MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has received 15 per cent of the federal government’s 2020-21 Black Spot road safety program – almost $6 million.
The remaining $32.8 million will be divided up among the state’s other 78 municipalities.
The windfall follows a tragic decade in which 75 people were killed and more than 1500 seriously injured on peninsula roads.
In April 2016, the shire became Victoria’s first Towards Zero municipality with the goal of having no road deaths or serious injuries on its roads.
The strategy included adopting the “four pillars” of safer roads and roadsides, safer speeds, safer vehicles and safer road use.
During the past year, the shire consulted with the community on its draft Towards Zero Road Safety Strategy 2020-25 which is expected to be adopted this month.
The Black Spot Program aims to reduce road trauma by targeting the locations where multiple crashes have occurred in the past five years.
The mayor Cr Sam Hearn said the government money was “vital and necessary”.
He said the proposed five-year road safety strategy and the Black Spot money would “help respond to the challenge of reducing road trauma on the peninsula”.
“There is an ongoing positive impact that these and all our other projects will have on people’s safety and wellbeing on the peninsula,” he said.
Nine of the 11 projects the shire submitted to the program received funding.
They included:
- $1.02 million for pedestrian infrastructure, including raising and narrowing existing crossings, warning lights, 40kph speed limits and other works at the Mount Eliza shopping centre;
- $1.5 million for a roundabout at the intersection of Hodgins and Stumpy Gully roads, Tuerong;
- $735,000 for a roundabout at the intersection of Myers and Hendersons roads, Bittern;
- $263,000 for 40kph speed limits, signage and road markings at Hastings;
- $1.9 million for sealing road shoulders and installing crash barriers at Shoreham Road;
- $286,000 for 40kph speed limits, signs and road markings at Dromana;
- $124,000 for a roundabout at the Codrington/Ligar Street, Dromana intersection.
Projects to receive money from other sources are the upgrade of the Merricks and Stanleys roads intersection, Merricks North and the Rosebud township 40kph area.
Projects which failed to attract any money include works at the intersections of Coolart and Myers roads, Bittern and Balnarring and Myers roads, Balnarring.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 8 September 2020
