By Callum Ludwig
The results of RACV’s My Melbourne Road survey have been released, with the most notoriously dangerous stretches of road in each Local Government Area (LGA) being included.
In the Yarra Ranges, the stretch of road most reported by locals was from Hereford Road in Mt Evelyn, down Clegg Road and onto the Warburton Highway up to Sunnyside Drive in Seville East.
A number of the region’s most concerning crash hotspots fall within that spread and residents continue to call for improvements.
Mt Evelyn resident Stan van Leeuwen has to tackle turning out f Rangeview Road onto Hereford Road often when he leaves home and said the parking spots for the nearby Pro Futsal Centre restrict your vision.
“You poke your nose out, you take a punt. If you can’t see anyone, you just go and hopefully, there’s nobody coming fast,” he said.
“They’ve also put in some posts there to sort of restrict parking, and they in themselves cause a visual barrier, you have to push past those to be able to see towards Mt Evelyn out of Rangeview Road.”
Seville East resident Joel Supple has been pushing for upgrades on the Warburton Highway in Seville East for years, particularly between Douthie Road and Sunnyside Drive and said not for one second was he surprised the stretch of road featured in the survey results.
“It’s a very well-known stretch of road, not only now with our concerns with the safety but the sheer quality of the road is just poor now and it just constantly gets overlooked. We’ve got a new cohort of kids trying to cross there to get the bus to school,” he said.
“It’s a decent few kilometres and pretty much is one of the two gateways out onto the Warburton Highway and the Upper Yarra, it is such a significant stretch between Mt Evelyn and Seville East critical not only for local businesses and families but the tourism that is being pushed as well.”
VicRoads data collected between 2014 and 2019 had 17 separate accidents noted on the stretch of the Warburton Highway between the Douthie Road and Old Warburton Highway intersections in Seville East.
Clegg Road is one of the longest parts of the dangerous stretch, and the intersection with Wellington Road in Wandin North has been the scene of many accidents, including one which killed an 89-year-old man.
According to the Wandin Fire Brigade’s records, there have been 25 incidents reported at the intersection of Wellington and Clegg Road since 2020, involving 30 patients and now one fatality. A review of the intersection was undertaken in September 2022 with no action taken as of yet.
A Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said continually monitor their transport network in the Yarra Ranges for potential improvements to ensure all road users can get where they need to go safely.
“Road safety is a broad and complex issue that requires a strategic, multi-faceted and coordinated approach and we welcome community feedback as part of that mix.”
In 2019, the Department of Transport extensively investigated the Seville East stretch of the Warburton Highway, installing road reflective pavement markers, guideposts and reducing the speed limit from 90 km/h to 80 km/h in 2020.
In collaboration with Yarra Ranges Council, rumble strips and advanced warning signs were installed at the Wellington Road and Clegg Road intersection as well as completing road rehabilitation works on the 2.5km section of Clegg Road between Littlejohn Avenue in Mt Evelyn and Union Road in Wandin North in February 2022.
Hereford Road will be continued to be monitored.
