Five wombat crossings set to slow Leongatha town centre traffic
State government commits $362,000 for safety upgrade as part of $28.7 million statewide program announced by Eastern Victoria MP Tom McIntosh.
LEONGATHA’S town centre will get five raised wombat crossings and new kerb outstands under a $362,000 safety upgrade funded by the state government.
The project is one of 100 announced across Victoria under the latest round of Labor’s Safe Local Roads and Streets Program, with $28.7 million in new funding including $17.2 million directed to regional councils.
State Eastern Victoria MP Tom McIntosh announced the Leongatha project.
“We’re partnering with councils to deliver practical safety upgrades on the local roads Victorians use every single day,” Mr McIntosh said.
“These projects will make local streets safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists right across the state.”
The wombat crossings — raised pedestrian crossings that double as speed humps — will be installed by South Gippsland Shire Council and accompanied by kerb outstands designed to shorten crossing distances and force drivers to slow on approach.
Wombat crossings are typically paired with a 40km/h speed zone, with drivers required to give way to pedestrians and cyclists entering the crossing.
Local roads make up 87 per cent of Victoria’s road network.
More than 430 projects have now been approved under the program, with all 79 Victorian councils participating.
Transport Accident Commission chief executive Tracey Slatter said the targeted upgrades were aimed at the road users most at risk of serious injury.
“Pedestrians and cyclists are over-represented in serious injuries on local roads and this program is aimed at reducing risk where it’s needed most, making everyday trips safer for all road users — particularly those that are more vulnerable,” Ms Slatter said.
Gippsland South MP and State Nationals leader Danny O’Brien has been a vocal critic of Labor’s roads spending more broadly.
In an April statement on Labor’s separate $1.04 billion Better Roads Blitz announced in the 2026-27 Budget, Mr O’Brien said the funding fell short of what regional Victoria needed.
“This funding won’t even catch up on the maintenance backlog let alone get ahead of the problem,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Regional communities deserve safe, reliable roads that are properly maintained.”
Mr O’Brien, who is also Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety, has argued Labor’s record on regional roads shows years of underinvestment despite recent spending increases.
The Safe Local Roads and Streets Program runs to June 2027 as part of Victoria’s Road Safety Strategy, which aims to halve road deaths by 2030 and eliminate them by 2050.
