RESIDENTS of Byambee Rises in Kangaroo Flat will likely have to wait years for a solution to their traffic woes.

The more than 300 people who live in the estate were left disappointed with the City of Greater Bendigo’s response to their petition earlier this year calling for a second exit from the estate.

The council stated that connecting Railway Street from the estate to Lansell Square was only a “long term” project subject to future review and conditions.

VicRoads and the council resolved to investigate whether extra U-turns could be added to High Street, but they were yet to find a funding source.

VicRoads acting regional director of northern region Brian Westley said they would continue to look for ways to update High Street south of Lansell Square as the area further developed.

“VicRoads is working with the City of Greater Bendigo on a strategy for High Street that will address future growth and balance safety with mobility,” he said.

More than 22,000 vehicles pass through the area each day.

Residents of estates south of Lansell Square say they struggle to head back into Bendigo because of the traffic, and the number of vehicles doing U-turns at Medika Avenue cause a backlog of traffic, particularly during peak hours.

The residents believe sealing Railway Street for 1.4 kilometres, giving them a back-way out of the estate, would solve their problems.

City of Greater Bendigo engineering manager Brett Martini said the project was not yet a high priority for Kangaroo Flat, but could be considered in the future.

“It is a long term project and will be reviewed in accordance with the city’s infrastructure evaluation criteria and assessed against other competing projects in the capital works database, with project implementation subject to Council funding,” he said.

“Any increased levels of development in the area will form part of the evaluation process.”

Byambee Rises resident Joyce Lowe gathered more than 300 signatures for a petition to council earlier this year.

Read her letter to the editor addressing the issue in Saturday’s Bendigo Advertiser.