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| Gisborne Roads Group president, Bruce Overall at the risky Station Road/Wallaby Run intersection. |
Kylie Kitchen
Dangers at Gisborne's Station Road/Wallaby Run intersection have been revealed in a confidential traffic report released under Freedom of Information.
Nine high risks are identified in the Traffic Works road safety audit (31/07/12), all listed as a likely 'serious severity' and 'occasional frequency'.
The serious severity rating means likely deaths or serious injury, and the occasional frequency means a likely occurrence once every five to 10 years.
Gisborne Roads Group president, Bruce Overall says this level of danger is unacceptable.
"The general view is a matter of not if but when there'll be a serious accident," he says.
"If it's certainly above that medium risk rating, I'd have to say that's extremely dangerous.
"The injustice in the thing is it's jeopardising the safety of not only the Gisborne public but the Macedon Ranges traffic that goes through there everyday."
Mr Overall says the risks at the intersection will be exasperated by development at Jacksons Creek Estate, off Wallaby Run.
"It's only a matter of months before they start to develop the section 9A lots and then there's onset of black ice with winter," he says.
Road safety improvement works formed part of the permit conditions for Townshend Homes when the Jacksons Creek Estate was approved. However, the developer is not required to undertake those works in stage one (section 9A). Mr Overall says Townshend Homes is responsible for the intersection's safety. He is calling on council and VicRoads to demand safety works are completed before any further development goes ahead.
Safety improvements recommended in the road report such as road widening and guard railing installation are esssential, Mr Overall says.
"Station Road needs to be 15 metres wide to accommodate all the lanes it needs and that will require removing that old tree. At the moment it's 14.5 metres, that half a metre does make a difference," he said.
"The only way to avoid the tree removal is to take away that right turning lane. So you will have only a left in and a left out."
Removing the right turning lane will mean access in and out of Wallaby Run, when right hand turns are needed, will require using the existing roundabout at Robertson Street and constructing a roundabout at Morrow Road.
Macedon Ranges Council assets and operations director, Dale Thornton, says Townshend Homes will be required to carry out the permit-specified safety works at the Station Road/Wallaby Run intersection.
"(It is the developer's responsibility) to construct turning lanes, safety barriers and associated works to Australian standards," he says, "... as well as a guard rail along Station Road on the west side".
"The guard rail barrier will increase the safety at this intersection in the unlikely event that a vehicle loses brake power approaching Station Road from Wallaby Run."
Although an urgency for these works has been raised by Gisborne Roads Group, they are not scheduled until stage two of the development.
"These works are programmed to be carried out in three stages over the life of the permit. This is standard practice, because it is not feasible to construct everything in the first stage. Council supports the staged approach," Mr Thornton says.
"Station Road is a VicRoads road and meets current safety standards."
VicRoads regional director, Mal Kersting says VicRoads and council will consider the matters identified in the Station Road/Wallaby Run road safety audit.
"These matters are currently being investigated and include ongoing discussions with the Macedon Ranges Shire," he says.
