Rat-running and speeding among top concerns in Parkville Gardens road safety survey

Parkville Gardens residents have had their say during the first iteration of community consultation led by the City of Melbourne as it seeks local insights in the preparation of a new pedestrian and road safety plan for the area.

Tom Knowles, president of the Parkville Gardens’ Resident Association (PGRA), said the community had already raised several issues through the survey, which was open from March 12 to April 4.

As previously reported by North West City News, Mr Knowles said rat-running remained a principal issue, with drivers looking for shortcuts causing major congestion along the suburb’s narrow roads, especially along Cade Way, preventing residents from getting in or out of their homes.

Mr Knowles said drivers often ignored the embargo on turning right during morning peak when coming off Brunswick Rd, contributing to the issue of rat running. He believes a red-light camera should be installed there to mitigate the issue.

The PGRA president also pointed out that Mercy Place – an aged care facility located on William St – lacked a pedestrian crossing, saying there was “nowhere for the residents, who are often frail aged people, to cross”.

He said another major issue was vehicles speeding.

“The current limit is 40 [k/ph], however I think there’s a case here for it to be reduced to 30,” Mr Knowles said.

The trouble here is our roads were never designed for these kinds of things. Our roads are mostly residential, but many people are treating them like through roads, and its creating safety issues.

The recent survey is the first step in the City of Melbourne’s response to a push by the PGRA to improve road and pedestrian safety in the area. The council will now collate findings and prepare a “draft treatment plan”, with phase two consultation and community information sessions to be held between May 19 and June 6.

Mr Knowles said that the community would welcome measures to “limit the rat running, create a one-way street in a particularly narrow section of Cade St, between William and Garrard streets, and to slow down traffic.”

He said that he was hopeful the survey would help to begin resolving these issues.

“We’ve been communicating with the City of Melbourne to look at our traffic measures for some time. So, we’re very pleased that this is happening, and they have indicated they will be open to further input once they come back to us,” Mr Knowles said, but added that this work had been “a long time coming.”

However, solutions for many issues in the area remain unclear and go beyond the scope of the council’s plan, which aims to provide insights into practical measures that would improve road safety and liveability of the area.

Parking, for example, is “an issue in the whole area”, according to Mr Knowles. This “dilemma” stems from the fact that upwards of 700 people live in apartments along Galada Avenue, with only one underground carpark.

He said that households with multiple cars were often forced to park along the street for extended periods of time, despite the zone being two hours in most parts of the area.

There also remain concerns about public transport connectivity. A “missing link” exists between Parkville Gardens and Flemington Rd, with no direct service available.

“Anybody who's wanting to catch one of the trams along Flemington Rd has to walk a good 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how young and fit you are,” Mr Knowles said.

While the connectivity issue lingers, he added that bus services had “improved considerably largely due to the advocacy of our former member Tim Read”, and that these buses now received far more patronage.

The City of Melbourne is expected to release the survey results next month. •