Residents of Gillies Road in Mount Rowan fear it will take another catastrophic accident before authorities listen to their pleas for a permanent reduction in the speed limit along the busy road.
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Increasing traffic levels on the road, which has a 100kmh speed limit, have resulted in a number of accidents and near misses as locals turn in and out of their driveways.
They feared the worst on Monday when a car crashed and burst in to flames at the intersection of Cummins Rd, leaving its three occupants with minor injuries.
For the past year a group of residents has been petitioning VicRoads and Ballarat Council to drop the speed limit to 80kmh.
“My wife was turning in to our front gate and a car came up behind at 100kmh and ran in to the back of her, and an oncoming car had to swerve to avoid that car and it was just lucky that no one was badly hurt,” one resident said.
“I don’t know what it has to take to get this road slowed to 80kmh.”
READ MORE: Lucky escape from fiery crash in Mount Rowan
Residents said the mix of road users had also changed, with school buses, locals, trucks, tractors and cyclists all competing for space.
This week’s accident occurred just 50m from a school bus stop.
The road has been the scene of a number of serious and fatal accidents over the years.
In the coming months though residents will get their wish, but only temporarily and at the cost of even more traffic.
When the Midland Highway is closed for roadworks, all northbound traffic will be diverted along Gillies Rd and the speed limit will be temporarily reduced to 80kmh until the works are complete.
”All we can hope for is a greater police presence during this time, as many of the commuters whom already use the road most likely won’t abide by the temporary speed limit,” residents said.