Two pedestrian crossings on a busy East Warrnambool road have been upgraded to raised “wombat” crossings to make them even safer.
The works on Gateway Road were co-funded by the Warrnambool City Council and the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), with Council successfully applying for $54,659 via the TAC’s Local Government Infrastructure Grants program.
Warrnambool Mayor Cr Vicki Jellie said this upgrade will make it safer for nearby residents, including those at the Ingenia Gardens retirement village, to cross the road and walk to Armada Gateway Plaza, and for students to get to Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School.
“Gateway Road can be very busy, both with vehicles driving along it and pedestrians looking to get across,” she said.
“With entry and exit points to shopping centres on both sides of the road, there’s a lot going on and drivers need to take care.
“While it is always the driver’s responsibility to look for pedestrian crossings and stop if required, we knew that some people still didn’t feel safe crossing at the existing pedestrian crossings because of the speed of the traffic.
“Raised crossings slow traffic down and also help to make pedestrians more visible to drivers.
“Part of our Warrnambool 2040 plan is to encourage and prioritise sustainable transport, and when we have primary school students, retirees and everyone in between frequently crossing Gateway Road for school, for work or to go to the shops, this project aligns perfectly.
“It’s always terrific to partner with external agencies like the TAC where we can to deliver important projects like this to help our annual budget stretch even further.”
Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School Principal Stephen Madden welcomed the upgrade, and said that infrastructure and education went hand in hand when it came to road safety.
“Along with the education process around safety, seeing projects like this come to fruition gives us great confidence,” he said.
“We’re increasing our numbers of children who can ride and walk to school, and if there are things to help them do it more safely, that’s what we are so happy about and it makes the pick-ups at school less chaotic.”