Yuleba taking highway petition all the way

A new petition has been created after the Department of Transport and Main Roads decided not to lower the speed limit.

TAKING ACTION: Paul Masson from the Yuleba Development Group with Mayor Tyson Golder in Roma. Picture: Joshua Macree

THE Yuleba Development Group isn't in the business of saving lives.

But that hasn't stopped it from leading the charge to lower the speed limit along the section of Warrego Highway that dissects Yuleba after 84-year-old Shirley Miller was fatally hit by a truck last month.

The group's new petition, sponsored by Warrego MP Ann Leahy, comes after the Department of Transport and Main Roads decided not to lower the speed limit from 80km/h to 60km/h.

Group president Paul Masson said given the dangers facing motorists and pedestrians along the highway, the change has to be made.

"We've got business on both sides of the highway, which means we have people needing to cross the road every day,” he said.

"For residents seeking to fill up at the local service station, you can't even reach 80km/h before having to turn off. I take my life out of my hands each time I drive my little old ute onto the highway.

"This is about safety. We're concerned that if things stay the way they are, there will be another serious accident or even a fatality.”

Maranoa Regional Council has voted to support the speed limit reduction through Yuleba, with Mayor Tyson Golder saying the lack of government action was at odds with its road safety messages.

"It's totally unacceptable to keep the speed limit at 80km/h when the State Government is advertising that every kilometre over is a killer,” he said.

"I believe that this petition, with a high volume of signatures, is a way of sending a message to ask the minister to change the speed limit.”

To sign the petition to be tabled before parliament, visit www.parliament.qld.gov.au/workofassembly/petitions.

Originally published as Yuleba taking highway petition all the way