Ballarat road works: Why is the school-time commute still bad?

The Courier's unscientific traffic survey is back for a special back-to-school edition, seeing how long it takes to get from the south-western suburbs to Town Hall from 8.30am.

Usually, the survey is run in April and November, to see how things are changing on main roads like the Glenelg Highway, Dyson Drive, Cuthberts Road, and Sturt Street - and as any resident will tell you, a lot has changed since we began the survey back in 2021.

This time, two more sets of traffic lights are working, though construction hasn't quite finished yet.

We had five routes this time, measuring how long it takes to get from the corner of Dyson Drive and Ballarat-Carngham Road, or DTC, to Town Hall - this simulates trying to drop kids off at school or getting to the CBD for a meeting before 9am.

The first route, from DTC straight along the Glenelg Highway and Hertford Street, before taking the Midland Highway to Sturt Street, took 21.04 - a big increase from a detour-affected run in November 2022, where it only took 15.30, and 18.40 in November 2021.

Traffic was banked up so much it took just over nine minutes to get from DTC through the Tait Street roundabout - though the lights at Hertford Street were handy.

Along Ballarat-Carngham Road, one driver turned right at the La Trobe Street intersection, going through the Cuthberts Road and Arch of Victory roundabouts - that took 24.25, two minutes slower than November 2022's time.

READ MORE: See the results from November 2022, April 2022, November 2021, and April 2021.

Another driver continued along La Trobe Street to the Midland Highway, completing the run in 18.19, much faster than the 22 minutes it took in November.

Both drivers noted it took about 10 minutes to get through the road works, with traffic stretching back past Icon Drive.

Heading north, one driver took Dyson Drive to Cuthberts Road, turning right then left then right again to follow Sturt Street.

They took 23.19 to get to Town Hall, with about three minutes spent waiting at the Elaine Avenue roundabout - in November, it took 19.10, and in April, 20.15.

Our final driver followed Dyson Drive all the way to Remembrance Drive, where roadworks at the Coltman Plaza intersection will soon begin - it took them 26.31 after a horror run along Sturt Street's lights, slower than November's 20.16.

What the numbers tell us is that ongoing road works certainly have an effect on traffic time - of course - but as more intersections are completed, or approach completion, some of the routes are getting slightly faster.

Our route from Carngham Road along La Trobe Street, for example, has shaved off minutes, and it could improve further once the traffic lights are working properly.

The numbers cannot be taken as scientific in any way - the differences in the Dyson Drive runs over time, for example, show how luck in the traffic can play a factor.

If nothing else, one can conclude that despite the works, there are a lot more vehicles on the road, particularly during school drop-off times.

Even driving to the meeting points, the amount of backed-up traffic at roundabouts or road work sites was surprising.

IN THE NEWS

One thing that has remained consistent through all of our surveys - the road condition is still not great, and parts remain pretty bumpy.

It's worth keeping in mind as well that there are more houses being built, and there will be more major construction pain on the roads in the area - the state government allocated $6 million to investigate duplicating the Ballarat-Carngham Road between Wiltshire Lane and Dyson Drive, plus roundabout construction on Dyson Drive has yet begun.

As always, it will be interesting to see what effect the finished Keeping Ballarat Moving intersections will have on commute times - fully completed, including landscape works, with no 40km/h zones.

Keep an eye out in April when The Courier hits the road once again - by then, traffic lights should be switched on at La Trobe Street, fingers crossed.

- with MALVIKA HEMANTH, MELANIE WHELAN, and ELLIE MITCHELL

Have you tried The Courier's app? It can be downloaded here.