By Casey Neill
A $40 million plan to widen Mount Dandenong Tourist Road would also cost 1000 significant trees.
This was the preliminary finding from a VicRoads environmental assessment on the Federal Government proposal.
VicRoads said it would also potentially have other impacts on the environment and cultural heritage, and that it would further investigate the proposal’s merits.
La Trobe MP Jason Wood and the Federal Government committed $10 million to the project, and recently announced an extra $10 million if the State Government matched the $20 million.
Monbulk MP James Merlino said the “mass removal of vegetation and the massive construction works required would leave a devastating scar on the mountain”.
“If this project has the level of impact as advised by VicRoads, I will do everything in my power to ensure it does not go ahead,” he said.
Roads Minister Luke Donnellan said the State Government would not make any decision until further detailed planning work and community consultation took place.
Liberal candidate for Monbulk, John Schurink, said he didn’t think a major widening was “feasible given the destruction of trees”.
“We need to do some work there, but it needs to be environmentally sensitive,” he said.
“We need to consult with the community, too.”
Mr Schurink said many people had spoken to him about installing footpaths on Mount Dandenong Tourist Road.
“I would certainly not support the destruction of 1000 trees,” he said.
“If they’re sycamore maples, they need to go.
“They’re a weed in the hills and they absolutely need to go.
“If they’re a 100-year-old eucalypt, you’d have to pause on that one.”
Mr Wood said that if the State Government “can’t get money to fund the project then they should be up-front and say that”.
“I’ve worked on this for the last two years with Yarra Ranges Council and VicRoads,” he said.
“The advice I had was that very few trees would need to be removed.
“The entire purpose of this is to widen the roads to make it safer for cyclists and locals in the area, where it can be done.”
Mr Wood said the project would also remove weeds, including sycamores, ivy and onion weed, and replace them with natives.
He said widening the road would improve safety in the event of a bushfire.
Southern Ranges Environment Alliance’s Glenn Brooks-MacMillan said he was not aware of the VicRoads report.
“We do have a significant problem in the Dandenongs with weeds,” he said.
“Any project we can encourage to address that, we’re very interested in.
“The devil’s always in the detail.
“At this early stage I’d be encourage all parties to look at this seriously.
“Some trees may need to be managed, but this happens all the time in the Dandenongs.
“It doesn’t mean it’s a no-go, but at the same time we’ve got to be very sensitive with what we do do there.”
Mr Brooks-MacMillan said that with the funding pledged “you don’t want to say no to that too quickly”.
“If we can get some good weed management and some good indigenous vegetation put in where we’ve lost it in the past, from an environmental perspective that would be a good outcome,” he said.
“We do know how dangerous that road is.
“I’d be really keen to see the next stage of that proposal.”
