THE Rutherglen community has banded together in a desperate appeal to VicRoads to stop heavy trucks driving through their main street before someone is killed.
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Resident Helen Chambers said she was cycling down the Murray Valley Highway, which runs through Rutherglen’s centre, when a truck narrowly missed her side in May, 2015.
“Finally, the back wheel of the truck hit my right shoulder and pushed me into a gap between two cars,” she said. “I was badly bruised and taken to hospital. It was very painful.”
Mrs Chambers said her brother-in-law, late Indigo Shire councillor Don Chambers, brought two VicRoads workers to examine the location where she was hit.
Indigo Shire councillor Roberta Horne claimed VicRoads had a priority list where Shepparton was higher than Rutherglen due to more road fatalities.
“We're in the insidious position of having to have some fatalities before we can get anything done,” she said. “Last year, Shepparton had 36 deaths – how can we compare to that?”
Cr Horne said a group of residents was lobbying VicRoads to reduce the speed of heavy vehicles to 25km/h and to restrict times they could travel through the town.
VicRoads north eastern regional director Bryan Sherritt said he knew the movement of heavy vehicles through Rutherglen detracted from its amenity.
“In a move to promote safety for the residents of Rutherglen, and all road users, the speed limit down the main street has been set at 40km/h,” he said.
“VicRoads is always prepared to work with the Indigo Shire and the people of Rutherglen to develop proposals that would remove the need for heavy vehicles to travel along the main street.”
Long-time resident Judy Harrison was pessimistic VicRoads would do anything in the foreseeable future.
Her son, who is deaf and vision impaired, was hit by a vehicle eight years ago.
“He stood there, waited for a vehicle to pass, stepped out because he couldn't see another one coming and was hit by a trailer behind a vehicle,” she said.
Destination Rutherglen chairman Rob Whyte said trucks also affected the town’s historic atmosphere.
“I've had tourists say, ‘It's been wonderful visiting here, but it's a shame you've got the trucks rumbling through’,” he said.
But Mr Whyte stressed to The Border Mail truckies were not to blame.
“Truck drivers have stated to me they are terrified of driving through this town because of the potential that a child could just dart out from the side and there would be no chance to move or stop,” he said.
“The truckies would love to see a solution to it as well.”
