Road danger: Warburton Highway in Seville East needs turning lane traffic group say
A young family has come close to being hit by a car at 90km/h and are pleading for a turning lane to be installed on a notorious Yarra Valley road. But the road authority says enough has been done to make the road safe.
Outer East
Don't miss out on the headlines from Outer East. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A young Yarra Valley family who narrowly escaped being involved in a major car crash on a notorious section of the Warburton Highway are rethinking their future in the beautiful country town.
Tess and Corey Jones were waiting to turn off the valley’s major arterial in Seville East with their four-month-old daughter Frankie asleep in the back, when a car travelling at speed almost rear-ended their car.
Mrs Jones said her husband was waiting to turn against the traffic off the highway when he noticed in the rear-view mirror that the woman in the car behind had not seen their car but it was too late to take evasive action and accelerate forward.
She said her husband tried to swerve so she wouldn’t hit the car, but by some miracle the woman managed to come to a screeching halt, leaving the pair in shock.
The Jones’ are part of the Seville East Traffic Safety Group, which has been lobbying the State Government for a designated turning lane off Warburton Highway to ensure pedestrians are not in danger of being hit by cars doing 90km/h.
Lilydale & Yarra Valley Leader has reported on the dire state of the highway — particularly between Peters and Douthie roads — with people living in the town “dicing with death” daily.
There were nine officially recorded crashes along that stretch from January, 2014 to May 2019 — one resulted in the death of a 54-year-old man in April 2019.
RELATED: HIGHWAY IN SEVILLE EAST NEEDS SAFETY SOLUTION
VICROADS URGED TO FIX DANGEROUS STRETCH AFTER INJURIES, DEATH
SEVILLE EAST CFA RESPOND TO COLLISIONS, NEAR MISSES DAILY
In a small victory VicRoads this month has dropped the speed limit along the strip by 10km/h to 80km/h.
But Mrs Jones said the speed reduction would not solve the problem.
She said locals desperately needed a turning lane between along the stretch of road and a crossing with a traffic island for the children crossing the highway to get off and on their bus to school.
“I love where we live and our house, but it’s so unsafe,” Mrs Jones said.
“What happens when Frankie needs to go to school?
“The other kids have to catch the bus and they have to run across three or four lanes with no crossing or anything on this road.”
Fellow member of the Facebook group Claire Knowles said while the speed reduction meant a “fraction more time” to allow drivers to process conditions, it was not the ideal solution.
“We have an awful amount of speeding drivers and we need a turning lane,” Ms Knowles said.
MORE: WINERY STRUCK BY DEVASTATING BLAZE AFTER REOPENING
BIKIES BREACH CORONAVIRUS RULES AT LILYDALE FUNERAL
COVID CASES UP IN MELBOURNE’S OUTER EAST
“It’s a complex piece of road.
“The feeling is it is still not safe to turn off or into the road and it’s not safe for children.”
A Department of Transport spokesman said reducing the speed limit improved the safety for all people living in the area, and tourists using the Warburton Highway.
“We’ve listened closely to the community and have responded by making this important speed change to keep all road users safe,” he said.