A Glover Street resident contacted Port Phillip Matters to report a serious accident on the intersection of Pickles, Bridge and Glover Streets. The accident took place around 4pm on Sunday March 24, resulting in police and ambulance attendance, and closing one lane of traffic for more than an hour. 

The  collision occurred when a youthful e-scooter rider crossed from Bridge Street footpath into the path of a car travelling south towards the Port Phillip Bay on Pickles Street. Fortunately, the young e-scooter rider did not seem to be seriously injured.  

This collision occurred so soon after the Council meeting on 20 March when ten Glover Street residents asked Councillors to reconsider their decision to re-open the intersection and to either permanently close the intersection or consider alternative solutions. 

Councillors had voted on 21 February against the recommendation of its own traffic officers to permanently close the intersection. Council voted to stop the trial and to reopen the intersection.

I addressed the Council by informing them that  “I first raised concerns about this intersection in 2016 at a meeting at the Port Melbourne Town Hall convened by former Mayor Bernadene Voss. I request that further consideration be given to the safety initiatives that can be instituted and if the Council will consider withholding the removal of the divider until a satisfactory alternative is found?”   

Philip Edmands asked if Council “could rescind its earlier decision and replace it with a more nuanced one” because “this is potentially a life and death issue”. The resident said, “more thought, consultation and analysis are required and in the interim that the protection the median provides should remain”. 

Katrina Barlow asked if ”Council would consider holding off on making a decision about the current median treatment at the intersection of Pickles, Bridge and Glover Streets, to allow for community consultation?”

Mariese O’Neill said “We are incredulous of the decision to remove the median strip in Pickles Street. In the 34 years that we have lived in Glover Street, the median strip has been the single greatest initiative for our neighbourhood safety”. 

David Reed asked “whether the decision to potentially remove the median strip at the intersection is in the best interest of safety? From my experience most accidents or near misses were due from traffic wanting to turn right out of Bridge Street onto Pickles or similarly turning right out of Glover Street onto Pickles Street crossing four lanes of high-volume traffic with limited visibility in both directions. We appreciate closing of the intersection is a slight inconvenience, but we must prioritise safety over convenience”. 

Dale Perkin said, “Council should consider that removing a safety improvement, given the successful trial, may breach its duty of care under the Road Management Act 2004 by reverting the intersection to a known dangerous state”. 

Jennifer Taylor asked, “why if the objectives of the pilot island on Pickles and Glover Street have been met, namely, to avoid life-threatening accidents and vehicles driving at high speed in non-arterial roads, did the Council vote against the recommendation of the traffic engineers to make the island permanent?” 

 

Responding to residents, Mayor Cunsolo foreshadowed that she intends to raise a Notice of Motion at an upcoming Council Meeting which may address some of the issues raised and to provide a response to the questions raised.  

*By Jeff Penberthy