by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A slower speed limit is set to be belatedly introduced to a notorious ‘death-trap’ section of Stud Road, Dandenong North.
The State Government will reduce the speed limit from 80 km/h to 60km/h opposite McFees Road and Dandenong Stadium. Two pedestrians have been killed on that section of road in the past six years.
The speed limit reduction is believed to occur from April.
Greater Dandenong mayor Lana Formoso said the council welcomed the “interim safety measure” but the road still required a fully-signalised pedestrian crossing.
Residents, including children, regularly bolt across the road to access the popular Dandenong 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.
The council will lobby for a fully-signalised pedestrian crossing at Stud and McFees roads in the State Budget in May, Cr Formoso said.
“We continue to advocate to the Victorian Government to ensure traffic lights and pedestrian facilities are also installed as a matter of the highest priority.
“We must have a way for pedestrians, commuters and cyclists to safely cross Stud Road.”
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.
Cr Formoso led public outcry after a two-year-boy was fatally struck by a car as he and his father attempted to cross the six-lane road on 17 December.
As an SES volunteer, she was one of the first at the tragic scene.
“This was preventable – if it was built when it was supposed to be,” she told Star Journal at the time.
“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.”
She said since 2019 the projected cost had ballooned from $700,000 to about $3.5 million.
In July, Roads and Road Safety Minister Melissa Horne told State Parliament that “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.”
The State Government was contacted for comment.
