Badger Weir Picnic Area road in need of repair

State Liberal Member for Eildon Cindy McLeish has called for urgent repairs be made to the road lead

ing into the Badger Weir Picnic ground, which has fallen into disrepair by lack of maintenance and poor weather conditions.

Ms McLeish raised the issue in Parliament with the Minister for Environment & Climate Change on the 02 September 2020, calling for immediate action.

Ms McLeish said, “I have been contacted by concerned locals who have reported that the current condition of the road is horrendous. It is full of deep potholes, eroded and very difficult to drive over.”

This is at a time when a lot of people who live within the 5km radius are using this area for their one hour a day exercise, so there is regular traffic along this road. The state of the entrance road is truly appalling and visitors risk causing damage to their cars when driving over the deep potholes. It needs more than a ‘hazard ahead’ warning sign.

Ms McLeish continues, “Of course, given the pandemic and stage four restrictions that are in place in the Yarra Ranges, many people are unable to visit or use the grounds as they usually would. However, this is no reason to disregard repairs that need to take place.”

Leading into the summer period, outdoor locations such as this will be utilised to their full potential by locals and visitors post-COVID-19. To repair the road now will ensure it is in adequate condition during peak tourist season and that it is accessible for locals to still use while in stage four restrictions.

Ms McLeish has previously called for improvements to be made at the Badger Weir Picnic Area, after it was severely damaged by storms in late 2016. Due to the mess, the picnic ground was closed to the public for over two years until repairs were finally complete.

Locals and tourists were extremely upset by this and the amount of time it took to reopen the picnic grounds. This shows what a popular and important place it is for the community and they want to see it maintained.

“I hope the minister can see the significance in this project. It is one that can be achieved quite quickly, that will provide work for the road construction industry and placate locals who can currently access the picnic grounds, while setting it up for future use,” Ms McLeish concludes.