Childcare owner pleads for hoon barriers

By Kelly Yates
THE owner of a Berwick childcare centre fears for children’s safety as hoon drivers put the pedal to the metal and use surrounding streets as racetracks.
Russell Hunt is concerned the revheads could lose control and go flying through the Kids Island Early Learning Centre.
Mr Hunt is urging Casey Council to take action and install protective barriers at the roundabout intersection, on the corner of Michelle Drive and Homestead Road.
“It’s a tragedy waiting to happen,” he said.
“One day I know one of these hoon drivers will plough through the roundabout and straight into the fence where the children are playing. I just hope that the kids are not outside when it happens.”
The current speed limit along the road is 50km/h.
“But only about one in every 29 cars travelling by obeys the speed limit,” Mr Hunt said. “I’ve witnessed many close calls. The only thing that’s between the cars and my childcare centre is the centre’s sign board.”
There are 50 children, aged up to five years, enrolled at the centre.
Mr Hunt has heard much concern expressed by parents about the safety aspects of the roundabout being close to the property.
Berwick resident Roger Aarons said he noticed many childcare centres were popping up at “dangerous” locations.
Mr Aarons and his wife have been looking for a suitable centre in the City of Casey for their 16-month-old daughter.
“I think it’s a no-brainer that when placing childcare centres with as many as 40 to 50 children on dangerous roundabouts and hairpin bends, you are asking for trouble,” Mr Aarons said.
Mr Aarons has heard many stories about cars colliding with homes and businesses.
“Only recently the Berwick News reported a learner driver who overshot the roundabout, hitting the accelera-tor instead of the brake, and drove into a family house in Narre Warren South.
“Luckily, the family was not at home at the time of the incident.”
Mr Aarons says the community shouldn’t have to wait for the loss of precious lives before a simple preventative measure was put in place.
“The most ideal solution as I see it is to place a concrete barrier behind the centre’s sign board,” he said.
City of Casey transport manager Paul Hamilton said the roundabout intersection along Homestead Road was a typical form of traffic control in a residential area.
Mr Hamilton said while the council officers were not aware of any particular operating concerns with the intersection, the council’s transport department would do an assessment to determine if any proposed traffic management measures might be needed.
Casey Council has not undertaken any analysis on the number of childcare centres located near roundabouts, but Mr Hamilton says it’s not unusual for the facilities to be located on corner properties.