Seal Menzies Road

Here is some historical background information on Menzies Road in Menzies Creek:

• At a local meeting, our council confirmed that School/Menzies Road was a priority road to be sealed in the following years 'road works' at no cost to resident home owners…that was 29 years ago.

• Approximately 10 years ago School Road was sealed, commencing at Hermons Corner and finishing at the Menzies Creek Primary School. This part of School/Menzies Road was sealed simply to appease the tourist bus drivers who complained that the road was too bumpy for their passengers. The council initially informed residents that they had sealed this section of road with a new sealing technique and if it proved to be satisfactory, the last part of the School/Menzies Road would also be sealed. However they later withdrew that claim about a new technique, and when the Shire of Sherbrooke was amalgamated with other smaller shires to form the Shire of Yarra Ranges, all promises were consequently annulled.
It was your rate money that was spent to improve the comfort level of tourists on a two minute journey of School/Menzies Road.

• The council, CFA and Emerald Police all acknowledge that Menzies Road is a vital safety access/detour road in the case of emergencies such as a bushfire, and a main escape route for thousands of people from Belgrave, Kallista and Selby. If there was a car accident on our road during a bushfire evacuation everyone would be trapped.

• The council acknowledges that Menzies Road is a main thoroughfare for 3 schools, CFA traffic, tourists from Victoria’s second largest tourist attraction (Puffing Billy), and is a known shortcut for locals avoiding slower moving vehicles on the main road. In addition to this it is also the road that 68 families call home.

• Several serious accidents have occurred on Menzies Road due to the dangerous road conditions, along with regular minor accidents where motorists are forced into gutters. We would like to hear all residents’ experiences with accidents or near accidents due to the unsafe road conditions.

• The Special Charge Scheme is a deterrent the council presents whenever anyone enquires about having the road sealed. Not everyone can afford to pay for the contribution expected by this scheme, which the council knows full well. So when over inflated figures of $15000 or more per household are mentioned they know people will be put off and the problem will go away. Menzies Road is a very dangerous road and we definitely should not have to pay to achieve safety on our road and in our community, that is the responsibility of our council.

• When the road is sealed it must be constructed with appropriate speed control devices such as speed humps and/or chicanes.

• Fine particles of dust during dry conditions exacerbate many lung related health problems such as asthma and may even contribute to the onset of such diseases.