Power St safety woes continue

Sadly, once again a truck has taken out the newly installed fencing on the corner of Power St and City Rd. The incident happened on Monday March 25 about 8pm. Luckily, no one was injured.

I have seen video footage showing this truck’s rear trailer significantly mount the curb and take down the pedestrian safety barrier. Fortunately, no-one was injured this time. However, there was a real possibility that once again someone or several could have been seriously injured, or worse.

When is this intersection going to be addressed properly?

When discussing the original proposed intersection works with the Department of Transport, I suggested it might be beneficial to install a fence which, at the time, was quickly rejected as they felt it wouldn’t last long. This essentially told me they too didn’t have complete confidence with their proposed solution. It then surprised me when a few months ago they installed the fence and sadly I agreed with them and didn’t expect it to last too long.

Once the intersection upgrade was complete, I continued to see trucks and their trailers mount the curb, but admittedly nowhere near as often or as far back as they had in the past. Clearly the upgrade has provided some relief with a wider turning circle, but still not enough.

Southbank Residents’ Association (SRA) has reached out to the project team in the Department of Transport again to see what more can be done for this intersection and whether they have any intention to reinstall the fence.

Clearly the answer is that trucks should not be using Power St and City Rd – a solution which SRA will keep advocating for.

But we also wonder how much the City of Melbourne is still advocating for at this intersection or if they have accepted that the last upgrade was sufficient.

On another note and in some good news, you may recall my November 2023 column where I was critical of the council’s community road safety survey and that somehow feedback was overlooked when considering a proposed pedestrian crossing on Clarke St on the south side of City Rd.

SRA has been dogged in its determination to highlight those shortcomings to the council and we have recently learned that our protests have been heard. We have received advice that the Department of Transport has given in-principle support to install a wombat (raised) pedestrian crossing at that location.

The detailed designs are being finalised and it is anticipated to be included in the 2024/25 budget.

We will continue to apply pressure on this important project to ensure that it is completed. The results of the survey were telling with this intersection receiving some of the highest comments, yet projects that only received not even a handful of responses (some only received one response) were selected. It bewildered us how this project could have been overlooked yet not addressed in the council’s presentation.

SRA is still looking for a volunteer in our community who would be prepared to assist us with our social media. If you think this might be you, please don’t be afraid to reach out: [email protected] •