Residents step up footpath demands
A BELLARINE retirement village is demanding Geelong council build a footpath along a dangerous road to avert what they believe is an inevitable serious accident.
More than 500 people signed a petition organised by Bellarine Springs Retirement Village residents calling on the City of Greater Geelong to build a shared footpath along Central Rd in Drysdale.
Bellarine Springs Retirement Village resident Geoff Turner said the construction of footpaths along the strip had been left to developers, leaving dangerous gaps in infrastructure and forcing pedestrians on to the dangerous road.
“It’s been taken up by the residents here (at the retirement village), because it’s been populated for the last three years now and is growing every couple of months … and about 90 houses have just been built in new subdivisions outside the village,” Mr Turner said.
“The infrastructure is lagging behind. Council is not doing much, we’ve been pushing them for about two years now. Their policy is to leave it up to developers to put in.
“The developers are doing the job, but there are a lot of properties on Central Rd that are two to five acres, and they’re owned by people who aren’t interested in selling up — so developers won’t be coming in.”
Mr Turner said pedestrians traversing Central Rd were forced to walk either on the road or through long grass on the roadside — either way a battle with traffic or snakes.
Mr Turner and a group of retirement village residents this month presented Bellarine Ward councillor Jim Mason with the petition, which he tabled at last week’s meeting.
The residents attended the council’s Community Focus meeting in Indented Heads last week, holding posters with the phrases ‘Keep all residents safe’ and ‘A footpath in our lifetime’.
The petition called on the City of Greater Geelong to “immediately commence planning and construction of a shared footpath along Central Road, Drysdale”.
“The southern part of Central Rd resembles a narrow country road, with hills and poor visibility creating major safety hazards for other road users.
“We consider that such safety hazards will inevitably result in a serious incident without the construction of a footpath along Central Rd.
“The majority of non-vehicle users on Central Rd include pedestrians and cyclists of all ages (sections are designated as a school bike route), parents with prams and senior citizens using a variety of mobility aids.”