Speed review holdup criticised

Island Voice and citizen scientist Ron Day are calling on the Department of Transport and Bass Coast Shire Council to get the Speed Limit Review, announced for Phillip Island and San Remo in April last year, underway.

The review aims to look at the existing 100-kilometre rural road speed limits on Phillip Island and San Remo’s arterial and municipal roads … with a view to providing a safer road environment for the local community and visitors, while also protecting native wildlife.

The review was to commence in June with community consultation, and the implementation date was announced as February/March 2021.

The reality is it has not yet even begun.

Speaking last week, Mr Day said he had received a letter from the Department of Transport before Christmas in response to his concern over the delay. The letter stated the consultation stage of the review was still being finalised, and that “opportunities will be explored to partner with advocacy groups to better understand community sentiment for the lowering of speed limits”.

“However, this was supposed to have happened back in June and July 2020,” he commented.

“It’s now January 2021.”

He is concerned about even further delays ahead, because the letter stated the Department of Transport had also contacted DELWP for an update on PINP’s Wildlife Plan (which aims to identify strategies to balance the needs of both wildlife and the community).

“The Department of Transport Study of speed assessment should not be linked with PINP’s plan, and they should get on with their own speed assessment review,” Mr Day said.

He believes the matter is urgent, and that the sooner the matter of inappropriate speed limits on the island is addressed, the sooner roadkill numbers will be reduced.

“Any road on Phillip Island that is not signposted with a speed limit is automatically a 100km zone. This includes unmade roads. This matter is urgent,” he said.

“The Rhyll/Newhaven Road, Ventnor Beach Road, Smiths Beach Road, Berrys Beach Road (where there is a school), the unmade Harbison Road and others, all have 100km speed limits,  and this needs urgent assessment.

“There must be a time frame for this review, which is adhered to, not an elastic band approach. A review should not go on forever, as is happening to this one. It should proceed in the timeframe announced,” he continued.

“The current approach of excuses as to why it is not going ahead as planned is so frustrating for the community and in particular the residents who live on these roads. Each year that passes without any change, on the data collected, means another 400 dead animals on the Rhyll Road alone.

“RRV (Regional Roads Victoria) is stretching this review out unnecessarily. A recent briefing by Bass Coast Shire indicating that a delay of two years could be expected in implementation of any recommendations to come forth is just not acceptable.

“This puts the review on the shelf to gather dust for an indefinite period of time. Covid should not prevent the review from proceeding. RRV staff and council staff remain working, and consultation can still go ahead.”

Mr Day says he cannot come to grips with the hypocrisy of Phillip Island being feted on one hand as a wildlife haven, while on the other it is a wildlife graveyard for thousands of animals annually through roadkill.

He has urged RRV and the Bass Coast Shire to urgently consider the speed zone needs of Phillip Island in isolation from the rest of the state, and to take into considerations its special wildlife needs.

“The Road Speed Review should proceed without further delay,” is his view.