By Jed Lanyon
Yarra Ranges residents shared their ideas on how to make local roads safer at a regional road safety forum in Marysville on Monday 15 July.
The forum comes after a 50 per cent increase in deaths on Victorian roads, the majority having occurred on regional roads, where 98 people have died.
Road safety experts and state and local government representatives attended the forum at the Marysville Community Centre.
Healesville resident and author Heather Ellis was in attendance as a representative of the Motorcycle Riders Association (MRA).
“For many families in country Victoria, poorly maintained roads are part of their daily commute. This is unacceptable,” Ms Ellis said.
“Our road safety policies must be reviewed for all road users. Too many people, including motorcyclists, have died on bad country roads.
“These people would still be alive if the roads were kept in safe condition and road surfaces in need of repair were actually repaired.”
The MRA holds concerns regarding VicRoads’ Maroondah Highway safety improvements project between Coldstream and Healesville and the use of wire rope barriers that poses safety risks for motorcycle users.
The project aims to install centreline and left-hand side flexible safety barriers to reduce the risk and severity of head-on collisions and run-off-road crashes, widen traffic lanes and road shoulders to accommodate for the installation of flexible safety barriers.
As well as install rumble strips in high-risk locations to warn drivers when they begin to veer from their lane and explore options for safer overtaking opportunities.
The project is intended to be completed by 2020.
Regional Roads Victoria acting director of Safe System Road Infrastructure Program Barry Green said,
“We’re looking at improving safety along the Maroondah Highway between Coldstream and Healesville, as part of our commitment to reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads.”
“We’re currently speaking with the community and stakeholders to understand their views and gain feedback to inform any potential safety upgrades.”
According to VicRoads, there were 11 serious injuries along this stretch of road with two people losing their lives. Most of the serious injuries occurred as a result of head-on collisions due to vehicles drifting onto the wrong side of the road between July 2013 and July 2017.
The forums follow the Melbourne Road Safety Summit in May, where road safety experts and community leaders gathered to discuss what more could be done to address the horror start to the year on Victoria’s roads.
The state government said they will consider the ideas from the summit and forums as part of the development of the next Victorian road safety strategy.
For more information about the VicRoads project and to have your say, visit: https://bit.ly/2Z3hajC
