BALLARAT North residents say they have had enough of hoon drivers who are turning their peaceful neighborhood into a drag strip.
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It comes as the early morning peace was again shattered on Monday morning when at least one hoon driver was seen and heard racing along parts of Howitt Street and Havelock Street in the early hours of Monday morning.
The Ballarat North incident saw the car skid and swerve along Howitt Street around 5.20am, waking residents, with one person saying they thought it was only a matter of time before a car ended up in their front bedroom.
Later in the morning, a 26-year-old man was taken to hospital after allegedly evading police before crashing through a fence near the Mount Clear Medical Centre. That driver also collided with a milk truck on Whitehorse Road.
It is not known at this stage whether the Monday morning events are related.
President of Committee For Ballarat North Cat Davis said having lived in the area for 10 years, it was a weekly occurrence.
"During the day it's relatively quiet and the streets are vacant, come night time, after 9pm, it starts," she said.
"The routes they tend to take is right into Doveton Street North from Howitt Street and then right along Norman Street, it's like they do a circuit.
"When they feel like moving on, they continue on past the golf course, then down Creswick Rd fast. There's lot of opportunity to turn wherever they want."
Ms Davis said while she and other resident has attempted to make police reports over the years, more often than not the cars were travelling too fast to catch a glimpse of number plates."
Resident Neil Para said while the hooning did not happen every night, it was a regular occurrence.
"There are a lot of elderly people around, there's also a lot of shift workers who need their sleep," he said. "You really do notice it in the winter months when there is a bit of spray on the road, you know they are going too fast."
North Ward councillor Amy Johnson agrees, saying she has great concerns about the way hoons travel through roundabouts.
"Ballarat North and Black Hill are key hot spots for hooning behaviour," she said.
"I very rarely see police actively parolling this area of the city at night, an increased presence would greatly reduce the likelihood of that behaviour.
"Personally for us, it's such a significant issue where we live that we're getting security cameras. There's always the fear that an incident could occur out the front of your own home."
Ms Davis said she had no doubt that increased police would nab hoons fairly regularly in the area.
"I'm sure if the police were to patrol the area, they'd find something," she said,
"Friday and Saturday nights are the worst, but it happens any day, any morning, just sit here for a couple of weeks they'll catch people for sure, there's always the opportunity."
Police were contact for comment.
To report a hoon, you can ring Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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