By CASEY NEILL
Right-turn restrictions will remain in place at Dandenong’s Lonsdale and Foster streets despite claims they’re causing crashes.
The Journal reported in March that Greater Dandenong Council was writing to Roads Minister Luke Donnellan seeking an urgent review of the part-time bans with a view to removing or modifying them.
Councillor John Kelly, who moved the motion, said the minister’s response “basically poo-hooed it”.
“They don’t seem to have a grasp of the safety issues, I don’t think,” he said.
“I’d dearly love to get him out to have a cup of coffee in Dandenong and show him the problems.
“I’ll shout him a coffee.”
Cr Kelly said there were a number of problems at the intersection and on Foster Street between Lonsdale and Langhorne streets.
“It’s the peak times that are really a concern,” he said.
“I’m getting so frustrated.
“The answer seems to be no all the time.
“Residents keep telling me that they’re having near-accidents.”
He said motorists travelling east on Foster Street who found they couldn’t turn right onto Lonsdale would continue to Langhorne and perform a U-turn.
“It’s an accident waiting to happen,” Cr Kelly said.
“On Langhorne Street, we could do some things there.
“I think even if council could extend a median in the middle of the road there so it goes from Foster Street up maybe 50 metres or something.
“They turn into Langhorne Street and then they try to do a U-turn immediately.
“If you come around behind them … I’ve seen one guy run up the back of a car a while back.”
Cr Kelly said that before 9.30am, even when there was no oncoming traffic, motorists were not permitted to turn right into Lonsdale Street.
He said this caused frustration and often left vehicles stranded in the turning lane, unable to re-enter the through-traffic.
“I’ve had our engineers down there. They can see and understand now the issues that need to be fixed,” he said.
“They’re just simple things.
“It is just so bloody frustrating.”
The part-time right-turn bans were introduced in 2010 as part of the Revitalising Central Dandenong project which Cr Kelly said “has improved our city” – the turn bans excluded.
Mr Donnellan said he was happy to consider meeting with Cr Kelly should he approach his office.
A spokesman for the Minister said VicRoads was working with the council’s traffic engineers who agreed the right-turn bans during peak periods were necessary for safety and congestion reasons.
“VicRoads has submitted a signage improvement strategy to council traffic engineers for consideration,” he said.
“This strategy looks at improvements to signs which will give the opportunity for road users to take an earlier detour when the right turn bans are in place.”
