Don’t wait until it’s too late

DAVID Vanston fears changes to Calder Highway speed limits in Inglewood’s Brooke Street could come too late.

The town’s golf club secretary has lived through the impact of major accidents on notorious southern entry bends in Inglewood.

A truck rollover in 2016 left areas of town without electricity and put the golf club out of action for 18 months, bleeding members and money as contaminated land was cleared and made safe.

The Calder Highway speed drops to 80kmh within metres of the golf club entrance before soon becoming 60kmh and then 50kmh through the narrow section of Brooke Street with shops and heritage verandahs.

“Sadly, it looks like nothing will be done unless there’s a serious accident ... that will be too late for that person,” David said.

“We’ve had a couple of warning signs with truck rollovers, including the one on New Year’s Eve.

“And it’s inevitable that there is going to be even more traffic coming through town with local growth and the growth we’re seeing in Bendigo.”

Mr Vanston said the cleanup bill from the 2016 rollover at the golf club had been an estimated $8 million.

“Compensation helped cover costs but the biggest loss was membership,” he said.

Mr Vanston said the narrow gap between parked cars and travelling semi-trailers was an issue in the Brooke Street retail precinct.

“You could reach out your car window and touch a passing truck,” he said.

Mr Vanston has backed calls for speed limit reductions in Brooke Street, including 40kmh in the two retail precinct blocks.

“We really don’t want more accidents and worse still, people being injured or worse,” he said.