Mayor's editorial: From a gravel lane to a Link Road of possibilities

Advocating for the next stage of Ballarat Link Road 

By Cr Daniel Moloney | Mayor, City of Ballarat

It’s amazing how much our city has changed over the past several years, and even more incredible for those of us with memories of Ballarat from decades ago.

Our predecessors planned a city that has grown remarkably since the late 1990s. It’s now thriving with 113,000 people, boasts a diverse range of industries and has an attractive lifestyle that continues to lure new residents who bring with them new investment.

I remember riding my bike home from rowing training in the early 90s along a gravel road that was then known as Heinz Lane on the outskirts of Alfredton.

My late father Patrick wrote a letter to the Council and started a petition to have it upgraded. After successfully seeing it sealed, he’d make a point of driving along it on the way to his job at McCain’s, reminding us as kids how progress can come from ‘people power’ and a good idea.

All these years later, I find myself reliving Dad’s challenge. That gravel road is now known as Dyson Drive after being renamed in 2000. From being a gravel track that served a handful of houses, it’s now one of Ballarat’s most important future arterial roads. Such is our growth to the west.

Dad saw that Ballarat’s west was changing, and that this old gravel road needed improving to be ready for that change.

If he was alive today, he’d be amazed at how that handful of houses now has thousands of new dwellings around it through an expanded Alfredton, and he’d be impressed by the development of the new suburb of Lucas (named after the ladies who created the Avenue of Honour). He’d be astonished that old gravel road now has a shopping centre and health precinct, and that Lucas will double in size over the next few years.

Dyson Drive has gone from being a local road carrying an average 1783 vehicles per day in 2005 to 10,490 per day now. It’s become a major north-south thoroughfare for residents in our city’s west. It’s already a crucial link to Wendouree Train Station (via the reopened Gregory St West and plans to one day expand the station’s southern side), to the Ballarat West Employment Zone, a rejuvenated Ballarat Airport, and to the Western Highway.

This week’s announcement from the Victorian Government that five new businesses, supporting 152 jobs, will be established at the Ballarat West Employment Zone, only underscores the growing importance of the Ballarat Link Road.

While all of that is indeed amazing, the real potential is yet to be realised. When that road joins through to the Glenelg Highway, and the Midland Highway, that’s when the next chapter of Ballarat’s western growth gets truly exciting.

Imagine that road - whether you call it Dyson Drive or Ballarat Link Road (it’s the same arterial) – and the potential that can be realised around it. Imagine a road with exit points not only at Remembrance Drive and Ballarat-Carngham Road like now, but also at Greenhalghs Road and the Glenelg Highway.

Imagine being able to drive seamlessly between any of those points and Melbourne, the Delacombe Town Centre or Coltman Plaza in Lucas without having to travel through suburban streets.

Now imagine what we want around this future arterial road.

Should it be more housing? Commercial development? An arts and entertainment precinct? A major sports venue? A centre for innovation or a true circular economy precinct? Or a combination of these things?

Ballarat Link Road / Dyson Drive is a road of possibilities, and it must be more than just a way of getting people and goods from A to B. A well-planned city should demand this future road cater to the employment, educational and lifestyle needs of the residents who will live nearby. It should be an economic driver the rest of Ballarat can be proud of. It should also create new opportunities to improve the environment around it.

Most of us are fortunate to have parents who want the best for us and the place we live. I know my Dad would have been impressed with what’s become of that old gravel road, but cautiously warned to not ‘stuff up’ the potential that lies ahead.

We have a once in a generation opportunity to get this right, and we need the support of our state and federal governments to help our city realise its western possibilities by investing in this crucial road. ‘People power’ and a few good ideas will get us there.