Rat run junction fears

By Ed Merrison
A PROMINENT local resident has raised serious concerns that a lack of council foresight could lead to a fatality at a Ferntree Gully intersection.
Ferntree Gully resident Kevin Knox said safety at the intersection of Forest Road and well-known ‘rat run’ Railway Road should have been addressed before work began on a subdivision which will increase traffic and with it the likelihood of accidents.
Mr Knox said cars travelling south on Forest Road often turned left at Railway Road at speeds well in excess of the 50kmh speed limit.
The left turn barely requires drivers to alter their course, unlike the continuation of Forest Road which rounds a sharp bend shortly before the speed limit drops to 40kmh and which often clogs up with heavy peak hour traffic.
But Mr Knox is concerned that drivers leaving Forest Road will soon come up against traffic going in and out of the Peregrine Heights development, just metres from the intersection on the corner of Butlers Road and Railway Road.
The council issued a permit for the land’s subdivision into 75 residential lots in December 2004, although no planning permits for individual lots have yet been lodged.
Mr Knox said he had not spoken directly to Dobson Ward councillor Karin Orpen about the issue but said he brought it to the council’s attention two years ago.
“It’s a very dangerous situation and the whole intersection should have been redesigned before the subdivision went ahead,” Mr Knox said.
“With more people using the intersection there will eventually be a fatality and I’d hate to be in a position to say ‘I told you so’.”
Mr Knox also said the sealing of Railway Road by the developer, set as a condition to the planning permit, was likely to encourage drivers to use the rat run even more at greater speeds.
Council engineering and infrastructure director Ian Bell said the council painted white lines on the road in 2003 to delineate the turn into Railway Road, but Mr Knox said only readjusting the kerb to change the shape of the turn would force vehicles to slow down.
Mr Knox said: “The council has drawn white lines but drivers don’t slow down, they just go straight over them.
“I want concrete strips put in so they have to slow down,” he said.
Mr Bell said linemarking was not used as a speed deterrent, but claimed it reduced the likelihood of accidents by between 15 and 30 per cent.
Mr Bell quoted VicRoads statistics that showed the intersection has been the scene of two accidents, although neither involved vehicles turning left off Forest Road.
He said council had received six inquiries about the intersection dating back to 2003, and that each had been addressed with either linemarkings or increased signage.
However, Mr Bell said the council was looking at operational and safety issues associated with the intersection.
“Extending the kerb is an option; however, this project is likely to be a low priority. Access for trucks would also need to be considered,” he said.
But Mr Knox hoped it was not a case of too little, too late.
“I’m interested in trying to avoid a collision and I’m disappointed something wasn’t done before we got to this stage because it’s not long before the houses go up,” he said.