Clearways in McIntyre Road in Sunshine North will be reviewed less than 18 months after they were introduced.
Brimbank mayor John Hedditch said the effectiveness of the clearways along the arterial would be reviewed in response to community concerns that drivers were travelling faster and putting pedestrian safety at risk.
Less than three months ago, 72-year-old Giovanna Dimech was hit and killed and another 74-year-old woman seriously injured when the pair were crossing the road at a signalised crossing. Police have said the Sunshine man who hit the women on September 18 drove straight through a red light.
The council restricted parking on the road, which takes about 30,000 cars daily, between Berkshire and Ballarat roads, with the support of VicRoads and Victoria Police, on June 14 last year. The restrictions ban parking on week days from 7am until 7pm.
Three months into the changes, 530 residents demanded Brimbank council reinstate parking outside two doctors’ surgeries on the busy street, saying the loss of car parking was killing business.
Head petitioner Peter Thomson said the clearways had also created a huge increase in speeding vehicles.
The clearways remained, but Mr Thomson has not given up his fight. Last week, he again asked the council to remove the clearway following several serious car accidents along the road.
“The clearway zone has turned McIntyre Road into a permanent speedway,” he said. “Even the pedestrian crossing lights are being ignored, with cars driving straight through the red light.
“Something has to change or there’ll be more deaths.”
Sunshine North Post, News and Lotto owner Mike Smith agrees.
“My concern is that traffic just goes too quickly,” he said. “Parked cars used to slow it down, now cars come off the ring road still doing 80 [km/h].”
Cr Hedditch said he would ask council officers, in consultation with VicRoads, to assess the effectiveness of the restrictions.
According to VicRoads, there have been 23 crashes on McIntyre Road since the beginning of 2015.
