Speed limit on Como Rd to change following spate of accidents

Sick of crashed cars in their front yards, residents along a gravel road in Leopold have won the battle to have the speed limit reduced.

Residents living on and around Como Rd in Leopold say they are appalled at the state of the road, with corrugations and dust. Picture: Mark Wilson.

Residents living along a gravel road in Leopold, who feared someone would die on the crash-prone stretch, have won a year-old long battle to have the speed limit reduced.

Locals say vehicles repeatedly crash on the bumpy, dusty, high-speed stretch of Como Rd and cars that have lost control have ended up in front yards on multiple occasions.

In February, following a spate of accidents along the road, the Geelong Advertiser reported residents were calling on the 80km/h speed limit to be reduced.

City of Greater Geelong executive director of city infrastructure James Sirton confirmed on Tuesday afternoon – nine months after the Addy’s first report – the speed limit would be reduced.

“Approval has recently been received from (Department of Transport and Planning) to implement a reduced speed limit,” Mr Sirton said.

“We are arranging the installation of the required signage.”

As summer ramps up and the road dries up, resident Deb Schroeder said she was worried she would one day discover a body on the roadside.

Just last Thursday, on a morning walk, Ms Schroeder came across a deserted black sedan that had crashed into a paddock just off the road.

“I do not want to see a fatality on that road, but I honestly believe that we will” Ms Schroeder said.

Residents living on and around Como Rd in Leopold are calling for action to make it safer. Picture: Mark Wilson

“Without exaggerating it, I think the amount of accidents we are saw over the last year, it’s just a matter of time.

“I just don’t want to find the body.”

Ms Schroeder said as the weather heats up, the road gets more dusty and corrugated, making it harder for drivers to stay in control, even if they are following the speed limit.

“It’s accident season,” she said.

Deb Schroeder found this black sedan in a paddock along Como Rd on Thursday.

“It’s loose and it’s dusty, sometimes it’s hard to see other vehicles because it can get so dusty.

“I think because the speed limit along the road is 80km/h, people feel as though they need to go 80km/h, so the speed needs to be reduced.”

Travis Macdonald, who lives on the road and was the first on the scene when a ute rolled just before Christmas last year, said he had been “constantly” asking council to fix the stretch.

“It’s such loose gravel, he lost control, his car fishtailed and rolled three times, went through the paddock and the fences,” Mr Macdonald said of the crash last year.

Another neighbour sent a grim warning following Thursday’s crash.

This car lost control on Como Rd earlier in the year.

“Someone’s going to die,” he said.

Mr Sirton said earlier this year that council was “in discussion with the Department of Transport and Planning about reducing the speed limit on Como Rd”.

Mr Sirton also said at the time the extension of nearby Estuary Blvd would become the main east-west transport link in the area and take away much of the traffic using Como Rd.

However, according to locals, that extension was no longer happening.

Originally published as Speed limit on Como Rd to change following spate of accidents