Yarra Ranges Council is encouraging community members to provide further feedback following changes to a proposed pedestrian crossing and traffic works at the Five Ways in Kalorama.
During the development of ngurrak barring (previously known as RidgeWalk), the council engaged an independent traffic consultant to complete a Parking, Pedestrian and Transport Study. The aim of the study was to identify issues that may be created by the development of the network and propose actions to address these issues.
Community members were asked to share their thoughts on the proposed upgrades to the existing Kalorama intersection in late 2022. The feedback proposed a number of alternatives, and the council wants to check in about what those changes are.
Chandler Ward Councillor David Eastham, said that more than 100 people provided feedback, which has prompted a second round of engagement.
“We heard clearly from the community about what could work with a new crossing, and what wouldn’t work, and we’ve taken that on board,” Cr Eastham said.
“The community told us that banning right-hand turns at Old Coach Road would be more inconvenient than helpful, so that proposal is off the table.”
“We also heard that the proposed crossing location was too far away from Barbers Road and the cafe, we took this feedback onboard and over the last few months have done a lot of investigating around this suggestion.”
Cr Eastham said the conclusion was to achieve this outcome, a “significant amount of change” would need to be done to the intersection, and this was not supported by the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) who are responsible for Mount Dandenong Tourist Road.
“To address concerns about cars travelling too fast down Ridge Road, we’ll be including traffic calming works, and will advocate to DTP for speed reductions on the main roads approaching Five Ways.” Cr Eastham said that infrastructure concerns will also be addressed in the updated proposal.
“We heard that the gravel Memorial car park has eroded, and community want it fixed, so we will seal the carpark and line mark the parking spaces,” he said.
“A new footpath on Mount Dandenong Tourist Road to connect the Post Office to the intersection was also identified as a priority, so this will be considered by Council in capital budget planning”.
Community members also requested designs to reflect the character of the Dandenong Ranges, which have been incorporated into this new round of community engagement.
Community members can provide feedback on the updated designs until 6 September 2023.
https://shaping.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/five-ways-roundabout-pedestrian-and-traffic-safety-improvements
