Surf Coast Times
Tuesday 8 February 2011
VOL 9. No 6
www.surfcoasttimes.com.au
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Torquay To orquay Tigers Tige gers are again ag gain gearing gea ge aring up p for another an big season seaso on – especially y in the junior juniorr junio ranks. The club is expecting to have 19 junior teams this season and more than 450 Tiger ‘cubs’ in its ranks. The club will hold its registration day this Sunday at Spring Creek Reserve from 9am, with all new and existing players invited to attend. Ready to roar in 2011 are (front, from left) Bailey Bates, 13, under 14 division 1 coach Scott Bates, and Ben McNamara, 13 – who were watched by a host of the club’s senior players.
ROAD FIX? Photo: PETER MARSHALL
New signage to be installed along Ghazeepore Road in a bid to stop spate of accidents
BY NATHAN HALE
ONE OF the most dangerous stretches of roads in the Surf Coast Shire will undergo a visual makeover in an attempt to reduce an alarming number of single-car accidents. Over the past 13 months, an unsealed stretch of Ghazeepore Road between Dickens and Coombes roads has seen five single-car accidents – with four drivers injured and three needing to be air-lifted to Melbourne for hospital treatment. Residents along the stretch of Ghazeepore Road have argued too little has been done to improve the surface of the road and that one of the main problems is the mixing of bluestone gravel with sand, which makes the surface slippery. A meeting last week between the shire, VicRoads
Surf Forecast
and the Surf Coast Traffic Management Unit discussed the options available to reduce the number of accidents. Ideas and proposals put forward included sealing the road, reducing the speed limit, and closing the road to all vehicles except local traffic. This week, the shire announced it will install a number of hazard and warning signs. “Council is aware of the increase in accidents and traffic volume along Ghazeepore Road and we have investigated a number of ways to reduce the hazard and we run regular inspections to monitor its condition,” said council’s director of infrastructure, Sunil Bhalla. “We are now placing warning signs along the full length of the road to increase awareness of the need to drive responsibly according to the road conditions.
“We are working with VicRoads to provide prominent directional signs to keep traffic on main through roads and ensuring more frequent grading of the road. “Council approached VicRoads to reduce the speed limit. As Ghazeepore Road is considered to be a rural road, VicRoads advised that it would be appropriate to manage the area with hazard signage before the speed limit is reviewed again. According to Surf Coast Traffic Management Unit boss, Jason Van Doren, finding the right fix is a delicate balance as the most logical solutions are often accompanied by their own problems. “A lot of people will say just seal the road. But the cost of sealing the road has been estimated at $1million,” he said. “Also, there have been a lot of cases where a back
road has been sealed and it actually increases traffic accidents. This happens because people see a brand new stretch of tarmac, and they think it is in better condition, so they put their foot down. “And if you put a speed limit on the road, sometime people feel obliged to drive at that speed rather than driving to the conditions. “So we know historically that there is a back side to all solutions.” VicRoads regional director for south western Victoria, Robin Miles, asked drivers to take extra care on all gravel roads. “We remind all motorists that when driving on gravel roads extra care is required as the road conditions can vary. VicRoads will continue to work with the Surf Coast Shire and monitor the operation of this road,” Miles said.
WED 2-4ft inconsistent E 23° THU 2ft fading W 26° FRI 1ft average SW 24° SAT 1-2ft windswell SW 19°
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