Upgrade to improve safety at pedestrian black spot on Spencer St
VICTORIA’S most dangerous place for pedestrians will receive a major facelift next month, with countdown timers among the safety upgrades to be installed at the busy CBD intersection.
VIC News
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VICTORIA’S most dangerous place for pedestrians will get a major safety upgrade.
Work will begin next month on two pedestrian crossings at Spencer St, near Southern Cross station, and at nearby tram stops.
The changes include new pedestrian light countdown timers — thought to be the first in the Melbourne CBD.
MELBOURNE’S MOST DANGEROUS CROSSINGS
PUSH FOR EQUAL MALE-FEMALE SIG NALS
Signals at the Bourke St and Collins St intersections will be adjusted to increase crossing times and the timers will also be installed.
A new mid-stop access point at the No. 1 Bourke St tram stop, near Spencer St, will ease congestion.
In the past five years, one person has died and 29 people have been injured — nine seriously — near the station.
The facelift will also include raised pedestrian crossings on the corner of Lt Collins and Francis streets, which will increase pedestrian visibility and slow vehicles.
About 4400 people cross the intersection of Spencer and Collins streets every evening peak period.
In February 2015, cafe manager Josie Edden, 23, was killed when she tripped and fell into the path of a garbage truck while rushing to work.
VicRoads safe road program director Bryan Sherritt said people crossing the road and getting on or off trams were at risk, because of the high volume of foot traffic. Commuters were often caught in bottlenecks leaving or arriving at stops, he said.
“We’ll be reprogramming signal timings to increase crossing times and installing pedestrian light countdown timers,” he said.
Blog: The Bourke/Spencer tram stop is clearly not fit for purpose https://t.co/3XkYtO8Q14 #YarraTrams pic.twitter.com/QN4vZOHwT8
— Daniel Bowen (@danielbowen) April 13, 2016
Square metres per person varies widely at this location. Not hard to see what was prioritised. pic.twitter.com/59nnb8W9MO
— Daniel Bowen (@danielbowen) August 9, 2017
No action on fixing this one yet. pic.twitter.com/QBhlcsUOLR
— Daniel Bowen (@danielbowen) December 9, 2016
Transport Accident Commission road safety director Samantha Cockfield said the Spencer St project was part of its $100 million Safer Pedestrian and Cyclists Program.
“Last year, 65 per cent of road deaths involving pedestrians happened in metropolitan Melbourne, and 68 per cent of all pedestrian deaths were in speed zones of 60kmh or less,” Ms Cockfield said.
Work is expected to be complete by late March. Footpaths will remain open during work but some lanes may be temporarily closed.
The $530,000 project has the support of Yarra Trams, which said it would improve safety at one of its network’s busiest locations.
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said the change at the Bourke St tram stop — a notorious bottleneck — would improve the flow of pedestrians and make it easier for people getting on and off trams.
“It probably won’t completely solve the problem though, given the large number of passengers,’’ he said.
One lane of Bourke St could be used to widen a tram stop, as that part of the street had relatively low traffic, Mr Bowen said.
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