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He acknowledged the behaviour was risky but said people were feeling desperate. The detour is adding significant travel time in an outer western suburb that already has notorious access problems.
“This is just people going about their day to day,” he said. “They’re just trying to get themselves to the train station. They’re trying to get into Cobblebank.
“In peak-hour traffic when you’re trying to get your kids to school, you’re talking about a 45 to 55-minute detour. So why wouldn’t they take the five to 10-minute paddock bashing route and get where they need to?”
Pearse stands in a makeshift track residents have begun using since developers closed the normal routes along Alfred Road.Credit: Paul Jeffers
The greenfields suburb has always had an inadequate road network. There is no freeway interchange into Thornhill Park, forcing residents to travel west into Melton then perform an elaborate U-turn at Ferris Road to head east towards the city. There is also no public transport, even though the Melton line runs through the suburb.
An upgrade of the Western Freeway between Melton and Caroline Springs is in the planning phase, but it has not been confirmed if the upgrade will include an interchange into Thornhill Park.
The Allan government has not committed funding to the project, despite receiving $1.1 billion towards it from the federal government in March. Premier Jacinta Allan told attendees of a summit last week that the design for the freeway upgrade was still incomplete.
Pearse has been lobbying Melton City Council to bring forward the construction of Shogaki Drive, which would provide a second east-west arterial route towards Melton. The council bought the land for the planned road earlier this year. It is scheduled to be constructed in 2028.
Melton councillors will debate a motion put forward by Phillip Zada when they meet on Monday, calling on the council to bring forward funding for the construction of Shogaki Drive.
“The current lengthy closure of Alfred Road has forced residents to seek alternate and often unsafe routes to enter or exit their estates,” Zada’s motion says. “The expedited delivery of Shogaki Drive would offer a much-needed connection to alleviate these pressures and strengthen network resilience.”
The four-month closure of Alfred Road has cut off direct access to the Melton line for Thornhill Park residents.Credit: Jason South
Pearse has not resorted to using the illegal routes himself and says he fears someone could get into difficulty.
“You are taking it into your own hands and you don’t know what’s in those paddocks. You don’t know if there’s any sinkholes, potholes or rocks. I do sympathise, but things can go wrong.”
Alfred Road runs east-west between Thornhill Park and Melton and is the only direct route to Cobblebank train station, the closest station to Thornhill Park on the Melton line.
In August, the mostly rural standard road was closed until December for upgrade works, with just 12 days’ notice given to the community.
Developers of the Balmoral housing estate in Strathtulloh are upgrading it to an urban standard during the four-month closure, after which the empty paddocks will be subdivided into another housing estate.
A Melton council spokesperson said the Alfred Road upgrade was required by a planning permit and safe detours had been put in place via the Western Freeway or Exford Road.
“Crossing private land to avoid the detour is illegal, can damage private property, and in case of injury, drivers would not be covered by TAC,” the spokesperson said.
“Council has raised its concerns with the developer implementing the traffic management plan and continues to monitor traffic conditions on its road network.”
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