Wrong way – go back!

By Ed Merrison
BELGRAVE residents say the council has its priorities wrong and has overlooked an accident waiting to happen in the process.
People living on the lower section of Station Street believe speeding and pedestrian safety should have been addressed before building began on a new bike path.
They say speed bumps have not done enough to slow down drivers, while pedestrians often have to walk on the road because there is no footpath.
The Shire of Yarra Ranges is building a cycle path connecting Belgrave and Birdsland Reserve, sealing the shoulder of part of Mt Morton Road and marking lines on Station and Benson streets.
The council is also concreting sections of Lovers Walk to provide pedestrian access from Belgrave to Birdsland Reserve.
Last month the council wrote in a letter to residents that the work, due to be completed by mid-November, would “provide significant improvement to the safety of bike riders and pedestrians in the area”.
But resident Melinda Whyman said the council had done things in the wrong order.
“It’s a very strange concept to use a street that has a speed problem,” she said. “By bringing in more cyclists they are complicating the traffic situation even further.”
Ms Whyman, who has three children including a 12-week-old baby, said crossing the road was dangerous and it was necessary to reduce the limit below 50km/h.
She said speeding motorists often drove over the edges of speed bumps and even on the grass verge.
Lou Smith, who also lives on Station Street, said the situation was made more dangerous by the absence of a footpath on either side of the road.
He said pedestrians often chose to walk on the road, which is used as a rat-run by motorists cutting across to Belgrave-Hallam Road, in places where the grass was overgrown or to avoid wet grass in winter.
Mr Smith was particularly concerned for mothers such as Ms Whyman with a pram and toddlers beside them.
His neighbour, Diane Regan, was also concerned for young mothers and felt a footpath should be put in as a matter of routine.
“We pay decent rates and that’s one service we should have,” she said.
James Martin, shire community relations manager, said the council had no record of a request for a footpath in Station Street but would be happy to consider one.
He said traffic and speed counts would take place over the next two months to determine whether speed was a problem.
“The count will be conducted over a seven-day period and will capture data from throughout the day, including any peak and non-peak times,” he said.