The Victorian Government and Greater Shepparton City Council are inviting feedback on the Victorian Planning Authority’s recently released Shepparton South East Precinct Structure Plan, which would see the homes built across an estimated 385-hectare area along the western side of Doyles Rd north of the Broken River.
It would include a local shopping centre, a new primary school, a state government health facility, new intersections at Popular Ave and Channel Rd and a pedestrian crossing on Doyles Rd.
Ms Lovell told parliament in the early hours of Wednesday, March 6 that the status of Doyles Rd as an alternate route for heavy vehicles meant the government was in danger of recreating the same scenario found at Kialla West.
There, trucks, pedestrians and family cars all converge on the Goulburn Valley Hwy outside Kialla West Primary School during drop-off and pick-up times.
The Liberal MP said Doyles Rd currently carried 8000 vehicles a day, and by 2031, that was predicted to increase to 13,000.
Further north, Grahamvale Primary School will see that traffic drive past its doors as it is located on the alternate route north of the Midland Hwy.
Ms Lovell said all the figures highlighted the need for Greater Shepparton to get a bypass, and with urgency, given the community has fought for one for three decades so far.
“New housing will mean more traffic on Doyles Rd, and a pedestrian crossing on the major truck route will be reproducing the same risks that exist at the Kialla West Primary School crossing, the site of the dreadful accident that occurred in 2018,” Ms Lovell said.
“The minister must commit to funding stage one of the Shepparton bypass at a minimum in the 2024-25 state budget.”
Ms Lovell said she welcomed the new housing proposed in the Shepparton South East Precinct Structure Plan, but said the government must plan for the future growth by providing the means for residents and commerce to go about their respective business in a safe way.
“We desperately need more housing development, but what we need is the government to give us the infrastructure to grow sustainably,” she said.
“Shepparton needs a dedicated bypass that will keep trucks out of the CBD and residential areas, away from kids walking to school, and that will also provide a second river crossing above flood level so that towns west of the Goulburn are never again left cut off from the hospital and other major services based in Shepparton.”
The Victorian Planning Authority has organised an information event to discuss the plan at the Shepparton Marketplace, 110 Benalla Rd, Shepparton, on Thursday, March 7, from 2pm to 5pm.
The event is an opportunity for residents to speak with representatives in person, obtain maps and fact sheets, and ask questions.
The period for consultation closes on Friday, March 15.
