Sunbury street off limit for kids as parents fear hoons will cause a fatal

HOONS in a street in Melbourne’s northwest have forced kids behind closed doors because “their parents are scared they could be killed by a speeding driver”.

Sunbury parking problems - Sorbonne Drive

PARENTS in a Sunbury street are reluctant to let their children play outside with fears speeding drivers will soon cause a fatal accident.

And it’s prompted a stern warning from police — grow up or have your car impounded.

Sorbonne Drive residents have called for speed humps to be installed in an effort to curb hoons who continually speed along their street, which runs off Sunningdale Ave in Goonawarra.

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Cheryl Innes is having to catch two buses to work since her two-year-old car was written-off this month after being hit while parked outside her home.

“I was in my garage when I heard a bang and then another bang and I knew it was my car,” Ms Innes said.

“The force of the smash pushed my car 10m along the road into my next-door neighbour’s front garden.

“This is not the first incidence of this happening, but this time my car had to be towed away.”

Ms Innes said she feared for the safety of children in the street.

“Kids can’t go out on their bikes because their parents are scared they could be killed by a speeding driver. We need speed humps,” she said.

Neighbour Christine, who did not want her surname published, said they were sick of the noise from speeding motorists, often in the middle of the night.

“Our fear is that someone is going to be hit, or worse,” she said.

“We need some sort of speed reducing device put in — whether that be traffic islands or speed humps. Something has to be done to slow drivers down.”

Sergeant John Letchford from Sunbury police said it was time for speeding drivers to “grow up”.

“Speeding is problematic across all areas of Sunbury, but it comes down to the availability of our resources to target these individuals,” he said.

“We know it is particularly annoying for neighbourhoods where it is affecting quality of life.

“There is a real lack of respect from these drivers. Some even do burnouts in front of their own homes. It’s time for them to grown up. If they don’t act like responsible adults then they will be treated like children and have their car taken off them.”

Hume Council’s acting director, city infrastructure John Monaghan said council would undertake a traffic count in the street to record the volume and speed of cars.

“We will assess the need for a speed hump or other measures once council receives the result of this count,” he said.

Sgt Letchford said police had prosecuted drivers as a result of people taking photos and making statements to police.
He said there would be more prolific patrols in the lead up to Christmas.