Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote): My adjournment matter is to the Minister for Roads.
The action that I seek is that the minister arrange a briefing between myself and senior members of VicRoads to discuss pedestrian safety around the Bell Street bridge, which intersects the Northcote, Preston and Pascoe Vale electorates.
Local residents have raised concerns with me relating to the section of Bell Street between Elizabeth Street and Nicholson Street, including the Bell Street bridge crossing the Merri Creek.
As you know, Bell Street is a major arterial road running through Melbourne’s inner northern suburbs. We know from our government’s work to remove dangerous level crossings along this road that it is one of the most congested in our network—recording over 47 000 vehicles moving through each day.
The Bell Street bridge itself holds six lanes of traffic, with a narrow pedestrian footpath on either side. It is a key connector between the City of Moreland and the City of Darebin, and a high traffic area for the many locals.
In particular, pedestrians from the electorate of Northcote frequently cross this bridge to access the terminus of the number 1 tramline, community sporting facilities and Coburg High School.
Residents have shared their concerns around safety on the bridge itself, with the narrow footpath, sloped guttering, uneven surfaces and a lack of barriers separating pedestrians and vehicles contributing to a sense of risk.
They have also reported that heavy traffic and speeding vehicles at the intersections of Elizabeth and Nicholson have caused multiple collisions and near misses as some road users fail to give way.
While I understand it is not yet the site of any fatalities, some collisions have involved young pedestrians and the risk of a more serious incident occurring is deeply concerning to both myself and residents.
I am aware that VicRoads has been engaging with locals around these issues and I know that these meetings have been welcomed by the community.
Residents have also captured their support for improvements in a recent online petition which has garnered almost 700 signatures to date.
The Andrews Labor government has a strong record of investing in road and pedestrian safety and locally my community has welcomed improvements across many of our road, cycling and pedestrian networks.
I would welcome an in-depth briefing to review the cluster of risks around the Bell Street bridge with a view to improving safety for locals.
