Gary's Speeches

Princes Highway, Yarragon: Traffic Lights

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I wish to raise an issue for the attention of the Minister for Roads and Ports. The action I request is for turning arrows to be installed on the eastbound right-turn lane of the traffic lights on the Princes Highway in Yarragon. On Friday, 5 October 2007, three young lives were lost in a tragic accident, leaving the families and local communities numb with shock. A fourth person in the car, my niece, suffered serious injuries. Yes, bad weather was a contributing factor in the accident. There had been thunderstorms on the night and torrential rain at the time of the accident. But I believe inadequate traffic signals were the largest contributing factor to the tragic and sudden loss of life.

No-one will ever know exactly what caused the accident.

It would have been easy to misjudge the speed and distance of oncoming traffic in the very poor visibility at the time. Locals have been calling for turning arrows on the traffic lights for some time, but it has now actually taken a tragic accident to inspire renewed calls for something to be done. The car with the four young friends on board was travelling east along Princes Highway and turning right into Rollo Street in Yarragon when it collided with a westbound car at that intersection. There is a turning lane to allow vehicles to turn right at this intersection; however, there are no turning arrows at the traffic lights.

Hundreds of children travel with their families through this intersection every day into Rollo Street to attend the Yarragon Primary School. The floral tributes and photographs are still attached to the now damaged and leaning traffic light pole that the car slammed into and are a harsh reminder to all to take care.

I call on the minister to address the urgent need for turning arrows to be placed at this intersection. This would not come at great cost as the turning lane is already in place.

I am pleased to say that my niece is slowly physically recovering. On the tragic night in October she lost her boyfriend and two of her best friends. She and the families of her best mates will never erase the pain of tragic loss, but with the support of friends, family and community hopefully they will be able to cope with that loss as time goes by. I call on the minister to take action and fund the immediate installation of turning signals at this intersection.