27 November 2020

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Creating a safer road environment in Altona North

Council has been listening to residents' concerns for road safety in the neighbourhood area bordered by Blackshaws Road, Mills Street, Mason Street and Millers Road.

This area around Marion Street holds the Altona North Primary School and the AW Langshaw Reserve, as well as residential homes and businesses. It is also bordered by Bayside P-12 College on the west as well as St Leo the Great Primary School and Florence Aged Care Facility to the south.

Residents also have concerns about hooning and rat-running and data indicates a high rate of accidents in the precinct. Data has also indicated that speeding is an issue during morning and evening peak hours when vulnerable residents are out and about.

This area is now subject to a Local Area Traffic Management Project, which has received funding under the Federal Government's Black Spot Program. Our aim is to address safety concerns with a holistic view of the issues in this precinct, in order to avoid pushing the problem into nearby streets.

Concept plans have been developed with the goal of increasing safety, enabling a more pedestrian friendly environment and reducing the number of accidents. The plan contains proposed measures only and we welcome feedback on them so we can provide a safe road network for all users.

How your feedback has informed the concept design

Based on your feedback, where possible, Council has amended the concept designs for the Altona North Precinct with a strong focus addressing paths of travel for pedestrians and cyclists to the Altona North Primary School. A number of changes surrounding the school precinct have also been designed to ensure the safety of the most vulnerable members of our community including installing raised treatments at more intersections to address concerns that the speed humps and cushions are not effective. Click here to view the final concept plan and What We Heard from the consultation.

Next Steps

given the adjustments to the concept plans based on the community feedback we have received, Council will now proceed through to the implementation stage of these works. We have prioritised the work on Marion Street, which received Federal Government Blackspot funding, to occur first. We anticipate these works to occur in early January 2021. A works notice will be issued to residents on Marion Street two weeks prior to these works occurring. The remaining works will be packaged together for including and implementation over the coming financial years.

There is a strong theme received from the consultation that the proposed traffic treatments do not go far enough. Taking this on board, Council has proceeded with an application ot the Department of Transport for a speed limit reduction within the precinct and will continue to monitor the effects of the traffic calming treatments to ensure the ongoing safety of residents within the precinct.

Local Area Movement Plans (LAMPs) - Northern Package

There are a number if issues raised that sit outside the scope of this project. These issues have been included in the consultation for the Local Area Movement Plans - Northern Package. This consultation process is now open and we strongly encourage you to get involved and provide your feedback on the current condition of the transport network in the northern section of Hobsons Bay. Click here to provide input into the Local Area Movement Plans - Northern Package consultation process.

A number of traffic treatments have been proposed to provide a safer and more pedestrian friendly environment. These are proposed measures only and will replace the existing treatments in this precinct. We welcome feedback on them so we can provide a safe road network for all users in this section of Altona North.

The proposed traffic treatments include:

• Raised Platform / threshold treatment - to slow traffic and improve pedestrian safety and accessibility.
• Speed Cushions - a speed controlling device, slowing traffic down
• Changed Intersection Priority - shifts the dominance of the main road to the minor rad to slow traffic down and increase alertness among motorists
• Raised Intersections - to encourage drivers to slow as they enter intersections
• Refresh line marking at roundabouts - increase visibility of the roundabouts
• Splitter Islands - narrows the width of the roads at intersections and effectively slows traffic
• Pedestrian Refuge Islands - to protect pedestrians as they cross the road
• Pedestrian Crossings - to provide a safe crossing point and improve pedestrian safety and accessibility.
• Raised School Crossing - to slow traffic and improve pedestrian safety and accessibility.

Click here to view a copy of the draft concept plan or download a copy from the document library on the right side of this page.

The study area is bounded by Blackshaws Road, Mills Street, Mason Street and Millers Road, Altona North.

The proposed treatments are located in the following east - west streets and at intersections with their corresponding north - south streets:

• May Street
• Marion Street
• Cresser Street
• Streets around the Altona North Primary School

We invite you to view the proposed measures in each of the streets as listed below or through the detail on the Proposed Traffic Treatment Map below and provide your feedback in the survey.

New speed limit

There is the potential for the speed limit in the entire precinct to be lowered to 40km/hr. This is subject to approval by the Department of Transport and we are seeking your view on this proposed speed reduction.