By Peter Douglas
THE contentious Mount Dandenong Tourist Road is set for a major safety upgrade, with Monbulk MP James Merlino announcing $220,000 in improvements.
The commitment is set to include improved signage and guide posts, as well as line marking at high-risk and medium-risk bends along the 22-kilometre route.
Each day, about 10,000 vehicles, including 800 trucks, travel up and down the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road, with the road becoming increasingly popular with cyclists.
The tight corners along the road are a known safety concern, with 64 run-off and head-on crashes along bends on the road in the five-year period ending December 2014.
Twenty-two of these crashes resulted in serious injuries.
In sections of the road where the speed limit is 70km/h, there have been 32 crashes, including 12 serious injury crashes.
Mr Merlino hoped the safety improvements would reduce these statistics.
“These improvements will help motorists understand that they need to slow down and take extra care when travelling through bends,” he said.
“We’re making the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road safer for residents in the Dandenong Ranges, as well as the tourists and cyclists that enjoy this scenic route.”
As part of the safety project, it is proposed to reduce the existing 70km/h speed limits to 60km/h, which will make the speed environment more consistent with other sections of the road and have a significant safety benefit.
The $220,000 commitment represents part of the Labor Government’s Towards Zero road safety vision.
This recent announcement comes after Liberal rival and La Trobe MP Jason Wood earlier this year called for greater action on the road.
Before the federal election, Mr Wood announced a $10 million election promise to widen sections of the road, which he said was much-needed and could be one of the largest funding commitments ever for road safety in the region.
Mr Wood said the influx of tourists and cyclists needed to be addressed.
“Ever since Cadel Evans won the Tour de France (in 2011), the amount of cyclists riding up through here on the weekend is unbelievable,” he said.
“But the locals use the road, too. They may be taking the kids to the footy. It’s a recipe for disaster.”
