Survey reveals residents want E6 now

Residents want a freeway built along the E6 transport corridor as soon as possible, according to the City of Whittlesea’s recent survey.

Council has long supported the E6 transport corridor as an arterial road to maximise access points along the route with the existing road network to provide for improved north/south travel.

But Council resolved to conduct further community consultation and review new traffic data on the E6, following a petition by residents who were calling for the E6 to be a freeway.

The survey was conducted in September and October and the results are in with more than 1000 residents having their say – one of the highest participation rates on a community issue.

Almost 90 per cent said it was important that the road be designed with overpasses and underpasses instead of traffic lights while almost 84 per cent said it was important that the road be designed for free flowing traffic at high speed.

Mayor Kris Pavlidis thanked the residents who took the time to respond to the survey.

“We had a fantastic number of responses and interest on social media. I’d also like to thank those who helped deliver surveys to the community to ensure we reached a large number of people,” she said.

Cr Pavlidis said the data would be useful in Council’s advocacy efforts to get the corridor built.

“Council will formally consider the results of the survey early next year and determine its position and next steps to advocate for this project” she said.

“It is important to remember that while the survey indicates a strong preference for the E6 to be a freeway, it is ultimately up to the State Government to determine when and how the E6 will be built.

“Council can certainly pass on our research to the State Government and lobby to get it built.

“We understand traffic congestion is a major issue in the City of Whittlesea and while we have received a lot of local investment in roads recently, there’s still more that needs to be done.

“The E6 corridor will be an expensive and large project but we know it’s one that many of our residents are passionate about.”

The survey also revealed:

• 86.4% of respondents said they would use the road with the main reasons to visit relatives or friends or travel to work.
• Those who lived within one kilometre of the E6 transport corridor, most still preferred the road to be designed with the characteristics of a freeway but there was concern about the loss of amenity, noise impacts and property values.
• Residents who were opposed to the E6 as a freeway lived predominantly within one kilometre of the corridor.
• 66.1% of respondents were City of Whittlesea residents with the rest commuters travelling through the area and those working in the municipality.

Council strongly supports the construction of the E6 corridor and will determine its formal position on whether the corridor should be constructed as a freeway or arterial road based on survey results and updated traffic modelling that will be presented to a Council Meeting early next year.

The survey followed a petition presented to Council earlier this year with 514 signatures requesting that Council support and advocate for the delivery of a six lane freeway in the E6 Transport Corridor.

The survey was carried out from 18 September to 15 October with hard copies and online surveys available for residents.