While quarry, grain and fertilizer trucks have been using the gumtree-lined road for decades, drivers said moving Ballarat's saleyards from Delacombe to Miners Rest had sent more cattle trucks through the tiny town, as truckies sought a shortcut between the Western and Midland highways to Geelong.

The petition is calling for the limit to be dropped from 80km/h to 60km/h along its entire length.

Lal Lal Primary School Principal Siobhan Gosney said the heavy traffic often took up much of the road and heavy trucks were passing too close to pedestrians.

"One of the parents started the petition, and we have other people who hear the trucks waking them up at 4am," she said.

"This road issue really affects us because the danger means kids can't walk or ride to school.

"We have a great walking path along Clarendon-Lal Lal Road but part of it is just too close to the road.

"We're trying to work with school families to get them to walk or ride a bike or even ride a horse.

"(However) the horses have been getting spooked by the close trucks, so no one has done that since the pandemic.

"With issues like the price of petrol, staying healthy and mental health, we're trying to encourage kids to walk or ride, but it's just too dangerous.

"We have been trying to do something about this for a long time, but (the) council says it's not their road, then VicRoads says it's not their road either."

In July 2012, a Moorabool Shire Council meeting was told a sealed path for pedestrians and cyclists would be extended 1.7 kilometres at a total cost of $120,000, subject to money being left over in the budget.

Locals said the area was surveyed and mapped, but the project never went ahead.

A report at the time said one in 10 vehicles on the road was a B-double truck, semi trailer or other heavy vehicle. Lal Lal has no school crossing and is growing, with a cohort of nine preps in 2022.

"We've seen a lot of growth in the area, especially since the pandemic," Ms Gosney said.

"People have moved out of the city to Lal Lal and they're very surprised at how busy our road is."

Local woman Kristina Kitchingham said police were actively monitoring speeding around Lal Lal, but there had been no change to the road for a long time.

"I'm surprised no one's been cleaned up yet," she said.

"And every second week I see a dead kangaroo along that stretch."

Petition organisers also raised concerns about obscured driveways along the four-kilometre road, with locals unable to access their properties safely.

The petition will be discussed during Wednesday night's Moorabool Shire Council meeting.

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