The City of Yarra is finalising options to improve two dicey road crossings on the busy Capital City Trail in North Fitzroy and wants your feedback.
The crossings at Rae Street and Brunswick Street North have been earmarked for years for treatments to give bikes and pedestrians on the Trail priority over cross traffic at the crossings.
It is policy across Victoria that major trails should have priority over local streets at crossings, but implementation has been slow.
These two crossings have been problematic for years due to the very high volume of bikes on the trail, and at Rae street, poor sight lines at the trail changes direction and elevation adjacent to the crossing. Brunswick Street North has additional safety problems at the next intersection at Holden Street.
The City of Yarra is investigating the crossings in a wider context, taking into consideration safety and peacemaking in the surrounding precinct.
The initial thinking was that the best result would be obtained by closing off the streets at the trail. This would achieve safe priority crossings of the trail and make surrounding streets safer by blocking rat-running traffic.
But locals objected, preferring convenient driving opportunities over the safety of people on the street and trail.
Yarra City has now released several more options which will keep the streets open, and they're asking for feedback from local residents.
Your feedback is important so please take the survey here.
Option five is the safest for bike riders and pedestrians.
A decision whether to adopt the recommended traffic and place-making plan will be made at the council meeting in February 2019. This meeting will be open to the public and community members can attend and make a verbal submission.
The selected treatments are expected to be undertaken during the 2019-2020 budget year.
This image depicts option 5.
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