DICKIE Road is Cardinia Shire’s forgotten thoroughfare, say residents.
Robert Krol has lived on the road for the past four years and says traffic has increased in that time, with Officer and Upper Beaconsfield motorists keen to take the shortest route to town.
Despite increasing traffic, the road is uneven and especially dangerous in the wet, when channels of running water carve up the road surface.
Mr Krol said some of the channels were up to one metre and were major hazards for those unfamiliar with the road.
“Dickie Road is probably more of a direct thoroughfare than Officer- Upper Beaconsfield itself.
“If you live in Upper Beaconsfield and you want to get to Officer or Pakenham, you can drive all the way down Salisbury Road and turn left to drive through Beaconsfield, or you can take Dickie Road – it is a far quicker route,” he said.
“They are building schools left right and centre (in Officer) and it has been noticeably busier in the past four years.
“It doesn’t take Einstein.”
Mr Krol said the road was graded every four to six weeks, but that this did not address the road’s structural problems.
“God knows there are hundreds and hundreds of kilometres of dirt roads in the shire, but I think they need to look at them and decide which ones need work and which ones don’t,” he said.
“But the road is in poor condition and this needs recognition from the council.”
Council spokesman Paul Dunlop said the council would consider sealing Dickie Road and Carpenter Road. “They would be considered for inclusion in the five year special charge scheme program, in accordance with special charge scheme policy,” he said.
Mr Krol said he had previously asked a councillor about sealing the road and was told each resident would have to fork out to cover the costs.
“The unfortunate fact is the road we are living on is being used as a thoroughfare and I thought we would be prioritised for bituminisation,” he said.
“I don’t think we should have to pay. What do we pay rates for, to send councillors on overseas junkets? I just think it is very short-sighted.” – Jade Lawton
