotic congestion.
Mr Parsons attended a recent transport forum in Hoppers Crossing to discuss his frustration with the area’s transport problems.
He owns a business in West Footscray, which requires him to drive through the municipality on a regular basis to witness the problems on State Government roads.
“As I said at the forum, if it wasn’t for the financial burden, I would move out of Werribee,” Mr Parsons said.
“You get frustrated, because you think just so much needs to be done.”
However, he has used his time stuck in traffic to good effect.
“Each time congestion appeared on one part of the road, I’d think of ways to fix it and wonder why they hadn’t yet fixed it,” Mr Parsons said.
“Being an election year, I figured it’s the best time to get things fixed or at least promised.”
During his own time, Mr Parsons has conducted research, printed aerial maps and come up with his own solutions to help solve gridlock at 12 intersections across Wyndham.
“After contacting people, I found some of the solutions are so simple, you could go and do them now,” he said.
“At the roundabout at Hogans and Derrimut roads, one idea I had was to put traffic lights 100 metres back from the intersection, because when the traffic banks all the way up from the roundabout, no one can go anywhere,” he said.
“Let me tell you, it needs it.
“At night time, sitting north on Derrimut Rd can take 15 minutes to go straight.”
Mr Parsons said he hoped the State Government and VicRoads would commit to funding road improvements in the area before the state election, but he said Wyndham City Council were good advocates on behalf of the area’s traffic issues.
