Responses to Survey Questions from Mel Yuan
| 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? Ensure that all planned infrastructure includes consideration for pedestrian safety; thorough review of the infrastructure portfolio to assess proportion that include pedestrian safety initiatives and aim to increase that year-on-year; ensure infrastructure planning takes account of known ‘black spots’. 2. If elected, what will you do to help reduce pedestrian road trauma in Moreland? Per above infrastructure prioritisation plus appropriate additional initiatives targeting certain locations and/or user types. Ensure implementation of current planned initiatives, including long-term assessment of the success (or not) of those initiatives. 3. What vision do you have to actively encourage older adults to walk in Moreland? I would like to know more about the perceptions of, and barriers to, older adults walking in Moreland specifically. 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? Doesn’t increasing investment in maintenance reduce falls through reduction in trip hazards? 5. If elected, how will you encourage Council to implement proven street design measures to reduce vehicle speeds? Getting the strategies right is the first step; followed by implementation; and then review to evaluate whether vehicle speed reductions had the desired effect. Proven elsewhere does not automatically mean they would be successful in all contexts. 6. What measures would you implement to stop speeding near schools? Mixture of strategies may work depending on the individual school, but working with individual school communities is key. Regular Police or Traffic enforecement attendance can be a helpful reminder as well as crossing design, signage, supervision, programs to teach children good habits, etc. 7. What improvements are needed for footpaths to make them safer for pedestrians after dark? Would defer to technical expertise on this, as I’m sure there are various technical approaches with various costs/ benefits. 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? Plans for this are well advanced. This is an issue of engagement with VicRoads and the State government – I have proposed a longer-term Mayor to ensure continuity of messaging to the State government. 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? Driver ed is a State government responsibility. In this case, good local design is key. 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)? Greater emphasis on the Planning department to develop more fullsome local Traffic Management Plans that take account of road/ footpath use conflicts. The ad-hoc nature of traffic design arising predominantly from reacting to developments has been a poor planning model. |
Walk on Merri-bek 