Safety concerns about one of Kyabram’s busiest roads are being raised by the Kyabram Deakin Residents and Ratepayers Development Group (KDRRDG).
A confusing intersection has caught the eyes of RoadSafe Goulburn Valley executive officer and a Kyabram councillor as the ratepayers group says the road connector is “unsafe”.
RoadSafe Goulburn Valley executive officer Bill Winter, Kyabram-Deakin ward Cr John Zobec, and three members of the KDRRDG converged at the Breen-Cooma-Bolitho Rd intersection on Thursday, July 18, to observe the roads and discuss its safety.
The two main issues brought up in the meeting was the “confusing” position of the island which divides three lanes, and the position of the ‘keep left’ sign which they said does not point in the correct direction of oncoming cars.
The intersection crosses the three separate roads together, across the railway tracks and the Breen Ave walking track which is undergoing construction.
The group believes that the island was changed due to the incoming Breen Ave walking tracks that needed to allow for a pedestrian crossing gap in the island.
The intersection allows drivers to direct their cars in four different directions.
The main consensus from the KDRRDG was that the island is not clear enough and should have reflectors, and the direction of the ‘keep left’ sign points away from the car that would benefit the sign.
Mr Winter said the group reached out to him a few weeks ago to see if anything could be done about the intersection.
“They said I need to have a look at this because there seems to be some issues with trafficking around this area, which is not unusual for a lot of country towns,” he said.
“The important thing to do is to resolve if there is any issues and this intersection from what I’ve seen is extremely difficult.
“We’ve already seen a truck blow through a stop sign.”
KDRRDG vice president Allan Weeks said he had reached out to the Campaspe Shire Council about the dangers of this intersection.
“I made contact with them back in May, and they came back with a response on June 11 which said they would overlook the safety of the intersection and get back to me in a few weeks,” he said.
“I haven’t heard back from them since then. We’re just waiting for something to happen.”
KDRRDG president Glenn Maddock said when the Breen Ave walking track construction is complete, he is afraid that the safety of walkers will be compromised.
“You have the ‘keep left’ sign sticking out the other way which you can’t even see from here, and then the cement sticks out, and if a car or a truck ran over that they might end up or their side or roof,” Mr Maddock said.
Since the issue was raised, a representative from the Campaspe Shire Council said it has commissioned a road safety audit and “engaged a design consultant to review”.
“The review has been done by a road safety auditor, and a design is being finalised to respond to the recommendations,” the council said.
“The next stage is reviewing the outcome of the investigations and implementing any works to improve the intersection.
“Once the scope of works is known, we will inform the community of the construction timelines and updates via the works and projects pages on the council website and other communication channels.”
Concerns about unsafe roads can be raised by contacting shire@campaspe.vic.gov.au or calling council on 5481 2200.