Responses to Survey Questions from George Georgiou
1. What are your most important priorities to increase pedestrian safety specifically in the ward you hope to represent as well as in the rest of Moreland?
Anything that can create a better balance in the way we travel. Right now, 67% of all trips in Moreland are with a car. As crazy as it sounds, we have to get that down to 20%. Our focus at a local level is to get walking and cycling up and local car trips down. Question 2 lists a few of the many ways we can do this.
2. If elected, what will you do to help reduce pedestrian road trauma in Moreland?
- Work on reducing our speed limits on local roads to 30km/h and promote these local roads as the walking corridors to use when walking to our local destinations, our schools, shops, parks trams stops and train stations.
- Stop the rat-running through local roads by limiting entry and exit points. This will also increase the number of safe walking corridors to our local destinations.
- We need to invest in affordable barriers to protect pedestrians on busy roads. Trees, planter boxes, seating and public art can all combine to protect pedestrians from cars.
- Expand the Albert St style active transport crossing across all of Moreland’s locally managed arterials and collectors. Active transport users have to be able to cross quickly and safely over our main roads.
3. What vision do you have to actively encourage older adults to walk in Moreland?
Local roads with limited traffic and a tree lined street to provide beauty, shade and a natural barrier between walking and driving. This kind of environment and ongoing campaigns to encourage walking to our destinations will help to encourage everyone to walk more.
4. In what ways should Council increase its investment in the maintenance and improvements to footpaths and other outdoor public infrastructure to reduce falls injuries?
We need a new revenue source. Charging for short term parking on our retail streets and MCC carparks could generate the revenue we need. If this was an option, I would only support it if all revenue went to active transport and it has to be on top of whatever we are currently spending now on active transport.
5. If elected, how will you encourage Council to implement proven street design measures to reduce vehicle speeds?
By regularly arranging meetings with council workers at black spots and showing them live examples of the problems. This would also be the best time for residents to meet up and share their thoughts and any design proposals. After that it would be my job to regularly get updates. I have tried this as a resident but it’s too hard to get regular sessions with council workers. It would be easier to arrange as a councillor.
6. What measures would you implement to stop speeding near schools?
The amount of foot traffic around schools is higher than most local destinations. This should be a priority. Speed humps, entry and exit limitations, speed limits down to 30 km/h are some of the obvious ones. A bigger move would be to reduce parking in the morning and afternoon near schools by a quarter. This would create a messy transition period but eventually the people who stop driving to schools and start walking are the ones who live close by. You’ll be surprised how many people are driving 100 to 400m in their cars. By reducing parking these short trips drop off and move to walking because they are too inconvenient with a car. Eventually we would have a better balance of modal share around schools.
7. What improvements are needed for footpaths to make them safer for pedestrians after dark?
Better lighting is the obvious one but this an area I would like talk more about to people with ideas.
8. The majority of surveyed Sydney Rd. users support the removal of all on-street parking to make way for wider footpaths and protected cycling lanes in both directions. Do you agree with this and if so, how would you work to achieve this if elected?
Yes Option 3 is the best option by far. It will not only help pedestrians and cyclists; it will also help the retailers. If option 3 was chosen and built, Sydney Rd would be the meeting place for not only Moreland residents but for people who live outside the municipality as well. It would become a major hub of activity and all centred around walking and cycling.
The first thing we have to do is get all the retailers on board. The many who are opposed to it simply can’t see what it will do for their business and because they can’t see it or understand it, they are afraid of it and therefore opposed to it. We have to show the retailers the potential in option 3.
9. What strategies are needed by Council, in collaboration with the State Government, to introduce a driver education campaign in regard to stopping for, giving way and slowing down for pedestrians at intersections, zebra crossings, school crossings and other hot spots?
Not sure at this stage but very interested.
10. As the local population grows, so does local traffic and through traffic. How do you propose to address the competing interests of different transport users i.e. pedestrians, cyclists, private and commercial vehicle drivers and public transport (trams and buses)?
- Walking is available on every corridor which means every corridor has to be safe for walking. We need to invest in affordable barriers to protect pedestrians on busy roads. Trees, planter boxes, seating and public art can all combine to protect pedestrians from cars.
- Private vehicle trips should be using collectors and arterials when going from A to B and should only ever use a local road when they are going to their property or someone else’s on the local road they are using. I support MITS and its plan to stop the rat-running.
- Cyclists have to be able to get to all of our local destinations either with an off-road path or a separated path on a road. Some of our roads will have to accommodate vehicles and separated cycling. Unfortunately the state government owns some of the major roads and they have no interest in active transport at the moment. We have to decide to either continue campaigning to the state government, or re-visit the MITS’ 10-year cycling plan and fill the arterial gaps by using locally managed roads.
Walk on Merri-bek 