Your Stories

For thousands of people in Melbourne’s west, Taylors Road is no longer just a road – it has become a daily obstacle that shapes their lives. Parents leave home earlier than ever just to get their children to school on time, workers spend more time sitting in traffic than enjoying time with their families, and residents who live only a few kilometres from their destination can find themselves trapped for another half hour. What should be a short drive has become a frustrating test of patience every single day.

The congestion affects far more than commuting. Families avoid local shops because crossing Taylors Road is too difficult, appointments are booked far from home to escape the traffic, and businesses lose customers who simply choose not to travel through the area. School drop-offs around Gilson College have become notorious for gridlock, buses crawl behind endless lines of cars, and cyclists are forced to share a dangerous single lane with heavy vehicles, leaving many feeling unsafe using the road at all.

Residents also describe growing concerns about safety. Drivers struggling with constant delays become impatient, leading to dangerous merging, speeding, aggressive behaviour and frequent near misses at intersections and side streets. Local residential roads have become unofficial bypasses, exposing families to higher traffic volumes and making it difficult to even leave their own driveways. Several people shared stories of watching ambulances become trapped in congestion, raising fears that one day emergency services may not reach someone in time.

Many believe the problem has been years in the making. As thousands of new homes have been built across Melbourne’s rapidly growing western suburbs, road infrastructure has failed to keep pace. The community questions how so much development could be approved while Taylors Road remained largely unchanged, creating a bottleneck that now affects entire neighbourhoods. Residents feel they have repeatedly raised these concerns, yet meaningful upgrades have continued to be delayed while congestion steadily worsens.

Despite the frustration, the message from the community is remarkably consistent. People are not simply asking for a faster commute – they are asking for safer roads, better access to schools and businesses, improved public transport reliability, safer conditions for cyclists and pedestrians, and infrastructure that reflects the needs of a growing population. The stories shared by residents paint a clear picture: fixing Taylors Road is no longer about convenience. It is about improving safety, protecting quality of life, supporting local communities, and ensuring Melbourne’s west receives the infrastructure it urgently needs.

My mum lives on Taylor’s Rd and getting there is always very difficult, but because it is isn’t a double road, getting in & out of her driveway is extremely challenging and dangerous

Trying to turn left in to Taylors Road from Tennyson Dr in the mornings between 6.30-am-on is very hard
Unless a courteous driver lets you turn, you will be waiting for a long time. Taylors Road is usually bumper-to-bumper all the way to Gilson College.

Locals are struggling, businesses are struggling.

Please tell me why the infrastructure for an established area hasn’t been upgraded. What is going on with the Council and why is this even a discussion. Wake up people lets make the Councilors accountable when they take on the job. It appears the rott from the State government is setting into local government too.

Drive through the Eastern suburbs and see how smooth and pot hole free their roads are and lead by example.

I live on Taylors Road (right around Gilson) and is a nightmare.

Living on a stupidly congested road is honestly one of the most frustrating things EVER! The drive home is almost smooth sailing the entire way, but then I’m only a few kilometres from my house and suddenly I can’t even reach it.

Imagine driving 30 mins over 20km only to reach your own area, you’re practically home, but you’re still 30 minutes away because the main road and every alternative route are completely gridlocked. You’re trapped in your car, at a destination that’s only a 20-minute walk away, yet somehow impossible to get to.

It’s disgustingly awful and stressful being so close to home but completely stuck, with traffic turning the final few kilometres into the longest part of the journey.

I have to schedule outings based on the road conditions, tell friends to not come here at certain hours. It’s just awful being gridlocked in your own neighbourhood.

I am a regular cyclist who rides for both health and wellbeing.

In its current state, Taylors Road has become increasingly unsafe for cyclists. The single-lane configuration, combined with the absence of designated bicycle lanes or road markings, creates a high-risk environment.

I have experienced multiple incidents where heavy vehicles have overtaken me at unsafe distances. I have also been subjected to verbal abuse and objects thrown from passing vehicles. These experiences highlight a broader safety issue for vulnerable road users.

Cycling is a well-established and widely supported activity in Australia. In the Western suburbs, there is an opportunity to adopt proven approaches from other areas, such as Beach Road in Melbourne’s bayside, where infrastructure supports safer interaction between cyclists and motorists.

Taylors Road is a critical transport corridor that connects key areas across the region. It is also an important route for cyclists moving between communities. Upgrading and duplicating the road presents a significant opportunity to improve safety outcomes for all users.

Duplicating Taylors Road would provide additional space for vehicles to safely overtake cyclists, reducing the likelihood of dangerous interactions. I strongly encourage consideration of the following design improvements:

• introduction of clearly marked, designated bicycle lanes
• reduced speed limits to improve safety for all road users
• improved street lighting to increase visibility, particularly during early morning and evening periods

These changes would support safer, more inclusive use of this important piece of infrastructure.

I moved into the area with family 13yrs ago and watched this road get worse and worse with thousands of new homes built further West. We sold our house and moved but my parents are still in the area, so I experience the pain of being stuck on this road.

How a road has been allowed to be left like this while it’s at a standstill/at capacity is unbelievable. The council keeps planting trees when it knows the road needs to be upgraded.

The utilities should be relocated urgently first and then do the upgrade. Calder Park Drive will need to follow with flyover to the freeway at Calder.

I don’t shop at my closest supermarket as that would mean going down Taylor’s Road. I don’t shop at my second closest supermarket as that would mean crossing Taylor’s Road.

I try to make any appointment I need near the suburb I work in rather than Caroline Springs or surrounding suburbs because the traffic is too backed up. Instead of “live, work and play” in my area, I avoid and basically just sleep at home.

How are the business owners in the area not speaking up?

We moved here in Jan thinking we are only 4.5 kms from Gilson College. And now we are stressed financially because we’re hiring a private vehicle to cover this distance because it takes 45 min total time to drive to and fro.

Kids are stressed, sometimes they are late for school and same we end up working late into night to make up for the work hours we were away.

About a decade ago the Brimbank Council decided to undergo renovations on Taylor’s Road in this exact section and instead of duplicating wasted money on providing like 3 car parks and a bus station. It already caused a 10-minute trip to St Albans from Delahey to become 25 minutes.

This road has been a problem for a very long time and the local council should spend more time fixing issues with foresight instead of trying to pass them off to the state government.

I have been a resident off Taylor’s Road for over 30 years, the infrastructure and growth corridor is bursting with traffic daily .

The local roads are being used to cheat Taylor’s road as it has become a heavy traffic jam daily 24/7 !! Council need to upgrade this road from Delahey Village all the way to Leakes Road!!!

No more approvals to estates as it is gridlocked already till infrastructure is correctly implemented. Less tree planting, resurfacing of local streets that don’t need it, put the dollars towards infrastructure not additional pending purple glass bins etc !!

Taylor’s road is full everyday, forget about turning into a side street these days, unless you come across a polite driver that lets you in, which has diminished 10 fold these days. More funding from federal government would be great but the state is in debt so Council needs to plan a budget solely for this upgrade going forward!

Traffic on Taylors Road is getting worse and worse.

I cannot believe the amount of houses and estates being built when road congestion is already this bad

Always stuck in traffick
Always late

Absolutely nightmare dropping off kids from st Albans to Gilson college.

That part of the road from King Ways to Gilson College is an absolute gridlock during school drop off and pickup. And also for people commuting to work.

It doesn’t make sense to keep it a single lane road considering the volume of traffic on it.

Nightmare.

Trying to get in from any side street can take ages.

The corner of Taylor’s Rd and Calder Drive is so dangerous. Cars push in at the corner as it then goes one lane only.

Fix it.

I’ve been living in Keilor Downs for 17 Years.

99 percent of the time it’s congested and people take it out on others driving because they are frustrated they can’t get home to their families after work and in the morning.

This has gone on for too long. Please fix the problem.
Thankyou.

The official who authorized the construction of houses on Taylor’s Road so close to the road should be prosecuted.

A situation like this amplifies road rage subconsciously. Unnecessary road rage takes place every day on this part of the road Near McDonald’s

The traffic congestion surrounding the Taylors Road and Kings Road intersection has reached a point where it presents a significant public safety risk for residents of Tennyson Drive. During weekday mornings, traffic queues extend into surrounding residential streets as drivers seek alternative routes to bypass congestion. This has effectively transformed Tennyson Drive into a de facto arterial road, despite it being designed as a local residential street.

Vehicles frequently exceed the 50 km/h speed limit while attempting to make up time. Drivers often fail to give way, resulting in numerous near misses involving vehicles exiting driveways and side streets. It is only a matter of time before a serious collision occurs.

Residents experience significant delays exiting their own driveways due to continuous streams of traffic. The inability to safely enter the roadway creates daily stress and increases the likelihood of accidents. The bottleneck at the Taylors Road and Kings Road intersection causes traffic to back up through local streets, leading to unsafe driver behaviour, sudden lane changes, aggressive overtaking, and frequent horn use.

Constant traffic, noise pollution, and driver aggression have reduced the amenity of the neighbourhood. Residents no longer feel safe walking, cycling, or allowing children to play near the street. If congestion continues to worsen, emergency services may experience delays accessing homes in the area during peak periods, potentially putting lives at risk.

The current conditions are unsustainable and require immediate intervention before a preventable serious accident occurs. Measures such as improved intersection capacity, traffic signal optimisation, traffic calming on residential streets, and restrictions to discourage rat-running should be investigated as a matter of priority.

I spend almost half of my 1-hour drive home stuck on Taylors Road getting home from work.

I work in Tullamarine. Getting to work is 25 minutes. Getting into my own suburb takes 30 minutes. Come on people.

It costs time, money and don’t forget the greenhouse gasses released from cars sitting idle in traffic.

My story starts from when Kings Park was being established back in the mid-seventies.

Taylor’s Road was a dirt road and when purchased our first home on Taylors Road we were assured that Taylor’s Road was a government road. However we were forced to pay for the road to be sealed with bitumen by the council.
Keilor Downs and Taylors Lake were being developed. Delahey wasn’t even thought of.
Kings Park subdivision ended at the end of Kurung Drive.

Since then, the area has expanded by more than 10 new subdivisions along Taylors Road without proper main roads infrastructure. Taylor’s Road is now a real nightmare for commuters. This locality is a Labour stronghold and yet nothing ever gets done to improve the lives of the people who call this area their home. The Liberals when in power don’t care for the west and because they cannot secure any seats. So we are in a dilemma of a no-win situation with lots of promises that never gets delivered.

The roads situation has become a drastic and dangerous situation. Since Covid with the influx of mass immigrants moving to the outskirts beyond Caroline Springs, Taylors Road has become almost like a constant car park polluting the area along it.
The shire of Melton is enormous area and each year the council in its budget lists several improvements for the area, but nothing gets delivered as far as Taylor’s Road is concerned.

I would like to know which Government Body is going to deliver some of the promises and build the infrastructure required to make commuting in the area bearable. I don’t have much faith that any improvements will happen in my lifetime.

As a resident on Taylors Road, it is a total nightmare trying to get out into traffic at all hours of the day. People are inconsiderate and don’t wait or give way. People speed. People are on their phones. People are selfish. We would benefit from more traffic lights and duplication.

Moreover, at the very beginning of the block, near the kebab place, the two lanes quickly become one and just about every driver has no idea how to merge which creates a bottle neck and so traffic. These people don’t even indicate even though the two lanes are clearly about to merge into one. That’s one of the reasons for the traffic. Poor driver education.

I drove there loads of times in my life even with my family it’s so complicated the roads is too narrow and traffic always creates gridlock especially through morning and after school time at 3-4pm it’s always like this it needs to be upgraded to 4 lane road so to ease off congestion and space

The traffic is unbearable. Trying to get anywhere on time is pretty much impossible. I have sick parents and I need to take them to their doctor appointments regularly. But since the traffic is so bad, we’re always running late. Very frustrating and costly. Petrol isn’t cheap anymore and more we wait in traffic and the more the car burns. Please, make Taylor’s Road double lane.

Taking the bus to the station so I don’t have to drive is such a headache, because it is stuck behind all the other cars. It takes forever for it to get to the next stop. I have to take a super early bus just to catch the train at a decent time when really it should only be a 10 minute trip.

Taylors Road is a appalling. I saw an ambulance lights and sirens ablaze and stuck unable to move. You will die before help arrives

I try to avoid using Taylor’s Road but unfortunately to get out of our estate I have to use it. Duplicating this road would be fantastic. The sooner the better

We bought in Caroline Springs in 2013, and Taylors Road was a bit of a nightmare, but it was a 45-minute to 1-hour commute to work. Now it takes me 1.5 to 2 hours for the same commute. It’s not unusual to be on Taylors Road for 30 minutes in the evening for a 5km stretch with traffic banked up from Keilor Park Station, because 3 lanes become 1 as soon as you cross Kings Road!

I use Taylors Rd every day and it’s a nightmare especially now that the area around is getting more and more populated.

We have to use Taylors Road all the time. I usually use it to and from work to gain access to ring road/m80. This road currently adds 10-20minutes to my commute. Our family also uses Brimbank Aquatic Centre for gym/kids swimming lessons. Again this adds significant time during what’s already a busy day to get to and from the swim lessons. Our quality of life is directly impacted due to the bottle necks of Taylors Road and we’d love to see something done about it