Safe way to cross

By Danielle Galvin
A WAR of words has erupted between the Kooweerup Township Committee and VicRoads as swamp residents fight for a safer pedestrian crossing out the front of the Woolworths supermarket.
In December the committee contacted the road authority calling for a pedestrian crossing following the opening of the supermarket in mid-October.
Kooweerup resident Geoff Stokes contacted VicRoads on behalf of the committee.
“There will never be a queue of people waiting to cross here, but one day there will be just one child, or an adult, who dodges out between the parked cars and ends up in oblivion under a passing vehicle,” he said.
Senior traffic operations engineer Kylie Batista responded to the committee’s letter later that month.
She said that traffic flow on Station Street would change following the completion of the Kooweerup Bypass.
“VicRoads has evaluated the need for improvements to pedestrian safety on Station Street and found that there are currently proposals for pedestrian operated signals in other locations that are of a higher priority at this stage,” she said.
But Mr Stokes said that this response was not good enough.
“The bypass isn’t due to be finished for years, so that’s not a solution,” he said.
Cr Stuart Halligan said he supported calls for a safer crossing and would contact VicRoads in the coming weeks.
“The high volume of traffic, exacerbated by the fact that trucks and cars are turning into the new car park, the primary school next door and the elderly walking from the east side of town makes for a dangerous situation,” Cr Halligan said.
Mr Stokes sent another letter to VicRoads, urging them to reconsider their position.
“They were quite dismissive,” he said.
Cr Halligan said that the number of trucks passing through Kooweerup continued to be an issue.
He said that primary school children and their mothers used the Woolworths and had to cross the road, into the path of trucks, to reach the supermarket.
“I’ll be looking at the issue again,” he said.