Without doubt, the issue most frequently raised by MBRA members is the speed of vehicles in the village. And, more often than not, the concern relates to Palmers Hill Road and the stretch of Bayview Road east of its intersection with that road. Moreover, there is anecdotal evidence that a substantial proportion of the vehicles using these roads – whether or not speeding – is through traffic, which uses our village as a shortcut from Balnarring Beach to Frankston Flinders Road. The chicanes have helped (and the cement recently mixed into the gravel seems to be minimising the potholes in the chicanes), but are far from a solution to this issue. A possible solution might be to persuade the Shire Council to make the start of the gravel section of Bayview Road one way, so that vehicles could not (legally) enter Merricks Beach from Balnarring Beach. This may cause some modest inconvenience to Merricks Beach residents (eg, when returning with hot fish and chips!), but would seem very likely to have an appreciable effect on traffic volume and, on the assumption that our own residents are generally more respectful than others of our speed limit, on traffic speeds as well.
The MBRA committee does not underestimate the degree of difficulty in persuading the Shire Council to do this. Nonetheless, if it were supported by residents, we would be willing to give it a try. To that end, we invite residents (especially those in that part of the village) to provide their views at [insert link to ‘contact us’ page on website]. Depending on this initial feedback, we may then conduct a formal survey.
Peter Cash – President MBRA