mmg.com.au

A Shepparton resident has pleaded with parents to take extra care at what he says is one of the city’s most dangerous intersections.

Geoff Alexander was prompted to contact The News after he witnessed a ‘‘near-miss’’ between a car and a truck at the intersection of Channel and Doyles Rds at school pick-up time last week.

Mr Alexander, who has lived on Doyles Rd for 43 years, said more needed to be done to minimise risk, especially at school pick-up and drop-off times.

Orrvale Primary School, which has about 400 students, is located 700m to the east of the intersection.

‘‘There is a constant stream, it just makes you feel absolutely sick,’’ Mr Alexander said.

‘‘We’ve got to have a safer road.’’

Mr Alexander said he had seen numerous crashes on Doyles Rd in past years and feared there would be more if the situation wasn’t addressed.

‘‘You just see the whole scene being repeated,’’ he said.

While campaigns to improve the road resulted in resurfacing and widening work, Mr Alexander said it was still unsafe.

Mr Alexander believed the alternative truck route should be moved to a road further away from residential areas and schools.

Traffic lights or turning lanes could also offer possible solutions, he said.

Doyles Road Action Group spokesman Peter Beaumont said the group’s main priority was expanding the area on each side of the road.

‘‘One of our original things was we would like something done with the drains and we wanted enough room on the side of Doyles Rd for a truck to pull off safely,’’ Mr Beaumont said.

‘‘You can’t pull a truck off safely without impacting on the main drive area.’’

Mr Beaumont said school pick-up and drop-off times at the intersection were risky times.

He said about 100 cars would use the intersection within a 15-minute period twice a day.

‘‘Turning lanes are an ideal scenario, definitely at school time ... turning lanes would be a massive help with the speed going through there with trucks and the sheer volume of cars,’’ Mr Beaumont said.

State Member for Shepparton Jeanette Powell last met with the group in 2010.

‘‘I last met with the Doyles Road Action group in June 2010 on-site to see and hear their concerns about safety issues,’’ Mrs Powell said.

In July last year, she met with three key VicRoads representatives to discuss several issues, including problems along Doyles Rd.

Mrs Powell said VicRoads expenditure on Doyles Road since July 2010 was more than $1.4million for maintenance and repair work.

‘‘VicRoads has developed a proposal for improvements between Broken River Bridge and the Midland Hwy,’’ Mrs Powell said.

‘‘These works include shoulder sealing, widening at intersections to provide for right turning traffic and other local safety improvements.’’

A VicRoads spokesperson said Doyles Rd had received a series of work in recent years including rehabilitation, drainage and shoulder works.

‘‘VicRoads reviewed the speed limit and extended the 80km/h speed limit further north of Poplar Avenue and south of the Broken River bridge, which includes the Channel Rd intersection to accommodate the volume of traffic using the road,’’ the spokesperson said.

‘‘VicRoads will continue to monitor the traffic situation and volumes and assess if any further modifications, such as traffic lights, are required.’’

In the meantime, Mr Alexander urged drivers and parents to be especially cautious.

‘‘Slow down and take care, a fatality can happen in a split-second,’’ he said.

‘‘And remember you’ve got precious cargo on board.’’