PREPARATIONS to bring supersized trucks into Colac highlight the need to investigate a heavy-vehicle bypass, community leaders say.
Super-sized trucks could use upgraded Colac bridges
Cr Michael Delahunty, left, and Cr Chris Smith want planning for a Colac heavy vehicle bypass, rather than the threat of super-sized trucks rolling through Colac.
10 Responses to “Super-sized trucks could use upgraded Colac bridges”
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I contacted some Violent Town locals and their response follows:
discussion with some locals about the bypass. Violet Town was passed in
1985 or there abouts. Certainly the town changed and has had to adapt to
the change, but i would think now that the locals think it is very much
for the better. VT is fortunately that we are just off the freeway and
still have people come into town who prefer the small towns to the big
service centres and we are the turn off west to Bendigo and Ballarat so
still get quite a bit of through traffic stopping.
VT has a large and very successful monthly market that also brings a lot
of people to the town.
We are endevearing to promote the tourist traffic with varying degrees
of success but are at present undergoing a surge of development with a new library and a major renovation of an old hardware shop in the main street. VT is very small (pop. 600, compared to Colac. I would think that Euroa population about 3,000 had a little more difficulty but is now quite a popular spot 2 hours from melbourne etc, and is promoting the lifestyle advantages. Certainly there were a number of closed service stations in Euroa for many years. They are slowly being redeveloped into other businesses but for some years it did look rather sad, but again now i would think the locals are happy to be bypassed.
So that’s word from the local. I guess if a small town like that can survive, why the would Colac not???
“No bypass” your comments are very valid and this is why the “eventual route of the Princes Hwy” is a much better subject title. Wherever the Hwy ends up it must firstly be where it is the best fit for Colac. There is no easy solution but it needs to be workable for both business and residential areas. Hopefully early next year the community will have the
oportunity to help guide some good discussion on this issue.
Juggy, Portland has one of the highest unemployment rates in the South West and is doing less than fine, trust me, the house market is abysmal as no one wants to move there as there are simply no jobs and nothing attracting people to the town. Violet Town might be residentially attractive if you want big parcels of land (which means less population as opposed to high density), which means no business would want to set up there as it cannot be sustained..but good luck if the bypass go’s ahead, as Colac was once seen as the gateway to the South West, now people will simply drive around it.
Yes Portland does have troubles, but they aren’t caused by or anything to do with the road… So your point is???
But back to Violet town, your argument is proven wrong so you change it. Oh well.
I’ve spoken to various transport drivers since a previous thread on here and they all say the same “Bypass or not, if people want to stop in they will and if they don’t they won’t”.
I do think that a ‘Heavy vehicle route’ would be better than a full bypass, but it’s going to happen eventually.
do you people realise that if a bypass is put in, all traffic will use it, not just trucks….it will be the death of the town as most of the shops/cafes etc…rely on passing trade, do your homework and ask about towns that have had bypass’s put in eg. Violet Town, no one bothers to go there anymore and as a result the town has endured a slow death, just like Colac will if a bypass went ahead.
Check out Portland, its doing fine with separate route for heavy traffic. There’s many towns are doing just fine on both the Hume & Calder Freeways. Just because a town gets bypassed doesn’t meant people wont stop. Also, look at some of the smaller towns around Colac, they died off for years and are now starting to grow again. It’s just the way things go with changes in transport, surrounding industries and even tourism, they all effect a township… maybe a combination of them all contributed to Violet towns demise.
Thought this might be of interest-
The bypass certainly meant the closure of the RACV depot, but it also made Violet Town residentially more attractive. In fact population steadily increased, continuing into the next century.
I found it at the following site:
http://www.victorianplaces.com.au/violet-town-and-shire
Council need to listen to the community and keep pushing the idea or they will fail as those before have done. A heavy vehicle bypass should have already be planned years ago, back before they approved residential property… buy that wouldn’t of generated any money for them.
As for the economic side, how many car parks does 1 truck with 1-2 people take up compared to cars with multiple numbers??? Leave buses coming through, just divert vehicles by length.
But in the end, a bypass is inevitable as Colac is just going to become a massive bottle neck on an otherwise good road.
Here is an idea, Direct heavy vehicles down Airys St and give all all properties there free rates as an incentive
Jack. Please drive the entire length of Aireys Street. Note the major Intersections….and the grass.