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WINTER PINK

THOUGH the main drag to Mt Buller has been bumper to bumper, you can still see a perfectly clear road and superb sunset around the Shire, such as seen here on Pollards Rd recently. PHOTO: Ross Vinton

Incorporating

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

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Traffic blizzard

AS locals would have observed, aft er two seasons heavily impacted by COVID-19, tourists have been fl ocking to the mountains in the thousands.

Amazing early snowfall has also buoyed the records numbers of snow bunnies, with well over 200,000 visitors hitting the slopes already - absolutely smashing the previous records of 2018 and 2019 by almost double.

The numbers also solidify Mt Buller as Victoria’s most popular resort.

While good for tourism businesses in the region, the high level of traffi c has caused numerous headaches for locals, never more obvious than on Saturday, July 2 when the road to Mirimbah was at a crawl from as far back as Pinnacle Valley.

Numerous visitors were also turned away at the gates and unable to enter the resorts over the school holiday weekends.

Chief executive offi cer of Mt Buller Mt Stirling Mark Bennetts said that while additional car spaces have been added, a park’n’ride service bus was introduced on weekends, and discounts have been off ered for prebooking online, many cars are still arriving without a booking and have to be turned around on busy weekends.

“While skiers and boarders are increasingly used to booking in advance, many snowplayers coming for the fi rst time just hop into their car and go, much like taking a trip to the beach,” said Mr Bennetts.

“Many just arrive expecting to be able to come in, despite our eff orts to advise people to pre-book a parking space.

“The queue develops from about 10:30am on Saturday when the majority of snowplay visitors start to arrive.

“With support from Victoria Police, we’re having to walk the road checking if people have pre-paid, and turning around those who have not.”

Mansfi eld Shire Council said they are working closely with resort management to try to ease the traffi c burden and ensure safe road access for those who live close by.

Council called a meeting of the Traffi c Liaison Committee so that local agencies, including Mt Buller Mt Stirling Resort Management representatives, Victoria Police and the Department of Transport, could put in place measures to avoid the same situation happening over coming weekends.

The Department of Transport visited the site to consider possible solutions, including turnaround locations.

Mayor Cr James Tehan said he was pleased to see the partnership being formed to fi nd positive solutions for all.

“This road is a VicRoads asset but it has a major impact on our communities,” he said.

“We want the community at Sawmill Settlement to be able to go about their day-to-day lives safely and without disruption due to higher than usual visitation to the mountain.

“In addition, when people visit the region, we want them to have a great time and not be stuck in traffi c.

“That’s why we’ve called everyone together to work on solving these issues.”

Record tourist numbers bring snow traffi c woes for council and resortsg

BY JARRAH LOH

jloh@ nemedia.com.au

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