Transport

• Proposed New Road Safety Plan For Banyule

Speed Reduction Meaures - Yallambie Road, Yallambie

Council’s Transport Section deals with more than 3000 traffic and parking issues per year. While a large part of its work involves discussing and investigating traffic and parking concerns raised by residents, a significant amount of work is also undertaken investigating ways to improve traffic routes, intersections, public transport, bicycle and freight movements. 

As the population of the metropolitan area increases and the density of residential development increases (eg more units), traffic volumes also rise. 

This traffic increase can be a concern to residents, but there is no easy solution. Council can take steps to try to achieve a fairer distribution of traffic around the residential area (by encouraging more use of main roads and less use of narrow residential streets), but it has to be careful that it doesn’t install traffic treatments to discourage traffic in one street that then simply shifts the traffic “problem” to another street. 

Residents can also be concerned about irresponsible motorists who travel at excessive speed in their streets. Council’s traffic treatments are installed to modify the driving behavior of motorist to improve safety. This works in combination with Police enforcement of the road rules and speed limits. 

Requests by residents for traffic treatments go through an investigation and consultation process to ascertain the extent of the problem and determine the priority of possible  treatments compared with other requests for traffic treatments raised with Council.If a traffic treatment is considered necessary, it is put on a program for possible future funding. Council provides funding for traffic each year, but it is limited. 

Road safety is Council’s main concern and traffic treatments at sites where there have been traffic accidents receive a higher priority. Similar to the consultation process undertaken for design projects, considerable consultation is done for traffic treatments. Every effort is made to personally discuss proposals with residents directly affected at a particular site which is followed up with written notification to other residents in the vicinity. 

Once again, this consultation is a critical part of the road safety process and Council encourages residents to talk to its traffic engineers if they have any concerns about proposed traffic treatments. Residents comments are valued.

Parking issues are also a concern for residents and traders. In certain areas such as shopping centers, there are more people wanting to park than spaces available. Resolving parking concerns can be difficult at times balancing the needs of residents, traders, shoppers, etc., when it comes to providing the right mix of parking

Proposed New Road Safety Plan For Banyule

Council recently received $20,000 funding from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) to develop a new Road Safety Plan for Banyule.  The funding will allow Council to produce a five year Plan which integrates changes in State and Local Government Road Safety Policy over the last few years.  Council will be working in partnership with the TAC, Victoria Police, VicRoads and other interested agencies to produce the best possible Road Safety Plan for Banyule.

The Plan will target pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users, particularly in our Activity & Neighbourhood Centres, where we expect most of Banyule's growth in activity, infrastructure, community facilities and population to be in the coming years.  The Plan will also target our growing ageing population, many of whom will become more active pedestrians and public transport users now and into the future.

1,284 injury related crashes occurred in Banyule during the 5 year period, 2003-2007, including 9 fatalities.  Of particular concern is that alcohol related serious road injury to males under 35 years of age in Banyule is well above the northern region and Victorian levels (2005).  The good news is that Banyule's road safety record has improved by 19% on the previous 5 year period and by 50% on the previous 10 year period.

To assist with the development of the Strategy, Council will be undertaking a Road Safety Strategy Workshop between the hours of 11:00am and 2:30pm on Tuesday 27 October 2009, in the Withers Room, Ivanhoe Function Centre, Upper Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe.

This workshop will help Council and its major partners in road safety to review Council’s Road Safety Plan and develop a new plan to improve road safety over the next five years.  Council is seeking to coordinate its efforts more closely with those of the Police, VicRoads, schools and community groups, and also to integrate road safety more fully into a range of Council plans and services.  It is expected that representatives of the different agencies and Council departments will be able to provide input as to what they can realistically expect to contribute to implementation of road safety promotion programs.

The Forum is intended to look at the higher strategic level of road safety planning, rather than looking at individual road safety issues in local streets.  If you feel that you or your local community group/network should be represented at the Workshop and would like to reserve a place, please phone or email Michelle Herbert on 9457 9824 or michelle.herbert@banyule.vic.gov.au.

Alternatively, if you would like to make some road safety suggestions or bring Council’s attention to a particular road safety issue, please fill in the following suggestion sheet and return to Council by 27 October 2009.  Your feedback will be reviewed and considered in Council’s new Road Safety Plan.