ELDERLY men and women are fighting to cut the speed limit by 20km/h along a section of Baranduda Boulevard.
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The residents of Westmont Aged Care Services, which fronts the road which links Wodonga and Baranduda, want the maximum near them dropped from 80km/h to 60km/h.
A petition, with 90 signatories, has been presented to Wodonga Council calling for the reduction.
Westmont Villa Holders’ Group chairman David Kearney said the push was driven by grave safety concerns.
“Long term or down the track, be it tomorrow or later, the concern is there could be a fatal accident there,” Mr Kearney said.
“A couple of the residents have nearly been cleaned up.
“They’ve got their right-hand blinker on (to turn into Westmont) and they’re going slow and people have overtaken them on the right-hand side.”
Mr Kearney said the elderly drivers also tended to be slow to speed up when exiting Westmont and without a merging lane, were at risk.
Westmont opened in 2009 with 100 residents. It now has 260 and is expected to house 350 by 2019.
Its chief executive Peter de Koeyer wrote a letter to VicRoads in support of the petition noting “the potential for accidents has definitely risen” due to the aged village’s growth.
In replying to the petition, Wodonga Council acknowledged that while Baranduda Boulevard is classified as a local road a drop in speed limit requires consultation with VicRoads and police.
The council’s traffic liaison committee, which includes VicRoads staff and police, will be asked to advise on the petition.
Another report will then be presented to councillors for consideration.
Mr Kearney said he would like the speed limit cut to happen “as soon as possible before there’s an incident”, noting there was also a bus stop near the entrance.
He said the petition backers would also like to have the maximum on Boyes Road on the western boundary of Westmont slashed from 100km/h to 60km/h to enhance residents’ safety.