by Luke Voogt
Four deaths on Thompson Rd in six months have sparked a call to make the road single lane.
Cafe owner Mark Butcher welcomed State Government’s $200,000 trial to reduce lanes and paint medians with turning lanes between Morgan and Separation Sts but wanted the project extended to the whole road.
“If they were smart about it they’d probably just make it one lane all the way,” Mr Butcher said.
“Are they just funding that part of road because someone was killed there? Are they just waiting until someone’s killed here to fund our bit?”
Three people died in separate crashes on Thompson Rd in July and May after a car struck and killed an elderly pedestrian in February.
The government’s six-month trial, announced last week, would reduce traffic from two lanes to one in each direction and introduce dedicated turning lanes. Both lanes would remain open at the road’s railway crossing and Separation St traffic lights.
But Mr Butcher said he often heard screeches and saw near misses from his cafe near Hepner Pl.
“You see it once a day at least, maybe twice.”
The cafe’s head chef was recently involved in a crash on Hepner Pl, home to a tennis centre and dozens of shops.
“We’ve seen so many accidents,” Mr Butcher said.
The lack of turning lanes on Thompson Rd including the Hepner Pl intersection was dangerous, he said.
“If someone’s turning and someone else whips out to overtake a truck, bang, they’ll rear-end them.”
In February Mr Butcher and another trader called for a 50km/h limit for the road, which he still supported.
Over the past five years the road has had 25 serious injury and 46 minor injury collisions, according to VicRoads.
The majority of the crashes involved drivers turning right to enter or exit Thompson Rd or rear-ending the vehicle in front.
Lara MP John Eren said the upgrades would make Thompson Rd safer for pedestrians, cyclists and 16,000 vehicles using the route daily.
“There have been too many lives lost on Thompson Rd this year; that’s why we’re taking action to boost safety on this busy road.”
Regional Roads Victoria will monitor the trial and evaluate its outcomes.
