Safety improvements considered for Sand Rd

A roundabout has been proposed as part of a blackspot safety improvement at the Princes Way-Sand Rd intersection at Longwarry North.

A road safety assessment of the intersection has identified several road treatments to improve safety at the intersection.

Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd was engaged by Baw Baw Shire to undertake road safety audit for improvement works along Princes Way.

Council is now seeking external funding to deliver safety improvements to Princes Way in Longwarry North and is seeking community feedback on the proposed works.

After assessing the outcomes of the safety audit, council officers identified a number of works including installation of safety barriers, upgrading the Princes Way and Sand Rd intersection to a roundabout and a speed limit reduction.

The concept design proposes upgrading the intersection to a single lane roundabout, complete with semi-mountable splitter islands along all legs.

The roundabout features a semi-mountable island surrounded by a mountable flat ring to accommodate heavy vehicle movements.

It also is proposed to install raised safety platforms on the Princes Way western and eastern approaches to the intersection with Sand Rd and extend the 60 km/h zone of Sand Rd through the Princes Way intersection.

In the five-year period ending December 2019 there has been two police recorded crashes: one fatal and one serious injury crash along Princes Way; and one police recorded fatal crash at the intersection between Princes Way and Sand Rd.

The audit report said there was little justification for this section of road to be kept at 100 km/h, particularly when considering the number of fatal and serious injury crashes in recent history.