ANOTHER day, another tragic crash on Remembrance Drive has once again left a small community reeling amid ongoing calls for action to fix the "unforgiving" road now.
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A 22-year-old man is fighting for his life in the Royal Melbourne Hospital after what is thought to be a high-speed, single-vehicle crash opposite the intersection of Gleno Court just before 9am on Monday morning.
The driver was ejected from the early 2000s model Holden Commodore and a large tree snapped in half leaving the Avenue of Honour closed for most of the day.
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It is the second serious crash in the same area this month after a truck packed with chickens overturned on February 7.
For nearby Cardigan Village residents, who travel the road most days, it's just another case of drivers and road not mixing.
Resident Neil Black said it had got to a stage where the Avenue of Honour was taking more lives than it was honouring.
"All these soldiers served and gave their lives for our freedom, and now the avenue is preventing us doing what they fought for," Mr Black said.
"There's no doubt physical changes would make a huge difference.
"At this stage I'm not sure whether planning has considered the immediate growth of the area now or in the long term."
WATCH ACTING SERGEANT MATTHEW RHODES TALK ABOUT THE CRASH HERE
Monday's crash occurred in an 80km/h speed zone but Mr Black said residents were not advocating for further speed reductions, rather imploring drivers to keep to the speed limit.
"I think they do hoon, but there's certainly a black spot where there's been several accidents," Mr Black said.
"I know myself, I usually drive at 90-95km/h in the 100km/h zone and cars come right up behind you and overtake.
"It's not a case of the speed limits, it's people adhering to those."
READ MORE: How do you solve a problem like the Avenue?
Councillor Daniel Moloney, who is also a member of the Avenue of Honour Committee, said it was clear something had to be done to fix the road.
"I met with residents just last week and there is a real concern from the community regarding safety," Cr Moloney said.
"It's a growing area and as it continues to grow there's going to be more and more demand on the road. The traffic is only going to increase."
Cr Moloney said the road was unforgiving if drivers made a mistake, admitting at times and in certain conditions, the road could be "hypnotic".
"If you are even remotely fatigued, the nature of the sun between the trees can have an hypnotic effect," he said.
"For some reason, this is a road which is statistically above the norm.
"The entire Sturt Street to Burrumbeet is way way above the state norm and as we've seen, there's works underway in the centre of Ballarat. There's also recommendations for a roundabout at Madden Road, but we are yet to see funding for that.
"People say you need to just drive better but clearly it's showing that's not working. We have to seriously consider what we can do to improve the avenue."
Speaking at the scene of Monday's crash, acting Sergeant Matthew Rhodes said police were increasingly frustrated about the continual crashes along the avenue.
"At this stage we're still conducting our investigation as to what has occurred, but it is evident that it's a high-speed collision of some kind," he said.
"We don't understand why this is the case (of another crash on Remembrance Drive).
"It's a straight stretch, people know the speed limits, you can't overtake, there's trees either side."