by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A shaken Greater Dandenong mayor Lana Formoso has slammed the Government over the “preventable” death of a toddler who was struck by a car on Stud Road in Dandenong North.
A tearful mayor was among SES volunteers, emergency service members and residents at the heartbreaking scene on the afternoon of Sunday 17 December. She said she couldn’t stop thinking about the two-year-old boy’s mother “screaming and wailing as she was holding her son’s lifeless body”.
“This was preventable – if it was built when it was supposed to be.
“A signalised pedestrian crossing was shovel-ready since 2019. We’ve been getting the run-around – the (Roads) Minister keeps saying there isn’t enough money.”
Cr Formoso says she’ll request an urgent meeting with Roads Minister Melissa Horne and council chief executive Jacqui Weatherill.
“I’ve been advocating for this for 10 years. It’s been through three different Ministers. It’s sickening – I wrote another letter (to the Minister) a few months ago.
“This was everything that we’d been fearful of.”
The boy had been reportedly standing with his father in a bike lane in front of Dandenong Stadium as they set to cross the six-lane, 80km/h road just after noon on Sunday 17 December.
Police say CPR was performed on the boy, who died at the scene. Distraught family members soon gathered at the tragic scene.
The driver stopped at the scene and was said to be assisting police.
The notorious black-spot has a reported history of serious accidents and fatalities, with residents and Greater Dandenong Council long calling for a reduced speed limit and a safe crossing.
In 2018, VicRoads pledged to install pedestrian lights and review the speed limit after a pedestrian in her 50s was fatally struck while crossing to a nearby bus stop.
The State Government still hasn’t set a time-frame for the project.
Meanwhile, residents, including children, regularly bolt across the road to access the popular stadium, a bus stop, playground and floodplains parkland.
The nearest pedestrian crossing is 850 metres away at the Heatherton Road lights, with the eastern side of Stud Road largely without a footpath.
It means many attempt crossing unsafely or instead drive across rather than taking a detour of about 1.7 kilometres.
Cr Formoso raised the issue to Star Journal years before she was elected to council.
In 2018, she told of her first attempt to cross Stud Road with her two young children to go for a bike ride in Dandenong North’s wetlands.
Shocked by the heavy traffic, she carried her children one-by-one across the service lane and road, took them to a safe-point at the basketball stadium and then hauled their bikes across.
“It was like a game of Frogger,” she said at the time.
Last month, on being elected mayor, she identified the project as one of her top priorities – “I will not stop until it’s delivered”.
She says since 2019 the projected cost had ballooned from $700,000 to about $3.5 million.
In July, South Eastern Metropolitan MP Rachel Payne asked in State Parliament what steps had been taken on funding the crossing signals.
In reply, Roads and Road Safety Minister Melissa Horne acknowledged “community concerns” about the safety issue.
“The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) is investigating and developing potential enhancements aimed at improving safety and accessibility at this location.
“Improvements identified and developed as part of the work mentioned above will be considered in a future program, in a state-wide context.”
As of 18 December, the state’s 2023 road toll stands at 281 – up 49 from the same stage last year.
Police say they are still investigating the exact circumstances of Sunday’s crash.
Any information or dashcam/CCTV footage on the crash to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.vic.com.au
