Peter Thomson.
By Alesha Capone
FOR around six years, Sunshine North resident Peter Thomson has been campaigning for traffic lights at the intersection of Ballarat Rd and Westmoreland Rd.
However, the last thing he wanted was for the Westmoreland Rd median to be shut, preventing right turns in and out of the street.
Mr Thomson, who is also a member of the Brimbank Transport Action Group, said he was disappointed VicRoads have proposed the idea.
Last month, 1200 letters were sent to nearby residents which said “the intersection has experienced a high number of crashes relating to vehicles entering and exiting Westmoreland Rd”.
“VicRoads’ investigations have shown that the most effective safety measure to address crashes at the intersection is to close the median at Westmoreland Rd,” the document said. Under the plan, “westbound vehicles wanting to turn into Westmoreland Rd will be required to conduct a U-turn at the Hampshire Rd intersection” instead.
Motorists heading west from Westmoreland Rd will also have to travel east along Ballarat Rd and conduct a U-turn at the Northumberland Rd intersection.
The letter said “traffic lights and a partial median closure were considered but are not preferred due to issues with constructability and their lack of overall effectiveness in addressing road safety”.
“We’ve been campaigning for years to get lights which would solve the problem,” Mr Thomson said.
“It’s just crazy.
“I’ve approached the council for lights and I’ve spoken to VicRoads, I don’t know how many times.
“There are plenty of intersections where two lots of lights run in sync close together.
“People tend to avoid Northumberland Rd, the next one up, as it’s a bus route and you get stuck behind a bus.”
Mr Thomson said he believed removing the right-turn access would also inconvenience the Sunshine North Ambulance Station, which is located at the intersection.
“If the ambulance is called in peak time, there will be a delay of five or 10 minutes more on a trip, which could make the difference in life or death in a critical situation,” he said.
But VicRoads’ Metropolitan North West Acting Regional Director, John Moylan, said “responses have generally been very positive” to the proposed closure.
“Ballarat Rd is a VicRoads road, and Westmoreland Rd is a council road,” he said.
“The intersection of Ballarat Rd and Westmoreland Rd has had five crashes in the past five year period and is deemed a blackspot.
“VicRoads is closing this median opening to address these crashes.”
Brimbank City Council’s general manager of infrastructure and environment, Paul Younis, said installing traffic lights was “not an option” given the corner’s proximity to the Hampshire Rd intersection.
