Michelle Slater
Newborough residents in a rapidly-growing housing estate are pushing for speed limits reductions along a section of Old Sale Road.
Residents had been asking Latrobe City to drop speeds from 80 to 60 kilometres-per-hour between Haigh Street and Becks Bridge Road.
Local mum Carla Monteleone had moved into the estate 18-months ago but fears speeding traffic could skittle kids playing out the front of houses backing onto the busy road.
Crash history shows there has been one crash resulting in a serious injury on Old Sale Road near Becks Bridge Road in the past five years.
“My main issues are safety. Our neighbours here have kids and if (a driver) lost control coming around the bend it could be fatal,” Ms Monteleone told The Express.
“Is this what it would take for anyone to notice? When my kids grow up, I don’t want them coming out unsupervised, as I don’t want them to be hit by a car.”
Neighbour Judy Lee called for a roadside barrier to be included in any new safety measures.
“A lowered speed limit would be a great start. A lot of people flatten it along here, motorbikes go crazy and trucks don’t keep to the speed limit,” Ms Lee said.
Latrobe City Council has agreed to take the issue up with the Department of Transport which manages Old Sale Road.
Latrobe City councillor Sharon Gibson said the growing estate had only one entry road which made it dangerous to get in-and-out.
“This is all about the safety of the new sub-division and also the older residents who may have been there for a while on the other side of the road,” Cr Gibson said.
“They’ve been trying to have this come through for so long but the problems just keep exacerbating with the amount of sub-dividing going on and the amount of traffic in this section.”
The Department of Transport assesses speed limits on a case-by-case basis, considering types of road users, traffic volume, crash risk, community sentiments and environment.
Department of Transport Gippsland region acting director Henry Lam said they would work with Latrobe City to better understand the timelines of future developments along that road section.
Mr Lam said this would include providing technical support to council over access and intersection treatments.
“Our number one priority is to keep everyone on our roads safe,” Mr Lam said.
“We carefully consider speed limits to ensure any proposed changes are consistent, safe and appropriate for all road users and the road environment.”
