Call for new entry as visitors bypass the north

Jessica Benton
A bird’s eye view of Geelong’s picturesque bay could greet visitors at a new main entry to the city, according to a councillor.
Stretch Kontelj said the opening of Geelong’s bypass had set up his ward’s Ballarat Road entry point at Bell Post Hill to become the city’s official gateway.
Cr Kontelj said the Ballarat Road option would showcase Geelong’s greatest attributes to visitors in contrast to the traditional entry through working class suburbs and past industry in the city’s north.
“The current entry is very underwhelming and doesn’t give the right first impression or an idea of what Geelong is all about,” he said.
“An entrance via Ballarat Road offers a first-class vista and gives the impression of a very vibrant city.”
Cr Kontelj said he wanted signs directing motorists to central Geelong along Ballarat Road, with less traffic using the traditional entry since the opening of the bypass.
“Commuters are voting with their feet and using the ring road in greater numbers,” he said.
“More and more people, especially tourists, are going to continue to use the ring road to enter Geelong because it’s easier and there are no lights. We should recognise this and have all the signage changed to direct people to central Geelong via the ring road and Ballarat Road.”
A report to a council meeting this week noted a “significant” reduction in use of Corio’s Visitor Information Centre at Stead Park since the bypass opened. The report recommended that council should build the first of a group of new visitor information centres next to a BP service station on the Geelong-bound side of the Princes Highway at Little River.
Councillors voted against building an information centre at the beginning of Cr Kontelj’s proposed entry to Geelong.
The Independent reported in 2006 that councillors and the region’s tourism chief wanted the intersection of the bypass and Ballarat Road as Geelong’s new main entry. Geelong Otway Tourism chief Roger Grant said duplication of Ballarat Road at Bell Post Hill combined with the bypass for an opportunity to give tourists an improved first impression of the city.