Speeding incident, damage prompts councillor concern

A MOORABOOL Shire councillor is planning to seek action on what she says is an increasing number of speeding drivers in Clifton Drive, Bacchus Marsh.

Cr Sheila Freeman raised the matter at the last council meeting after an incident at the roundabout just days before the meeting.

She told the meeting that residents had spoken to her about the problem.

Speaking to The Moorabool News after the meeting, Cr Freeman said a car had sped through the roundabout, knocked down a streetlight pole, a roundabout sign and a new tree planted by the council, and had not stopped.

“This would have been about eight o’clock at night,” said Cr Freeman, who lives in the area.

“I actually heard the bang. We hear them every night screaming down Clifton Drive; it’s motorbikes as well, and kids on those e-scooters.”

Cr Freeman said a neighbour living near the roundabout was lucky that the car had not lost complete control and smashed through their fence.

The light pole had not yet been repaired, she said.

She said vehicles sped in both directions, but those travelling towards Gisborne Road were the worst.

Cr Freeman said visibility of the roundabout in at least one direction also is a problem, which could create safety concerns because vehicles appear quickly.

She said she was planning to pursue the issue further at a council level, and mentioned at least a traffic count and even speed humps as possible first steps. “It is on my agenda to do,” she said.

“They have to slow down.” A Bacchus Marsh police spokesman said police did not have a report of the incident and had not received any official complaints about a speeding problem in Clifton Drive.

“At this stage we at the police station know nothing about it,” he said.