By Casey Neill
The new Keysborough South bus route has some residents scared for their safety.
Dhani, who did not want her surname published, lives just off Keylana Drive and is worried about buses on the 709 route using the road between Lake View Boulevard and Chapel Road.
“It’s a very narrow road, even for two cars to pass through,” she said.
“There are three pretty curvy turns as well.
“The one near my house almost goes at 90 degrees.”
Dhani said that since the route started on Sunday 28 August, neighbours had reported getting stuck behind buses during peak hour and impatient drivers entering the wrong side of the road to pass them.
“Speeding’s always been an issue in Keylana,” she said.
“People come down to avoid Cheltenham Road traffic.”
Dhani said that on the other end of the spectrum, she’d seen some bus drivers travelling too fast along Keylana.
“I almost got taken out by a bus travelling in the opposite direction and I had to brake,” she said.
She suggested the route could use Lake View Boulevard to bypass Keylana’s most narrow section.
“I’m on the side closer to Chapel Road, that’s where the curves mainly are,” she said.
“The other side, there are two roundabouts but they’re not as narrow and they’re not as curvy.”
Greater Dandenong councillor Matthew Kirwan said changing the route to avoid Keylana could also enable the bus to serve the new shopping centre, proposed school and community hub.
Public Transport Victoria (PTV) spokesman John Lindsay said the new 709 bus route was chosen following extensive consultation with the local community, the council and the operator.
“Keylana Drive was identified as the most logical road for a route that could be accessed by the most people, while maintaining the most direct alignment as possible,” he said.
