A fight for better crossing safety outside Kingsville Primary School is being taken to State Parliament after VicRoads rejected a Maribyrnong council request for flashing speed limit signs.
The Weekly last month reported the council wrote to VicRoads seeking electronic flashing 40km/h school zone signs on Somerville Road, Yarraville, and outside Gilmore Girls College in Barkly Street, Footscray.
VicRoads regional director Patricia Liew said the signs would be installed only on roads with a 60km/h speed limit and carrying at least 10,000 vehicles a day.
VicRoads would not comment on the likely cost of the solar-powered signs.
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The council request followed a strategic risk assessment that reported a number of heavily laden trucks were failing to stop at red lights at the Kingsville school crossing.
“Somerville Road has a number of speed zone changes, which can be a problem for inattentive drivers,” the report stated.
“Because of [the] overall environment, LED 40km/h signs for this location are considered essential.” Maribyrnong Truck Action Group president Samantha McArthur said she was very surprised by the VicRoads decision.
“It [the signs] wouldn’t solve the issues around diesel pollution, but it could only be helpful in terms of road safety.”
Maribyrnong mayor Grant Miles said the rejection wouldn’t be the end of the matter.
“We would also like to see speed cameras and red light cameras in these locations,” he said.
“It is extremely frustrating; this is not a new problem.”
Western suburbs Greens MP Colleen Hartland said she would raise the matter with Roads Minister Terry Mulder in Parliament this week.
“I will call on the minister to act to ensure these flashing signs are installed to improve safety for the 350 children and 250 adults who cross here each day and in doing so cross the path of more than 1200 trucks, a number of which fail to stop at the red traffic light signal.”
