Pleas for Stud Rd pedestrian crossing to access Dandenong basketball stadium
A MUM of two who lives just 400m from Dandenong basketball stadium says she has to drive her children there because it is too dangerous to cross the busy main road.
South East
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MOTHER-OF-TWO Lana Formoso lives just 400m from Dandenong basketball stadium but drives there because it’s too dangerous to cross busy Stud Road.
Ms Formoso has ramped up her efforts to get a pedestrian crossing or footbridge built over the road.
Ms Formoso said she loads her two young boys’ bikes into the car for the two-minute drive just to be able to use the facilities next to the stadium, such as the bike path, playground, wetlands and BBQ area.
“It’s extremely dangerous, you’re risking your life every time you cross the road,” Ms Formoso told the Leader.
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“It wasn’t that big of an issue until I had children and I realised I had access to these amazing facilities and no way of getting there. That’s when it became really frustrating.”
More than 15,000 people use the stadium each week but those on foot or getting off the bus on the east side of Stud Rd have no safe way of accessing it.
Pedestrians have to dodge cars travelling at 80km/h and traffic turning on and off the Monash Freeway.
In April this year a woman in her 50s was struck and killed trying to cross the road to get to the bus stop.
In the past 10 years until the end of 2017, another person also lost their life on Stud Rd between Heatherton Rd and the Monash Freeway, while there were 13 serious injuries and 63 other injuries.
The closest set of traffic lights, at the Heatherton Rd intersection, is a 1.7km round trip from the stadium and would add an extra 20 minutes of walking to Ms Formoso’s journey.
She said the speed limit should be reduced and caution signage installed immediately until a safer crossing is built.
Ms Formoso’s ferocious campaigning is paying dividends with Roads and Road Safety with Minister Luke Donnellan telling the Leader he had “directed VicRoads to review the safety of this section of Stud Rd to determine how we can improve safety for pedestrians”.
VicRoads movement and safety manager for southeast metro Sasha Yarwood confirmed it was currently under review.
At the last meeting of Greater Dandenong councillor Matthew Kirwan passed a motion for council to write to the Minister and local MPs advocating for a crossing.
Dandenong Stadium is used by athletes from across Victoria and Australia and is the home of the Dandenong Rangers WNBL team and Volleyball Victoria.
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