Spat over speed limit

By Kelly Yates
MINISTER for Roads Tim Pallas has said it is up to Casey council to decide the speed limit on Parkhill Drive.
The state minister said this week that it’s up to the council to assess and determine the most appropriate speed limit for the Berwick road, in accordance with the relevant speed management guidelines.
But Casey CEO Mike Tyler said speed limits were a major traffic control item which had not been delegated to the council.
He said the council could not implement any change to a speed zone or to speed limit signage without obtaining approval from VicRoads.
Hundreds of signed petitions calling on Casey council to reducethe speed limit along the road havebeen flooding into the office ofNarre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan.
Mr Donnellan said the response he had received to his campaign to reduce the speed limit from 70km/h was stronger than he had initially anticipated.
“With three major accidents and a fatality on Parkhill Drive in this year alone, the way that the Casey CEO has tried to cover his inaction on the issue makes me wonder how many more people need to be killed or injured before Casey council will apply to reduce the speed limit on this dangerous road,” he said
Mr Tyler said the speed limit had already been assessed. “A review of the Parkhill Drive speed limit was undertaken by officers of VicRoads and the council, which concluded that the current speed limit accords with the VicRoads state-wide Speed Zone Guidelines,” Mr Tyler said. “Council officers have since written to VicRoads and formally requested the views of VicRoads officers regarding the appropriateness of the current speed limit.”