Roads and Maritime Services defends Victoria Rd, Ryde changes
TRAFFIC engineers have defended their redesign of a Victoria Rd intersection after howls of protest from nearby residents.
Northern District Times
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TRAFFIC engineers have defended their redesign of a Victoria Rd intersection after howls of protest from nearby residents.
Government engineers recently made changes to the intersection at Bowden St, Ryde, to improve traffic flow and improve safety.
These included moving the Victoria Rd pedestrian crossing to the western side of Bowden St, widening a Victoria Rd lane for turning traffic, and new line markings.
Yet many people believed a key improvement was overlooked.
Motorists turning right from Bowden St to go east along Victoria Rd should be given priority with a right turn arrow in the traffic lights, according to residents.
Gianni Sirianni was one of them.
“So many cars go through the red on this intersection, especially turning right towards the city in the morning,” he said in an online post.
“There should be a green arrow. We wait for oncoming traffic to clear and then maybe two or three cars get through.”
Alan Touris thought similarly.
“Give us green light right turn arrows so the traffic can get out of Bowden St and you won’t get people speeding off at the lights and endangering pedestrians,” he said.
A Roads and Maritime Services spokesman responded to the criticism.
He said a dedicated right turn phase from Bowden St was investigated as part of the design.
A road safety audit found the intersection operates safely.
The right turn phase was not included as it would have negatively affected traffic flow.
The RMS would continue to monitor the intersection and adjust traffic light phasing as required, the spokesman said.
More motorists are approaching the intersection from the south due to substantial units projects completed recently. The biggest is the developer Holdmark’s 2,000 home estate.