Residents seeking more protection for kangaroos on Sunbury’s Elizabeth Drive have been knocked back by Hume council.
Twenty-one residents wrote a joint letter to council in May requesting the installation of speed bumps on Elizabeth Drive between Wildflower Drive and Brigade Street, as well as asking for a traffic and wildlife impact assessment in the area.
The residents wrote that this section of road, near Pipit Way Playground, had become a hotspot for vehicle collisions with native wildlife, particularly kangaroos.
“We believe that the current road conditions encourage speeding and that physical traffic calming measures are necessary to reduce vehicle speeds and raise driver awareness,” the residents said.
The residents, from Sunbury Fields Estate, said it was not only an environmental concern, but a public safety concern.
Council said in its report the section of road was previously assessed as part of the 2022/23 Sunbury North Local Area Traffic Management study, which was noted did not support the installation of traffic calming methods such as speed bumps.
This was due to the traffic volume, vehicle speeds and casualty crash data.
However, the wildlife assessment conducted by council supported the installation of kangaroo warning signs, which have been installed.
The report was noted at the 27 October council meeting.
Two public comments were heard with one noting that the new signs were not enough.
“Two warning signs have been installed but only on the Pipit Way side of Elizabeth Drive,” resident Natalie Harrison said.
“If you’re travelling from the opposite direction, Wildflower Drive side, there are no signs at all.”
Cr Carly Moore said because the comments were submitted in advance she was able to look into it with the acting director of infrastructure and assets.
“They will install more signs as required, including those signs requested within the comments by the submitters,” she said.
Cr Moore said traffic in the area did not support the calming measures, with no recorded casualty crashes on Elizabeth Drive or surrounding streets.
“I know it’s not the outcome those 21 signatories were requesting, but I certainly hope that this is something that will serve the community as well as we can in this regard,” she said.
