Threat remains

By Shaun Inguanzo
A SPRINGVALE road junction labelled Melbourne’s deadliest will not receive a large-scale improvement in the near future, according to VicRoads.
The revelation comes in the wake of mounting pressure from residents and a fatal crash just 500 metres from the intersection of Centre, Police and Springvale Roads with the Princes Highway.
Last week a 44-year-old Clayton woman died in hospital after sustaining serious injuries in a three-car collision along Centre Road near Clive Street.
The Star has previously reported that the intersection of Centre, Police and Springvale Roads with the Princes Highway in Springvale had a total of 207 crashes of which 96 resulted in death or serious injury in the four years to 2004.
Springvale resident Reg Pitt this week raised his concerns about pedestrian and driver safety at the intersection and the roads approaching it.
A Springvale resident of 15 years, Mr Pitt said he had seen drivers running red lights and speeding up as they approached amber lights.
“As soon as they see the lights change, down goes the accelerator and away they go,” he said.
Mr Pitt said he had almost been hit by a car running a red light while he was halfway across the pedestrian crossing several years ago and since then feared for the safety of elderly people crossing the intersection.
“I get around no worries,” the 67-year-old said.
“But the point is people might have a walking stick or could be in a wheelchair and they have no hope if someone runs a red light.”
VicRoads spokesman David Hill said the organisation was constantly improving the surface of the road and monitoring light sequences to prevent collisions.
But Mr Pitt said small-scale solutions were not good enough and a large-scale project was required.
“You are going to get idiots no matter what you do while you have got those lights there,” he said.
“The only way to cure it would be to have Dandenong Road (Princes Highway) a completely separate overpass over Springvale Road,” Mr Pitt said.
However, Mr Hill said the idea had been discussed in the past and no plans were on the cards for a large-scale project to fix the deadly intersection.
“There is no proposal for such an upgrade of the site at this time.”
Victoria Police spokeswoman Marika Fengler said the three-car collision happened at noon on 29 March after a Ford sedan was involved in a head-on collision with two vehicles on Centre Road near Clive Street.
The 44-year-old driver of a one of the westbound vehicles died after she was taken to The Alfred hospital and her female passenger, also in her 40s, was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The female driver of the Ford sedan was taken to Dandenong Hospital with minor injuries, and the driver of the second westbound vehicle escaped injury.
Police are calling for witnesses to the collision. Contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.