Rutherglen resident's plea for safety on a town main street after crash

Indigo Community Voice president Herb Ellerbock, Rutherglen, has a totalled car after a truck collided with his parked vehicle just a few weeks ago.

Mr Ellerbock and several other residents are now calling on Regional Roads Victoria and their local council, Indigo Shire Council, to implement further safety measures.

He said his incident, along with a fatality in the following two weeks, re-ignited the conversation.

"My car was parked on the side of the road, it was the only one parked in that spot," he said.

"[A truck] pushed my car some 10 metres into the middle of the road, the car is a total loss, he then struck a verandah from the building adjacent to where I was parked and knocked over a concrete power pole."

He said the incident brought down power lines, which left the street without power for more than 24 hours.

Victoria Police confirmed the incident happened on March 15.

Police also confirmed they responded to an incident on March 28, and said they believed a Ford SUV hit a pedestrian near the intersection of Main Street and Warrens Lane.

The pedestrian was a 76-year-old Rutherglen woman, who was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries but died the following day.

The driver was not injured.

Police are still investigating the exact circumstances, people with information or dash cam footage can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or on the website here.

Mr Ellerbock said he was calling for two main traffic calming methods, formal pedestrian crossings and an extension of a 40-kilometre zone.

He said there was currently a relocation of an aged care facility, which opens in 2025, and an outdoor community hub development taking place.

He said it meant there needed to be safer measures in place for pedestrians.

"It is such an obvious solution," he said.

"It is a sound proposal and will cost very little."

He said the footpath was normally "full of people" on a Friday afternoon, and the close calls could be "so much worse".

"If you speak to police records, they'll tell you in recent years there's been about eight incidents in town, but the near misses are never quoted," he said.

"The near misses happen all the time.

"There are places that look like pedestrian crossings but pedestrians don't have right of way."

He said there were currently no formal pedestrian crossings on the main street of Rutherglen.

A Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said they would continue to work with the Indigo Shire Council on initiatives to improve road safety at Rutherglen.

"We recognise and share the community's desire to improve the flow of traffic for heavy vehicles in North-East Victoria," they said.

Stock & Land asked Indigo Shire Council whether it saw the need for further measures, the amount of reports received, whether any other options were considered and more.

The council was unable to respond by deadline.

The federal and state governments supported an investigation into an improved heavy vehicle route at Rutherglen, as part of a 90-day infrastructure review.

In the past 10 years, there have been six crashes on the road between Butler and Hamilton streets.

A National Heavy Vehicle Regulator spokesperson said road network maintenance and planning at Rutherglen was the state government's responsibility.

"The NHVR also continually works with the Victorian State Government to improve heavy vehicle movements across Victoria," the spokesperson said.

"The NHVR will continue to collaborate with government, industry, and other stakeholders to improve safety across regional towns."