Knox ups the ante on danger roads

FERNTREE Gully residents will be hoping for a green light for black spot cash.
Two of the suburb’s most dangerous roads have become Knox City Council’s highest safety priorities.
Analysis of roads across Knox has revealed McMahon’s Road and Forest Road have the highest accident rates. The roads now head the council’s list of nominations for money from the 2007-08 round of Federal Government’s Black Spot funding to address safety.
Proposals for McMahon’s Road include a roundabout at the intersection of Cockerel Street, a series of traffic slowing features and a re-configuration of the outbound service road for drivers exiting or entering Burwood Highway.
McMahon’s Road is also the highest priority on the council’s Local Area Traffic Management (LATM) program.
Meanwhile, the council hopes for better luck with Forest Road than it had in 2001, when a funding request for four roundabouts at the intersections with Hansen Road, Hutton Avenue, Olivebank Road and Clematis Avenue was unsuccessful.
Dobson Ward councillor Karin Orpen said the volume and speed of traffic combined with sharp bends made it a dangerous road, especially in wet weather.
Knox mayor David Cooper said road deaths, crash statistics and anecdotal evidence from residents provided a strong case for funding in both cases.
“Residents living on both roads endure intrusion in their daily lives – fear of accidents and attending and responding to them, as well as excessive speed and erratic driver behaviour,” he said.
The council has also asked VicRoads to improve safety at nine other trouble spots on VicRoads managed roads.