By Aneeka Simonis
VICROADS has come out acknowledging that the deadly Kooweerup-Healesville Road is in urgent need of a safety upgrade, citing many flaws including the bare minimum width of the road highly frequented by heavy trucks and tourists.
The findings were handed down at a community safety forum on Thursday 1 September in Kooweerup where dozens of concerned local motorists attended including the family and friends of Ryan Downs – the road’s most recent fatal victim.
The forum was heated, with many impassioned residents calling for VicRoads to get on with the promised road duplication project rather than focus on short-term fixes including additional road safety signage.
One man was escorted from the venue by two police officers.
However, VicRoads emphasised the costly road duplication project was many years down the track, suggesting short-term solutions including the installation of more signs and audio tactile linemarking would help improve the road’s safety in the short-term.
Twenty-seven casualty crashes have occurred along the 9km section of Kooweerup-Healesville Road, Pakenham South, since 2011.
The road posts a 90km/h speed limit, even on s-bend areas – some of which permit overtaking.
Data revealed at the forum shows the width of the road is between 3.1 – 3.5 metres, meaning it is in some cases only 10 centimetres wider than the bare minimum standard required for Australian roads.
More than 2200 trucks alone are estimated to use the tight-squeeze of a single-lane road each day, close to double the state-wide average experienced on Victorian roads.
It was also revealed the average motorist travels at 93km/h on the road.
Road engineer Steven Yang highlighted less off-road casualty crashes have been recorded since VicRoads installed barriers on the side of the road in 2013.
The most common fatality cause is now head-on crashes.
Residents voiced concern the barrier was causing motorists to bump off the side and collide head on with oncoming cars. Three of the four casualty crashes detected on the road this year were head-ons.
Ryan Downs, 27, died as a result of a crash on the road on Friday 13 May.
His father, David Downs, spoke at the forum, saying his family doesn’t live in the local area but a piece of them will always exist there now.
He urged locals to get behind the road safety campaign.
“This is your chance. Let’s get this sorted so everyone can get home safe,” he said.
“If this campaign is successful, his final act will be his greatest act.“
Gary King, a Kooweerup local who earlier proposed a four-point short-term road safety focused at the three-kilometre S-bend area, a part of which includes overtaking, spoke at the forum and touched on issues relating to tourist traffic.
“There are lots of international tourists that use the road to get to major tourist areas like Phillip Island and Wilsons Prom. They don’t know the road like locals do … and fatigue is a problem,” he said.
Mr King proposed VicRoads install signs and double line markings to prohibit overtaking on the three-kilometre bend, remove roadside vegetation obstructing motorists views between Ellett and Soldiers roads and reduce the speed from 90km/h to 80km/h.
A survey of attendees showed majority support for the speed limit to remain at 90km/h.
A separate survey method proposed by VicRoads was quickly shut down by residents who feared a show of support for proposed short-term solutions would not represent their strong, overall support for the road duplication in future planning.
Resident Vicki Macdermid was first to speak up against the plan, earlier stating she was sorry she ever bought there.
“The road is not designed for trucks … and the traffic, it’s increased exponentially and continues to,” she said.
In July, VicRoads removed roadside vegetation between Ellett and Soldiers roads and installed a “high risk area” warning sign on the approach to the bend.
Feedback from the community consultation forum will be considered in VicRoads’ future safety planning for the site.
