Western Metropolitan MP Catherine Cumming has called for the responsible ministers to authorise a traffic study on Ashley Street and Sunshine Road near the Tottenham train station underpass to support the widening of the underpass from two lanes to four lanes.
In an adjournment matter during parliament on Tuesday, August 16, she called on Roads, Road Safety and Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll to look into ordering the traffic study.
“This is an important north–south route, linking Braybrook and Tottenham, but it also affects all the traffic from the port and from the east, from Footscray into Sunshine and through the west,” Dr Cumming said.
She said that having traffic merge into a single lane often led to a “bottleneck” along Ashley Street.
Dr Cumming said Mr Carroll has confirmed that the Ashley Street corridor does have a public acquisition overlay along key sections which secures additional land for future road widening, which could allow for an additional lane each way along Ashley Street.
“The minister also confirmed that the upgrades completed as part of the regional rail link project considered the need for future road widening and that the newer part of the underpass was designed to leave space for those additional two lanes,” she said.
“If a traffic study is completed, I am sure it would confirm that opening up the underpass is a priority.”
Matthew Sims
