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Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Petition seeks urgent action
3 min read

The Warragul North Primary School community is seeking urgent action to safeguard families using an "extremely dangerous" intersection.
A petition signed by 107 people was submitted to Baw Baw Shire Council seeking improvements to the Normanby St and O'Dowds Rd intersection.

School council president Terri Wilks told council the T-intersection was built almost 20 years ago and its use had greatly increased in line with town growth. She said its location on the crest of a hill offered poor visibility in both directions for motorists "forced to make a blind turn".
"We are worried about the safety of this intersection," Dr Wilks said. "Motorists using the intersection are families and carers of Warragul North Primary School pupils and buses from neighbouring schools and residents."
"Near collisions are constantly being reported at this intersection and we fear a serious accident is imminent."
Speaking at the December 14 council meeting, Dr Wilks said the petition called for council to have the site assessed and necessary safety precautions undertaken.
In just six days, it garnered support from families associated with the school, local residents and community members directly affected, she said.
"It is our hope that the outcome of this will provide a safe commute for children, residents and motorists who potentially use the intersection now or in the future," Dr Wilks added.
Stuart Brock, a school parent who lives nearby, said near misses happened on a daily basis.
"It's something that needs to be done sooner rather than later," Mr Brock said. "Realistically it happens nearly every day. That's where we've taken the step to move forward and be proactive."
Mr Brock said vehicles regularly exceeded the 60km/h speed limit on Normanby St and believed steps to slow motorists were required.
"It doesn't matter what time of day it is, there's many drivers going over that crest that are in excess of the speed limit. Sometimes they're low flying."
Located one block from Warragul North Primary School with some 640 students, Dr Wilks said the school and its parent council were concerned over traffic management, and "this has been one that's been on the agenda for quite a number of years".
Cr Danny Goss, moving a motion for council to receive the petition and receive a further report, stated the intersection was poorly designed and "extremely dangerous".
"It's scary how fast the traffic are going along there," Cr Goss said. "Speeding cars is one of the biggest issues here."
"This is a big connector road, running north-south through Warragul," he added. "It's very, very busy, poorly constructed and I guess it's too late to take the crest of the hill off now."
"This is not about a matter of spending money, this is a matter of safety."
Cr Joe Gauci, seconding the motion, said the problem intersection was raised with him previously but not from an organised group.
"This is the right process to take," Cr Gauci said. "I know this intersection because you've got to put your foot on the pedal to get around that corner real quick."
"Let's see if we can find some solutions that both have the ability to be done and not upset other locals that are living in that area."
Cr Peter Kostos said Normanby St motorists regularly "put their foot down" due to the steep gradient of the road.
"For me, I hope that maybe the police take notice of what is being said tonight," Cr Kostos said. "Maybe a little bit of intervention by our local force might just slow a few cars down."
Cr Darren Wallace asked how many petitions would council have to receive from schools over traffic and road safety before the state government took action.
"I'm sure there will be some solutions come back to ease the issue, but we're not going to fix the issue," Cr Wallace said, urging more new schools to be built on town fringes.
"Once again, we're left to carry the can to try to resolve the traffic issues around a school that is carrying twice the student population that its actually designed to carry."