MEMBER for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell has called for an urgent safety audit to find solutions regarding the present problematic traffic flow between trams and cars at the McCrae-Chapel Street intersection.<\/p>\n
The busy intersection, with St Kilian’s Catholic Church and Bendigo TAFE on diagonally opposite corners, has a right-hand turning lane for vehicles travelling from the south on McCrae Street and turning into Chapel Street, but trams coming from the opposite direction must also pass through the lane as they continue towards Lake Weeroona.<\/p>\n
Cars often pull into the lane at the absolute last moment, sometimes as trams are crossing Chapel Street, impelling the trams to forcibly stop.<\/p>\n
Bendigo Tramways drivers have reported numerous small incidents and frequent near misses at the spot, and they’re concerned that more serious collisions are literally just around the corner.<\/p>\n
Speaking in State Parliament earlier in the month, Ms Lovell called on the Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne to immediately order an audit of the intersection to find out how safety can be improved.<\/p>\n
“Despite the Premier’s own seat being in Bendigo, the Allan Labor Government has not shown any interest at all in addressing the desperate need for safety upgrades at several Bendigo intersections,” she claimed.<\/p>\n
“Tram drivers are worried that a serious collision is waiting to happen, and I urge the Minister to take urgent action to improve safety and traffic flow between trams and cars at the intersection.”<\/p>\n
According to Bendigo Tramways, the dangerous tram\/motor vehicle conflict point has only been getting worse as Bendigo roads get busier, which has lead to trams being stuck at the intersection for up to 45 minutes, severely impacting service reliability and posing a significant safety risk to passengers, drivers and other road users.<\/p>\n
“The current design poses significant risks not only to trams and our passengers, but also road users,” Bendigo Tramways CEO James Reade said.<\/p>\n
“As a tram attempts to navigate the intersection, we see road users panic, and we are surprised that there hasn’t been a major accident as a result.”<\/p>\n
Bendigo Tramways has proposed a cost-effective solution that would enable trams to remotely trigger the new Mundy Street pedestrian crossing lights to temporarily hold northbound traffic, allowing trams to safely clear the intersection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MEMBER for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell has called for an urgent safety audit to find solutions regarding the present problematic traffic flow between trams and cars at the McCrae-Chapel Street intersection. The busy intersection, with St Kilian’s Catholic Church and Bendigo TAFE on diagonally opposite corners, has a right-hand turning lane for vehicles travelling from […]<\/p>\n