Dangerous memorials

By Kelly Yates
A NARRE Warren woman has called for memorial gardens to be built rather than roadside memorials to remember traffic accident victims.
Dianne Hatch built a memorial garden in honour of her 83-year-old father who was killed in June last year in a collision with a motorbike along Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road in Narre Warren.
“We decided not to place flowers at the scene of dad’s crash because we thought it would be a distraction to other drivers,” Ms Hatch said.
Ms Hatch said she disagreed with having road memorials but she could understand why grieving families and friends would want them.
Her garden idea comes after police and VicRoads employees dismantled a memorial at a Lynbrook intersection that was dedicated to four teenagers who died in a horror smash on 28 June.
Friends and family of the crash victims berated officials as they carted away the tributes.
Ms Hatch said her backyard memorial was a more fitting tribute.
“We travel along the road where he died every day and don’t need to have anything there to remind us of him as he’s always in our hearts,” she said.
The 51-year-old suggested that the youths, who thought it was wrong for the authorities to remove the memorial, should create a garden in honour of their loved ones.
“It’s great to have that special place to remember him,” she said.
“But it doesn’t need to be placed where they were killed.”
Casey council officers will be arranging a meeting with VicRoads, police and interested councillors to discuss the issue of roadside memorials in the municipality.