Residents campaigning for the installation of traffic lights at a busy intersection in Shepparton say they have witnessed several near misses and fear it is only a matter of time before a serious accident occurs.
More than 400 signatures have been gathered by the group of residents on a petition calling for lights to be installed at the Archer St and Channel Rd intersection in Shepparton.
One of the organisers of the petition, Beverley Schumacher, said development in the area had led to a huge increase in traffic at the intersection.
“Our concerns are that getting through the intersection on Archer St and Channel Rd is taking longer and it is getting more unsafe with the number of houses going up along Channel Rd with new estates opening up there,” she said.
“This one, I believe, is going to be about 400 houses, another one about 30 houses and they’ll all come on to Channel Rd.
“There are cars coming through from Kialla to go to Orrvale school, turning right at that intersection.
“There’s a bus stop just across the road from the intersection, and with the retirement villages of Lifestyle and Kensington Gardens numbering now probably about 600 people altogether, there are a lot of people going to doctor’s appointments and whatnot at school-hour times and with the number of schools along Archer St it’s a very difficult intersection to get through.”
Pauline Pritchett also lives in the area and said elderly drivers attempting to turn on to Archer St from Channel Rd could spend a long time waiting for a gap in traffic, with drivers behind them becoming increasingly frustrated as they waited.
“Most of the time you can’t get out because of the traffic on Archer St,’’ she said.
“So you just have to sit and wait until there’s a break to be safe.
“One of the residents in Lifestyle nearly got T-boned.
“He came out and pulled out in front of a car. He was wrong, but he nearly got T-boned.
“It was really, really close and that’s just one instance. There are plenty of them.
“We really need traffic lights.
“We started this in 2019 and we’ve got to the end of 2022 and still nothing’s done.
“We need traffic lights.”
Another resident in the area, Geoff Holland, said many drivers were finding themselves driving out of town so they could make use of lights at other intersections.
“It’s just not workable in safety terms — 10 or 12 cars lining up to turn right and the people at the front, often reasonably elderly people, having to pick a gap in traffic that’s coming at them both ways, and (having) no rights other than a give way sign,” he said.
“Lights are definitely the answer.
“I’ve been part of a near miss or two trying to judge the gap.
“You’re sitting there with people behind you and you’re feeling obligated, psychologically, to have a bit of a go and clear your way out and the next thing you know you’re a bit inclined to plant the foot and try and find the gap.
“It’s not a good way to be driving.
“It’s a recipe for disaster.”
A spokesperson for Greater Shepparton City Council said it would consider the petition at its meeting on Tuesday, December 20, but could not comment until then.