Speed reduction set for sections of Yankee Flat Rd

RESIDENTS and an organisation advocating for the wellbeing of koalas were pleased to hear that speed limits will be reduced in a key wildlife corridor where the City of Ballarat and Moorabool Shire meet.

Last week Moorabool Shire Council had been advised that there would be reductions of speed in sections of Yankee Flat Road between Mount Helen and Navigators.

The speed limit between Navigators and Ramage roads is set to be reduced from 100km/h to 80km/h, while the limit between Ramage and Yendon No. 1 roads will drop from 80km/h to 60km/h.

Jessica Robertson from the Koala Alliance said advocacy began in April last year when she found a dead female koala outside a resident’s home.

“It was dead on arrival and it was one of many that I have had to drag off the road after being called,” she said.

“It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

She gathered data of koala fatalities and organised a petition with residents, who she said were tired of the “carnage” of wildlife on the road.

That petition was submitted to Moorabool Shire Council, which passed it on to the Department of Planning and Transport.

“Our koalas are facing local extinction,” Robertson said. “Mount Helen is one of the last areas where they’re still seen. And so it was vital to do this.”

Resident Kevin McElroy said many factors, such as dangerous driving, around his Yankee Flat Road property meant that the speed limit reduction was appropriate.

“It was better after the 80 was introduced,” he said. “Originally it was 100kms and we literally felt like prisoners. You didn’t go out between 8am and 10am and you didn’t try coming home between four and six.

“And the number of houses here has increased quite a bit in recent years as well, as well as the traffic increasing because of the university and because it’s now a good shortcut to Geelong from CBD Ballarat.”

Both Robertson and McElroy thanked Moorabool mayor Cr Steve Venditti-Taylor, who had advocated for the change.

“I’m pleased to have been involved in the process to have the speed limit reduced on this section of road,” Cr Venditti-Taylor said.

“Not only was the higher speed a hazard to wildlife, it was also dangerous for motorists and residents.

“There is a 3km stretch of Yankee Flat Road that has blind spots and is tree-lined so the reduction in speed will create a safer environment for everyone.”