FIX IT UP

SOUTH Barwon MP Andrew Katos is accident-prone intersection of Beach Road and the Surf Coast Highway.
The Surf Coast Shire has committed about $600,000, which will cover half the intersection, but wants the state government to contribute the rest.
Mr Katos has run several petitions calling for upgrades to the intersection, and estimates about 700 people have signed his latest effort since its launch in February.
These include McDonald’s Torquay restaurant manager Ben Tabe, who has IT asked for more petitions so he can keep collecting signatures from his customers.
Speaking last week outside his store, which fronts the intersection, Mr Tabe needed for the safety of his customers, particularly in the summer months.
“I used to live on Beach Road myself, and it’s an absolute nightmare.
“I’ve seen many accidents here – some serious, some not so serious.
“Even as an example right now, there’s people walking across the road here; it’d be great for them to at least have more safety to be able to cross that road.”
Mr Katos said it was “incredibly frustrating” that the Surf Coast Shire had not used previously-available funding (under the former Coalition government) “The shire had the money to do this in 2014 and elected not to fund this intersection, and yet, in the same breath, it was their number-one roads issue in their advocacy for the state election.”
Mr Katos said Surf Coast Highway and Beach Road was “the intersection everyone loathes” if they lived in Torquay.
“Whether it’s the shire or the state government that stumps up the money, people just want to see it done and they can’t be done.”
Last year, the Surf Coast Shire supported a plan by VicRoads to apply for Transport Accident Commission funding that would put a roundabout of South Beach Road and the Surf Coast Highway, and then use the savings to fund the remainder of the Beach Road/ this has yet to come to fruition.
Questions to the Surf Coast Shire were not returned by deadline.