Road safety action delayed

By Miriam Litwin

THIS month’s Golden Plains Shire ordinary council meeting on Tuesday 22 April ended after sixteen minutes as councillors failed to elect an acting mayor.

More than 15 residents attended the meeting urging councillors to improve road safety in the area.

The agenda included a notice of motion to improve road safety by investigating options for pedestrian awareness, further signage and changes to speed limits in conjunction with the Department of Transport and Planning.

Six-year-old Caleb Wesley was killed crossing Bannockburn-Shelford Road at Teesdale in March.

Golden Plains Shire resident Andrea Bolton has been advocating for a crossing in the area since 2022.

She led the silent protest at the meeting where participants held up signs calling for action.

“The role of council isn’t just to say it’s not their road; we go to them and ask them to advocate for us,” she said.

“Then they go to VicRoads and say the community is advocating for this.

“Every individual town has different issues and different problems… we want council to do community consultation with those groups.”

As Golden Plains Shire mayor Cr Sarah Hayden is currently on a leave of absence, councillors are required to elect an acting mayor, and Crs Emma Robbins and Gavin Gamble nominated for the position.

The election between the two candidates ended in a tie, with Crs Gamble, Brett Cunningham and Helena Kirby voting for Cr Gamble while Crs Robbins, Owen Sharkey and Des Phelan voted for Cr Robbins.

Interim CEO Steve Sagona declared that the meeting therefore had to be closed to comply with governance rules, and it was rescheduled to the night of Wednesday 23 April.

Should tonight’s vote end in a tie, the meeting will again be rescheduled.