By Luke Voogt
The death of elderly pedestrian on Thompson Rd has sparked calls from local traders to reduce its speed limit to 50km/h in its busiest parts.
An Alfred Hospital spokesperson pronounced the 81-year-old North Geelong man dead yesterday following a collision on Tuesday.
Toy shop owner Sue Dillion agreed “100 per cent” with a 50km/h speed limit and said she saw one or two “bumper-to-bumper” collisions each week on the road.
“You do see them speeding down here without a doubt,” she said.
“We see the (speed) cameras flashing all the time – with the revenue at the traffic lights they must be raking it in.”
Ms Dillion said she sometimes felt scared crossing the road for lunch.
“I stand back off the roadway because it does feel like the cars are coming past too fast.”
She suggested installing speed humps on the busy road, similar to one at the intersection of Torquay Rd and Kidman Ave at Grovedale.
New residential estates long the road would bring in more foot traffic, she said.
“They’re replacing a lot of the industrial area with residential developments and that’s going to be an issue into the future.”
Cafe owner Mark Butcher also supported the 50km/h limit.
“There’s young hoons– you hear them screaming down there,” he said.
“I think there’s a certain part of the road that could drop to 50km/h instead of 60km/h. It wouldn’t hurt.”
A car struck the 81-year-old man at 11.50am on Tuesday as he crossed the road with his wife near Galway Avenue, Geelong Highway Patrol Leading Senior Constable Darren Mighall said.
They had been attempting to catch a bus at the time, he said.
Witnesses reported that the 79-year-old female driver from North Shore took evasive action by swerving, to no avail, Ldg Sen Const Mighall said.
The distraught driver stopped at the scene to assist the man, he said.
The woman had a negative blood alcohol reading and “there was no suggestion of negligence or culpability” on her part, Ldg Sen Const Mighall said.
An ambulance helicopter flew the man to The Alfred in a critical condition but lost he his fight for life this week.
Ldg Sen Const Mighall, a long-time Highway Patrol officer described Thompson Rd as a “high trauma location” that police patrolled regularly.
“We probably have been for the last 12 months and will continue to do so,” he said.
VicRoads has recorded 71 crashes on Thompson Rd over the past five years with 31 people sustaining serious injuries.
Last year there were 16 crashes on the road with four people seriously injured.
“We will continue to closely monitor the safety and operation of Thompson Rd,” a VicRoads spokesperson said.
