VICROADS does not believe the speed limit on the stretch of the Murray Valley Highway through Lake Boga needs to be reduced to 60kmh.
Lake Boga Incorporated and Swan Hill Rural City Council both presented requests to the state road authority to lower the limit from 80kmh earlier this year.
VicRoads Regional Director Mal Kersting said it was still reviewing the request, taking into consideration the state’s Speed Zoning Guidelines.
The guidelines — which included the proximity of a shopping precinct near the road, the types of vehicles using the road, the existing speed limit near the location, as well as the pedestrian-related safety history — suggested the road operated within a medium speed environment (80 kmh).
“It has low daily traffic volumes, passes through a low density rural environment and offers good visibility for road users,” Mr Kersting said.
“A service road — running alongside the highway near Lalbert Road — also provides safe and easy access to the town’s small commercial precinct.
“During the five year period ending June 2014 there was one recorded low injury crash along this section of the Murray Valley Highway and no record of any pedestrian related incidents.”
Mr Kersting’s statements contrasted a letter written to VicRoads by Lake Boga Inc President Cameron Smits in August.
In the letter, Mr Smits argued that significant development in and around Lake Boga, combined with increased traffic flows along the Murray Valley Highway, meant that it was time to change the minimum speed limit.
For more on this story, pick up a copy of Monday’s Guardian (December 15).
