Speed limits Mornington: Channel St now 15 km/h after resident rebels

Tired of battling bureaucracy to make his street safer a Mornington man took matters into own hands. And the move has paid off.

Channel St and one of the signs installed by a resident

FED up with dangerous drivers and constant dust along his street a Mornington man has taken the law into his own hands.

The retired dentist has installed street signs lowering the speed limit from 50 km/h to 15 km/h and changing the unsealed road into a shared zone.

Neil Hussey took action after a third attempt to have Channel St sealed failed.

“I’d had enough. The council was ignoring me and the problems were only getting worse. I got on the internet and found a place in Keysborough that makes street signs and I went down there and bought one,” Mr Hussey said.

After consulting with a neighbour Mr Hussey erected the sign on the nature strip near the home he has lived in with his wife for about 30 years.

Other neighbours liked the idea and asked him to put in two more – one at each end of the street.

“This isn’t just something I went out and did for me. It’s for the safety and well being of everyone on the street,” he said.

Mr Hussey trialled driving at different speeds along the road to gauge the amount of dust created before choosing the 15km limit.

“I also thought a lot about the type of sign to put in. I wanted it to be advisory; not too commanding.”

Since putting in the signs earlier this year Mr Hussey said drivers had modified their behaviour and walkers had reported feeling safer.

However, it was not a permanent fix.

“The road needs to be sealed and have proper drainage,” he said.

“There are properties in the street selling for up to $4 million; some residents are paying $6000 in rates yet we have no footpaths or drainage and a dirt road that creates a lot of dust.”

Mornington Peninsula Shire surveyed the street’s 32 property owners in 2019 about sealing the road.

Of the 28 responses 13 were in favour and 15 against.

In order to proceed to the planning stages the project needed to have 60 per cent property owners in favour.

Mr Hussey said the survey did not properly explain the process and some residents were “spooked”

“The one page letter we received simply told residents it would cost about $30,000 per property and gave them a yes or no option.

“Had it included information about how payments could be deferred or spread out over a 15 year period we may have got a different result.”

The council has been contacted.