Resident fears intersection will become a killer road
A resident who lives near the Bona Vista and Darnum-Allambee Rd intersection fears someone will have to be killed before authorities take action to improve the intersection.
Sharon Bursa complained about the intersection 16 months ago when a collision at the intersection heightened her fears.
When a serious collision occurred at the same intersection two weeks ago, resulting in two people being airlifted, Ms Bursa was furious that nothing has been done.
She said she feared someone would have to be killed before authorities reacted.
But, local police and Baw Baw Shire said the intersection complied with all regulations for sight distances and safety signage.
Baw Baw highway patrol sergeant Carlo Visser said police and the shire had assessed the intersection but unfortunately, in most cases, collisions came down to driver error.
Ms Bursa disagrees. She has lived in the area for 14 years and said she was sick of seeing bad accidents and near misses at the intersection.
She said she raised concerns in June last year and at the time was told by the shire it would investigate replacing the give way signs with stop signs.
“It is so dangerous there, people keep going through the intersection.
“We need to do something before someone is killed. It is known to be dangerous and all it needs is a stop sign.
“That crossroad is not a quick look and go intersections. You have to stop and have a good look. There are bends in the road and hills.
“If people face a stop sign they get it in their minds to actually stop.
“Why does someone have to be killed for something to be done,” she said.
Sgt Visser said Vic Roads and the shire assessed line of sight as the main criteria for intersections. In this instance, he said the intersection complied with all standards.
The crossroad intersection includes DarnumAllambee Rd as the through road with Bona Vista Rd and Parkers Rd meeting at the crossroad.
Sgt Visser said give way signage was at the intersection as well as other signage and safety measures to alert drivers.
He said he was waiting for latest crash data at the site to do further analysis with the shire.
“There has been an issue there, but it does comply with standards.
“People still have to be responsible for their own driving,” he said.
Sgt Visser said in recent years, as part of the Safe Roads System, police conducted audits of all injury collision sites. He said the audits showed 98 per cent of the collisions were caused by driver error, not road conditions.
Shire community assets director Cohen Van der Velde said investigations indicated there was sufficient sight distance at the intersection, and the existing give way sign was the appropriate sign to use in accordance with the relevant road safety standards and legislation.
“Stop signs are required when the sight distance at an intersection is not adequate.
“Additionally, there are a range of existing road infrastructure to warn motorist of the upcoming cross intersection. They include advanced intersection warning signs, rumble strips on the approach to Darnum Allambee Rd (on both Parkers Rd and Bona Visa Rd) and traffic/splitter islands (on both Parkers Rd and Bona Vista Rd).
“The safety and wellbeing of our community is always a priority for council and we are in conversations with local police to see what the best remedy is for this intersection,” he said.
VicRoads data for the past 10 years indicated there have been two crashes reported at this intersection, excluding the most recent collision last weekend.