By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
A THREE-YEAR campaign to have a speed zone extended around a Berwick school has been stopped in its tracks again by VicRoads.
Renewed calls this year to have the school speed zone near Timbarra P-9 College in Berwick extended to cover a nearby school crossing on Ernst Wanke Road, under the government’s recent speed limit review, have been denied by the state’s road authority.
VicRoads Metropolitan South East Regional Director Adam Maguire said the section of Ernst Wanke Road near Timbarra P-9 College was “not currently eligible” for a school speed zone at the “remote” school crossing.
“Students at Timbarra College are currently able to safely cross Ernst Wanke Road at a flagged school crossing near the intersection of Parkhill Drive, Berwick,” he said.
“In considering the eligibility of locations for school speed zones at remote school crossing sites, VicRoads’ assessment takes into account a number of factors, with the primary considerations being the speed limit of the road, pedestrian numbers and traffic volumes.”
The call for a school zone extension on this stretch of Ernst Wanke Road was first made in 2011 when a 300-signature petition was presented to, and subsequently supported by, the City of Casey, but the request was unsuccessful.
The issue was raised again this year by residents, Casey council and Narre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan as they called on the section of Ernst Wanke Road to be included in the government’s recent speed limit review.
Mr Donnellan, who presented the residents’ petition to Casey council in 2011, urged Transport Minister Terry Mulder to change the current decision on the school zone extension.
“The local community has been calling for this safety upgrade for years,” he said.
“Everyone is on board, including over 300 residents who signed the petition, the school council president, former councillors, and Casey council have now applied twice for the change.”
He said the Berwick community needed to be heard on the issue to prevent a tragic accident from occurring.
“A school speed zone extension onto Ernst Wanke Road would make the bus stops and school crossing used by students and others safer, while not impeding motorists outside school times,” Mr Donnellan said.
