Not happy. Berwick residents want City of Casey Council to fulfil a 20year promise and make Gwendoline Drive a through road. The residents include Amy Watson, Merilyn Hohmann, Barbara Watson, Mike Boxell, Faye Dowling, Kath Hedges, Wendy Boxell, Ailen Daley, Sue Weaver, Wally Goodwin, Barbara Goodier, Jim Sillekens, Gail Sillekens, and Bill Hedges. The By Rebecca Fraser
BERWICK residents claim Casey Council has “boxed” them in and failed to fulfil a 20year promise.
Residents of Country Drive and the surrounding streets of Berwick claim council decided to turn Gwendoline Drive into a through road more than two decades ago but has done a complete backflip and failed to deliver.
But what has angered residents more is that the two ends of Gwendoline Drive have already been developed. Only 140 metres of land remains in the middle which needs to be developed to turn the drive into a through road.
More than 200 people have now signed a petition calling on Casey Council to live up to their promise and ease traffic congestion on County Drive and nearby Bellevue Avenue.
County Drive resident Barbara Goodier, who has lived in the area for more than 20 years, said residents can not understand how council could go ahead with two ends of the road and not complete the 140m section in the middle.
“This is a road that is needed desperately, a road that has been promised for 20odd years by council,” Ms Goodier said.
“Residents have to fight their way out of the congested area every work morning and then the same fight to get back home at night. It is not good enough.
“This shows total disregard for residents in this area and council must face the reality that extra roads are needed now to keep up with the growing population.
“Council needs to make this (Gwendoline Drive) a through road, the deviation road that was promised and promised and promised. The construction crew is on site constructing the section from the Centre Road end, now is time to complete the final 140m.”
Margot Goodwin agreed the situation was just madness and council needed to stop reneging and deliver their promise.
“Gwendoline Kindergarten cannot access their own kinder on Gwendoline Drive,” she said.
“New people come into council and are not aware of the issues or when they finally realise they don’t care. They just can’t cope with the size of Casey. County Drive means a drive not a thoroughfare and something needs to be done,” she said.
Other residents said Gwendoline Drive needed to be a through road for easier access and to provide a direct route to the new primary school in Centre Road, Gwendoline Preschool and the proposed 100+ Child Care Centre on the corner of Gwendoline Drive and Golf Links Road.
They also said weekend and nighttime sport traffic from Sweeney Reserve as well as new housing estates developing along Golf Links Road had added to the congestion.
Others said they feared for the safety of their children on the busy road and one man said trucks driving by had smashed the side mirrors off his car three times.
The petition is expected to be presented to council tonight (Thursday) by Casey councillor Mick Morland.
Cr Morland said the current situation was a difficult one as the Berwick Church of Christ on Centre Road owned part of the undeveloped land and opposed turning into a road.
“I will be calling for a council report but I am not sure where the issue will go. The church is the real stumbling block,” he said.
Casey Council engineering and environment services manager, David Richardson, said he could not predict what the new council would decide but believed the through road would become a high priority.
“The Northern side has been developed by the developer and the south side for the new school.
“There is a new children services centre, an oval and a pavilion and I would think that it was highly likely that this will be up for consideration at the next budget,” he said.
