By Sumeyya Ilanbey
A Kurunjang man says he’s had several near misses with buses travelling down a “narrow” Kurunjang street.
Steven Young was driving west on Skipton Street last week, when he was “almost taken out by a bus” travelling in the opposite direction.
He claims he’s had to drive over the gutter and nature strips to avoid the bus.
He has written to the bus company, asking for the route to be reviewed.
“Skipton Street is far too narrow for a major bus route,” Mr Young says. “It … barely allows for standard cars to pass each other safely.
“Because of the length of the bus, it severely cuts across the road as it travels around through the curve [near Dalray Crescent] travelling [west] and when travelling [east] it has to come across towards oncoming traffic to navigate the curve.”
Mr Young said he understood the bus stop on Skipton Street is used fairly regularly, but questioned the safety of having a bus stop on a narrow suburban street.
“At the end of the day, they’re risking drivers’ safety,” he said.
Public Transport Victoria is responsible for reviewing bus services and routes. Its spokesman John Lindsay said the service had been travelling through Skipton Street since 2007, and prior to Mr Young’s complaint, hadn’t received any criticisms.
Mr Lindsay said removing the route from Skipton Street would also remove it from Kirkton Drive, creating a gap in coverage.
“Safety is always our first priority and we will investigate this reported incident with the bus operator,” Mr Lindsay said.
“Buses have been travelling down Skipton Street for more than a decade with no record of incidents.”
