Councillors try to douse anger. Entry backlash

Hamish Heard
Councillors yesterday sought to douse anger among northern suburbs residents about plans to direct tourists to Geelong’s Ballarat Road entrance.
The Independent last week reported councillors and the region’s tourism chief wanted to enhance the intersection of the bypass and Ballarat Road to become a new entry for visitors to Geelong.
They said a new Visitor Information Centre at the location and an entry “icon” would divert visitors away from the northern suburbs
But Cr Bruce Harwood, who holds the city’s tourism portfolio, yesterday said an enhanced Ballarat Road entrance would not stop everyday traffic using the Princes Highway to drive into Geelong.
“We think that locating an information centre (on the bypass Ballarat Road corner) will provide a greater (tourism) catchment for Geelong, as the current information centre at Corio is not as visible as we’d like,” he said.
“I’m not talking about redirecting everyday traffic that would normally use the Princes Highway, I’m talking about capitalising on an opportunity to better capture the tourism market.
However, a community backlash prompted Lara councillor Tony Ansett to distance himself from comments calling for the Visitor Information Centre to go to Ballarat Road.
“The image people get of Geelong is very industrial at present but when they enter from Ballarat Road they will see aspects of the city that tell them why people love to live here…you couldn’t get a better road to connect with the centre of Geelong,” Cr Ansett told the Independent last week.
He denied calling for Ball-arat Road to be enhanced as an entrance to Geelong despite conceding that positioning the information centre at the intersection would funnel visitors to Geelong down the road.
“What I don’t want to see is everyone bypassing Geelong altogether and going down the coast, so if you put (the information centre) at the top of the hill (in Ballarat Road), visitors will be able to see the You Yangs and Corio Bay.”