By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Statistics don’t tell the full story about the dangers of a four-ways intersection in Dandenong North, say a group of frustrated residents.
The residents have signed a 200-strong petition calling for a roundabout to be urgently installed at the corner of Loch Road and Cheam Street.
They have been rebuffed by Greater Dandenong Council, which has graded the project as a “low priority”.
Several residents told Star News of serious crashes and many more near misses, drivers failing to stop and give way, speeding cars and turning vehicles routinely cutting the corner.
On Christmas Day 2017, a driver believed to be speeding and texting failed to Give Way as he approached on Loch Road.
He crashed into the side of a family’s car turning from Cheam Street, battering it onto the opposite nature strip.
Luckily, vehicle airbags saved two parents, two children and a newborn baby on board, recalls lead petitioner Lana Formoso.
“For such a severe accident to happen just four doors down from her house in a very quiet suburban area is quite a shock.
“We’ve seen a lot of near misses daily and a lot of actual accidents occur at this intersection.”
Sharon Cornell said her parents were “nearly killed” in another serious crash just a few years ago. Their vehicle was T-boned and totalled by a driver that failed to give way.
Her parents haven’t dared to drive to back to the area since.
“We need something to be done here because too many people go through this intersection and wipe people off.
“They don’t stop at all.”
Long-time neighbours Graeme Borsthwick and Charlotte Russon say they have witnessed many accidents, including a motorcyclist being struck by a car cutting the corner.
“Cars go through here like they’re on a race track,” Mr Borsthwick said.
Greater Dandenong Council deemed the project was a “low priority” and “unlikely to proceed for the next few years”.
It had found traffic speeds and volumes were “appropriate” to the area.
There had been no eligible crashes at the intersection in the past five years, the council claimed.
Greater Dandenong acting engineering services director Charles Taveira said crash history was one of several “measurable” factors used to assess risk.
“No additional weighting is provided to sites which receive more feedback than others.
“Nor is anecdotal evidence of poor driver behaviour taken into account as driver behaviour can be open to interpretation.”
Mr Taveira said there may be a delay of up to 12 months for the crash on 25 December 2017 to appear on the database.
“If no one required any medical attention it would also not be recorded in the system as the database only captures those crashes which result in one or more people being injured.”
Ms Formoso said neighbours “beg to differ” with the council’s data.
They were “dumbfounded” that the intersection was one of the few without a traffic island or roundabout, she said.
“We’ve had Council road traffic people come out and do measurements on several occasions.
“They always say the same thing … there’s the right amount of traffic in the area, the speed’s fine for the area but we beg to differ.”
