IT IS the road that funnels more than 150,000 tourists down to the Surf Coast every year, but a new lobby group fears the Princes Freeway could start scaring people away.
Non-partisan community group Road, Rail, Environment Action (RREACT) wants an upgrade of the highway’s dilapidated nature strips between Brooklyn and Werribee to boost community pride.
RREACT chairman John Forrester said old barbed wire fencing, unsightly piles of rubble and rampant weeds along the freeway made the West look tired and depressing.
“We are pumping all these people through there and the State Government is flogging Werribee Mansion but when you drive out there, it is the worst road in Melbourne,” he said.
“Going out to the polo on the weekend at Werribee Park you come across land that looks like it belongs in the back blocks of Australia 150 years ago — and it is on Wyndham’s front door.”
RREACT was formed last year to lobby councils and the State Government for a makeover of the Princes Freeway but its members are frustrated with the slow progress of talks between Government bureaucrats.
They have hosted information stalls at local events to spread their message and erected signs saying “Freeways in the West should look better” along the highway.
Mr Forrester said the ugly road encouraged the stereotype that the West was a terrible place to live, particularly when compared to the Monash Freeway’s landscaped nature strips.
“To defeat that (idea) we need to change the image of the community and show that it is a decent place,” he said. “This road looks like a sad mistake.”
The group already has the support of the Hobsons Bay City Council and Wyndham City Council, which have long lobbied the State Government for upgrades.
Wyndham mayor Shane Bourke said the freeway was a “disgrace” and needed a makeover along with local rail corridors.
“What is fascinating is that certain MPs can come down that freeway day after day and allow it to stay like that,” Cr Bourke said.
“We are very proud of our area, but it is shocking.”
Hobsons Bay mayor Leigh Hardinge said he had asked Roads Minister Tim Pallas for landscaping to soften “the packing case canyon” effect of noise attenuation devices.
“The whole length needs to be re-evaluated,” Cr Hardinge said.
“A lot of people coming from the airport take the Westgate Freeway and Princes Freeway and I believe the area should look pristine as it is a welcome point to our capital city.”
He said he was hoping money would be provided for the beautification work in the next State budget.
VicRoads’ regional manager for the area, Rob Freemantle, said $25,000 had been committed to landscape the Newlands St area in Laverton.
He said VicRoads was working with local councils and RREACT on strategies to beautify the other areas.
RREACT is also pushing for better maintenance of the rail corridors in Werribee, which Mr Forrester said were blighted by graffiti, rubbish and broken pipes.
“A commitment should be made to adopting one standard of treatment and maintenance of major freeways and rail corridors across Melbourne,” Mr Forrester said.
He urged people to support RREACT by writing to Premier Steve Bracks, local MPs and by joining RREACT.
For more information or to become a member go to www.rreact.com.au or call Mr Forrester on 0401 854 387.
