Safety upgrades are urgently needed on a dangerous stretch of the Warburton Highway in Seville East. The Seville community continues to raise concerns about how dangerous Warburton Highway is at Peters Road, Joyce Road, Sunnyside Road, and Douthie Road, for local and tourist traffic and for pedestrians – mostly school children – who struggle to cross safely from the bus stops.

There has been at least 20 vehicle accidents involving injuries and one fatality recorded at this stretch since 2014, under the watch of the State Government.

A community meeting was held on 29 April at the Seville Public Hall, organised by local resident Mr Joel Supple who has recently convened the Seville East Traffic Safety Group. State Member for Evelyn, Bridget Vallence, attended the meeting to listen to residents’ concerns and ideas, and stated she would advocate for the group at Parliament in Spring Street.

That week in State Parliament, on 2 May, Ms Vallence voiced the community’s concerns in a Member Statement, again calling for urgent action by the State Government to allocate funds in the Budget, which will be handed down on 27 May.

This comes after Ms Vallence met with residents and local traffic police on 10 April at the corner of Peters Road and Warburton Highway, and her subsequent letter to the Minister for Roads seeking urgent action and an assurance that funds will be allocated in the State Budget. To date, Ms Vallence is yet to receive a response from the Minister.

With 90 deaths in a 100 day period in Victoria this year, including an increase in deaths on country roads by over 90% from this time last year, any further delay by the State Government to address Warburton Highway in Seville East will only put further lives at risk.