Calls for urgent safety upgrades on Boundary and Sydney Rd intersection in Fawkner after woman hit

A group of northern Melbourne residents are pleading with authorities to fix a dangerous intersection after another person was hit.

Fawkner locals are calling for urgent pedestrian safety upgrades to a dangerous intersection after another person was hit by a car. Picture: Google Maps.

A group of northern Melbourne residents are pleading with authorities to fix a dangerous intersection after another person was hit.

Fawkner resident Lisa Arnold, 54, was heading home from after-work dinner and drinks with her partner when they reached the Boundary and Sydney road intersection on Queens Pde in Fawkner.

Ms Arnold began to cross when the pedestrian crossing turned green but a car turning right onto Sydney Rd hit the 54-year-old.

“I felt the bump hit me on my left side,” she told the Herald Sun.

“I remember the car coming through the intersection and my partner waving at the driver to slow down … out of the corner of my eye, I could see the car kind of slow down, so I started walking faster to the other side, but the driver ... and just went through the intersection and hit me.”

Lisa Arnold, 54, after returning home from the hospital where she was treated for extensive injuries after getting hit by a car at the Boundary Rd / Sydney Rd / Queens Pde intersection in Fawkner. Picture: supplied

Ms Arnold said she gained consciousness after few minutes and saw several people surrounding her, with one lady holding her head up saying, “there’s a lot of blood”.

She was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where doctors told her she had a broken arm, hairline fractures in her lower spine and a deep cut to her head needing stitches.

Ms Arnold said she felt “lucky” to have escaped bigger injuries, but would forever be scared to cross the intersection again.

In a speech to parliament, Broadmeadows state Labor MP Kathleen Matthews-Ward pushed for a change at the intersection, noting six pedestrians, excluding Ms Arnold, had been hit at the intersection in the last five years.

Walk On Merri-bek spokeswoman Andrea Bunting said urgent upgrades were needed on the “dangerous” intersection so there was no conflict between turning vehicles and pedestrians.

“Pedestrians crossing and vehicles turning should not happen at the same time. When pedestrians cross, the vehicles should face a red turning arrow. The cars should not be permitted to turn when pedestrians are crossing,” she said.

“Pedestrians ought to be able to cross the road safely without having to watch out for turning vehicles because turning vehicles quite often don’t see pedestrians.”

Ms Bunting said the intersection prioritised vehicle and traffic flow over pedestrian safety, leaving vulnerable road users to “take their chances”.

She said upgrades such as red arrows for drivers turning both left and right, increased lighting through the intersection and pedestrian crossing warning signs could improve safety.

Bike user Alex Diamis said he was “too scared” to ride to the childcare centre near the intersection because of the safety risk.

Merri-bek Council and The Department of Transport were contacted for comment.