Driver in a jam- New driver Anna Castelano said she the traffic issues near her Narre Warren North home need to be addressed. 70802

By Lia Bichel
A P-PLATER has spoken out about her fears for safety when driving on a dangerous road near her Narre Warren North home.
Anna Castelano, 18, received her licence in July and said she gets nervous every day when having to pull out from her Fox Road home at the intersection of Narre Warren North Road.
Anna said what should normally be a 10 minutes drive from her house to her school Beaconhills College in Berwick takes her an average of 20 minutes.
The traffic issue has resulted in her being late for class on numerous occasions.
Anna said her mother had the same problems before Anna got her licence.
“My mum always had problems when she drove me anywhere.
“We would sit there for 15 minutes because we never felt safe to pull onto the road with the amount of traffic coming,” she said. “Me, being a new driver, am more cautious and nervous. I sometimes get people beeping me to go when I don’t feel safe. It’s nerve-wracking.”
Anna wrote to Narre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan and said she would not only like to see the speed limit decrease, but traffic lights installed as well.
“I think there needs to be traffic lights at the intersection. That would be the ultimate thing to stop the problems,” she said.
Anna’s comments follow the desperate pleas of Mr Donnellan, the Narre Warren North CFA, City of Casey Mayor Shar Balmes and local residents who have all called on the State Government to provide urgent upgrades to Narre Warren North Road-Belgrave Hallam Road, between Heatherton Road and Ernst Wanke Road.
“It’s only fair that Narre Warren North motorists be delivered adequate funding for simple measures that can make this road safer.
“Without such funding, the government is failing local residents,” Mr Donnellan said.
“Another option could be to reduce the speed limit along Belgrave-Hallam Road.”
Cr Balmes said “things needed to change” after a 42-year-old woman died when she was hit by a car on the Narre Warren North Road on 5 September.
She said there needed to be better lighting, more signage and a decreased speed limit for Narre Warren North Road-Belgrave Hallam Road, between Heatherton Road and Ernst Wanke Road.
Narre Warren North CFA Captain Shaun Trotter said the road was dark, there was a lot of traffic and there was no safe place for pedestrians to cross.
“People are taking their lives into their hands trying to cross the road,” he said. “If nothing is done there will be more accidents and fatalities.”
VicRoads Regional Director Metro South Eastern Victoria Duncan Elliot said VicRoads had no the plans to undertake improvements to the road.
Minister for Roads Terry Mulder did not respond to requests made before the News went to print.