Residents revolt against dangerous intersection

By Brendan Rees

A short-term safety fix at a notoriously dangerous Southbank intersection has been slammed by residents as “inadequate”, who say lives are still being put at risk.

Warning signs and bollards were recently installed at the corner of Power St and City Rd after a B-double hit five people on May 6, leaving two fighting for life.

But locals say the safety measures designed to improve pedestrian safety don’t go far enough after a street sign and a concrete bollard were bowled over by a truck less than 24 hours after being installed.

No one was injured in the latest incident, but it has reignited calls from residents for an immediate upgrade to the busy intersection which is frequented by livestock and B-double trucks. 

“It’s a bad situation; in a perfect world I would love to see those trucks get off City Rd,” resident Jan Martz said, who witnessed the horrifying truck crash last month.

“It’s a dangerous pedestrian corner, there’s just no two ways about it.”

“I don’t care what they put over there, I’m just not going to use it.”

The state government announced late last month it had begun short-term safety works, while the Department of Transport was in talks with the City of Melbourne for a more permanent solution. 

The first phase, which is expected to be completed by the end of June, includes the crossing being painted bright yellow to make it more visible for all road users. 

Concrete blocks at the corner where the near-death crash happened have been completed, while plastic bollards, planter boxes, and sensor technology that trigger changes to traffic lights to reduce waiting periods and overcrowding of pedestrians have also been installed. 

Pedestrians will also be given a head start to cross the road before left-turning traffic is given the green arrow, and a new sign will be installed to remind motorists to give way to pedestrians.  

Markings will also warn road users of turning trucks and remind drivers that vehicles longer than 7.5 metres can use two lanes to turn left from City Rd.

The measures come after a truck mounted the footpath before ploughing into pedestrians at the intersection last month.

The 64-year-old truck driver from Wyndham Vale was charged and bailed at the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court.

Police allege the truck driver did not stop at the scene and continued driving along Power St.

Five pedestrians including four men and a woman all aged in their 20s were injured and taken to hospital.

A Royal Melbourne Hospital spokeswoman said two people had since been discharged while one man remained in a stable condition.

One man had also been discharged from The Alfred hospital while the other remained in a serious but stable condition. 

Southbank Residents’ Association president Tony Penna, who has been calling for a ban on trucks for years at the intersection, said a temporary fix “was always going to be inadequate”.

“The bollard has come across the footpath so if pedestrians were trying to do the right thing by standing back, they were probably going to be taken out by a bollard,” he said of the June 1 incident which also took out a planter box and damaged a window at around 6pm.

Mr Penna, who visited the site with Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece to raise his concerns weeks before the near-death crash, said it had been an “accident waiting to happen”.

“There is a greater risk of injury and death by putting the trucks through the densely populated suburban road of Southbank than it is to put them in the tunnel.” 

The Department of Transport’s head of transport services Nick Foa said the “temporary” safety measures had created a barrier between pedestrians and traffic.

“If that bollard wasn’t there and a pedestrian was standing on that corner they could have been hit directly,” he said. 

Mr Foa said the department would review the incident and make any “necessary changes”.

“[We’ll] consider additional improvements to the short-term safety measures while we investigate a permanent solution.”

According to data from the department, there have been a total of seven crashes at the intersection from July 2015 to June 2020, mostly vehicle to vehicle however one involved a B-double and another with a cyclist. Of the crashes, three were considered serious and four involved minor injuries.

The City of Melbourne has vowed to work with the state government to “urgently deliver” a safer intersection.

“We are working on permanent safety measures on this corner and the temporary safety changes have been repaired and reinstalled,” Lord Mayor Sally Capp said.

“Thankfully, this time no pedestrians were there, and no one was injured.”

“We understand the frustration many locals have and we are working together to deliver safer streets in Southbank.”

Meanwhile, resident Jannine Pattison, who launched a petition calling for a ban on trucks in the area and safety improvements at the intersection, said “common sense should prevail”.

“It [safety] should be a priority and it’s just not,” she said as her petition had garnered more than 1320 signatures. “This is absolutely not a war between trucks and pedestrians, rather it’s a fight to make better safety for all road users. “

“We seem to be throwing up building after building and not doing planning around infrastructure, footpaths, road flow, and green space.”

Road Safety Minister Ben Carroll said, “This is a complex intersection in a busy, high-density area of Melbourne – we’re delivering immediate upgrades to protect the community and make City Rd safer for all road users while we get on and develop a long-term safety solution.”

Peter Anderson, CEO of the Victorian Transport Association (VTA), said it was working closely with the state government and the Department of Transport “to identify better solutions for this part of the road network".

“We acknowledge the intersection needs to be improved for the safety of pedestrians, motorists and heavy vehicle drivers, especially because of the level of risk it presents in one of the busiest parts of the city,” he said.

“In the wake of these recent incidents the VTA is imploring operators to ensure their drivers take extra care when navigating turns at this intersection.” •