THE Dunkeld Progress Association (DPA) met with VicRoads last Wednesday as part of their appeal to reduce the speed limit of Parker St, the main road through the township, from 50 kilometres per hour to 40km/h.

The DPA made an application to VicRoads earlier this year, however after a VicRoads inspection on June 3, the application was turned down on the basis that the zone that extends between Dunlop St and Templeton St along Parker St was too short to be made into a 40km zone.

DPA subcommittee members consist of; long-time resident, Mike Mathews; local police officer, Roger McClure; former Southern Grampians Shire mayor, Mary-Ann Brown; and manager of the Dunkeld Caravan Park, Geoff Hinchcliffe.

While first impressions of the appeal may be of inconvenience and frustration for drivers over the slower speed limit, Mr Mathews, who has been in Dunkeld for 21 years, made a strong case for the people of Dunkeld and the safety of the town for its residents and visitors.

The lowering of the speed limit allows for Dunkeld to be more accessible for everyone - from children to elderly residents - and it allows the main street to be more compatible with its use rather than being merely a drive through for traffic and large vehicles.

VicRoads representatives visited Dunkeld last Wednesday to conduct an inspection.

“We want to let them know how busy this street is. It is imperative - we don’t want to see anyone injured,” Mr Mathews said.

“On the weekend, you can come here on Saturday at 10-11am and its packed! You just don’t want to see anyone hurt and we want to make it safer for the locals and visitors.”

Parker St is home to a large majority of Dunkeld’s local businesses, with the information centre and the bank also heavily frequented locations on the strip.

Children from the local school often cross Parker St in their journey from school to the pool and football/netball facilities, and there is currently no pedestrian crossing despite their frequent traverse across the busy strip.

“No one has objected to what we are trying to do,” Mr Mathews said.

“We want to do the best we can … the Shire is helping and assisting us.”

Traffic counters have been placed at the ends of the strip to collect data on what kind of vehicles are travelling through the town and at what pace to present as evidence for the streets use to VicRoads.

Parker St is a common route for large volumes of transport trucks, cars with caravans, and general traffic.

Local policeman, Mr McClure, has been in the process of analysing the data from the traffic counters to present to VicRoads.

Another concern of the DPA is the safety hazard that the angled parking along Parker St is presenting.

Residents and visitors are testing fate having to reverse back onto the road with limited visibility as trucks and other large vehicles are travelling at speed.

Mr Mathews said “backing out from the angled parks is an accident waiting to happen”, as he detailed an experience of his elderly friend who has stopped parking along the main street, preferring to stop down one of the side streets instead, as reversing onto the road has become too much of a risk for him.

“It’s often you would be sitting in Izzy’s Café or walking when you hear the heavy trucks having to emergency break for the reversing cars that didn’t spot them at no fault of their own,” Mr Mathews said. 

The volume of traffic and the speed at which it travels through Dunkeld has become a very real impediment to people’s accessibility of the town.

Parents with children and prams are feeling unsafe, elderly members are avoiding parking on the main strip, and primary school children are having to cross without the aid of a pedestrian crossing to access their local facilities.

Mr Mathews and his co-subcommittee members are hopeful for the successful outcome of the application and review by VicRoads, as it is incredibly important to them and the wider community that the town is safe and compatible with its residents and visitors.