Nick Caloudas says he has come up against a red light in his attempts to get problems with Healesville’s East End intersection traffic lights fixed.
By Kath Gannaway
TRAFFIC lights installed earlier this year on Maroondah Highway at Healesville’s East End are seriously out of whack and in need or an urgent sequence overhaul according to the Healesville CFA and a local business operator.
The lights, which control traffic at the busy Maroondah Highway, Don Road and St Leonard’s Road intersection, were switched on in June this year.
CFA captain Graeme Bates said he had real concerns about the length of time his members are held up coming out of Don Road and had asked regional officers to take up the matter with VicRoads.
‘The issue is mainly with getting members who live on that side of town to the fire station.
‘The lights give priority to St Leonard’s Road and it would make more sense from our point of view to have priority to Don Road where most of the population is,’ he said.
That’s not the only problem for the CFA however.
Mr Bates said the lights at Crowley Road where members need to turn left to get to the fire station were not in sequence and members were often stopped at those lights as well.
‘With the highway back to single lane there, because of the pedestrian crossing, our members have to just sit there until the intersection clears,’ he said.
‘We do have members more central to town but we are not keeping up to our standard of cover because we’re getting held up at the lights,’ he said.
He said there were other problems for the brigade responding to calls past the East End lights with drivers facing a red light and signs ‘stop on red light’ confused over whether they should go through the red light to turn left into St Leonard’s road on the green arrow.
‘With the intersection as it is now, the option we used to have to go onto the other side of the highway when it was clear of traffic, is just too dangerous,’ he said.
Bub’s Service Station owner Nick Caloudas says he told VicRoads officers that the sequence was wrong on the day they installed it.
His concern is for drivers exiting the station and turning left or right into Maroondah Highway.
‘If they go to turn right you have no light so you can go at any time with caution, but you then find the lights regulating traffic travelling towards the township go green all of a sudden without any indication to drivers turning out of my driveway,’ he explained.
Mr Caloudas said the lights, and the signs, were confusing for motorists and he believed it was only a matter of time before someone was injured.
There is a raft of other problems with the sequencing that Mr Caloudas says he has notified to VicRoads.
‘I get people in here all the time saying the lights are confusing and they don’t know what is going on,’ he said.
‘I pass it on (to VicRoads) because it’s dangerous and they are fully aware of the problems but haven’t done anything about it.’
VicRoads were asked for a comment but had not responded in time for the Mail’s deadline.
VicRoads road user services director Dean Zabrieszach said VicRoads received a number of complaints when the lights were switched on and had modified the traffic light cycle to make the signal sequence safer, more efficient and easier to understand.
‘VicRoads also installed additional signage to aid motorists in understanding the new traffic conditions,’ he said.
Mr Zabrieszach said VicRoads and Yarra Ranges Council would continue to monitor the lights to determine the need for any future modifications or improvements.
He said VicRoads appreciated input from the community and encouraged residents to advise of any concerns to 13 11 70.
‘More than half of all casualty crashes in Melbourne occur at intersections, so it’s crucial that motorists take extra care when approaching and travelling through intersections and obey all road rules,’ he said.
