Fears grow as accidents continue at a “notorious” North Melbourne intersection

The intersection of Victoria St and Curzon St has become notorious for accidents over the years, with local businesses fearing for their customers’ safety and many residents avoiding the crossing altogether due to ongoing safety concerns.

Located on one corner of the intersection is the Our Community House co-working space, which was struck by a white Toyota Hiace in the early hours of May 29.

However, according to the owner of the business, Dennis Moriarty, this isn’t the first time. He said such incidents have become all too frequent.

Mr Moriarty told North West City News he was tired of advocating for improvements to the state-managed road and expressed frustration over what he called a bureaucratic mess, with the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) failing to take meaningful action.

“It’s useless bureaucrats who sit in head office and just look at the statistics and say, 'there are no deaths, so we don’t need to do anything'," Mr Moriarty said.

He believes the street requires a fundamental redesign, warning that if nothing is done, it’s only a matter of time before someone is killed. He is calling on the DTP, the City of Melbourne, and the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Melissa Horne, to address the issue urgently.

Mr Moriarty is not alone. North Melbourne resident Sybill Gibb has been writing to both the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne for several years, pleading for improvements to make the street safer.

When her children were in school, Ms Gibb instructed them to walk down Curzon St and cross at Queensberry St, because she didn’t want them navigating the intersection at Victoria and Curzon.

She has proposed reducing the speed limit on King St to at least 50 km/h as far as Curzon St and requested a traffic engineer assess the timing of the traffic lights and turning arrows into Curzon St. However, she believes her suggestions have fallen on deaf ears.

A DTP spokesperson told North West City News that "safety is always our highest priority – and we continue to review safety at the intersection of Victoria St, Curzon St and King St.”

“We’ll keep the local community updated as we assess and plan for any future necessary road safety upgrades.”

The City of Melbourne has also acknowledged several incidents involving vehicles at the intersection during wet weather.

While King St is an arterial road and the responsibility of the Victorian Government, a City of Melbourne spokesperson said the council supported the installation of safety infrastructure on adjoining council-managed land where needed.

The safety of all road users is our first priority – and we’re always looking at ways to improve traffic flow and ensure people can get where they need to go safely, the council spokesperson said.

The council has suggested that the installation of hazard markers and bicycle separator kerbs may further improve safety in the area.

In addition, the Victorian Government has installed extra safety signage around the intersection of King, Victoria and Curzon streets to help alert drivers to potentially hazardous conditions in wet weather. •