Kids road risk

By Tania Martin
A FERNTREE Gully man who fears for his grandchildren’s lives has called for something to be done about speeding motorists along Cambden Park Parade.
Robert Cole said drivers speed along Cambden Park Parade at ‘stupid’ speeds and says they are risking children’s lives.
Mr Cole said he takes his grandchildren to the Robin Hood Park in Cambden Park Parade and is concerned that they are going to be hit crossing the road.
“They (drivers) zap along the road at fair speeds,” he said.
Ferntree Gully Liberal candidate Nick Wakeling said it was only a matter of time before a speeding vehicle caused serious harm.
Mr Wakeling said many residents are concerned about the high speeds that some vehicles reach.
“Cambden Park Parade is a main thoroughfare between Scoresby Road and Ferntree Gully Road.
“Many local residents have told me about the concerns that they have with the speed clocked by so many vehicles on this road,” he said.
Mr Wakeling said he has raised the issue of speeding motorists with the council.
He said one of his main concerns was that children have to cross the road to access the Robin Hood Park and risk being hit by a speeding car.
Meanwhile, Ferntree Gully MP Anne Eckstein said no one had raised concerns about the road with her and that if they had she would have referred them to the council.
Mr Cole said when taking his grandchildren to the park, he usually carries the youngest one across the road because he fears that a passing speeding car might hit her.
“You can look down the road and nothing is coming and then in a flash there is a car coming at you doing 70 or 80 kilometres an hour.
“The road probably only needs some nice jarring speed humps to slow drivers down,” he said.
Mr Cole said he had approached the Knox City Council about his concerns but was told the road was low on the list of priorities for local roads.
Mr Cole said he received a letter from the council outlining Cambden Park Parade as number 20 on the council’s road improvement list.
Meanwhile, council director of engineering and infrastructure Ian Bell said that the council had been notified of the speeding issues along the road and has undertaken traffic counts to ascertain the extent of the problem.
Mr Bell said Cambden Park Parade is listed on Council’s Local Area Traffic Management Program for traffic management treatments in the future.