By Callum Ludwig
Yarra Ranges Council has featured among 40 Victorian councils set to benefit from the Transport Accident Commission’s (TAC) annual Local Government Grant Program.
The program aims to help councils deliver projects to help vulnerable road users, with a focus on pedestrians and cyclists, through upgrades and new projects.
Director of Built Environment and Infrastructure at Yarra Ranges Council Hjalmar Philipp said Council are pleased to announce that we have received $30,000 from the Victorian Government for safety upgrades on roads.
“This funding will be used for four radar speed display signs, which will be installed at Birmingham Primary School in Mount Evelyn and Wandin Yallock Primary School in Wandin North,” he said.
“These signs will display speeds as cars travel by, reminding drivers to follow the signposted speed limits and raising awareness of the school zone,”
“We believe they will help improve safety for children and pedestrians alike near the schools, and the signs are easily re-locatable and can be moved to other school zones to remind drivers to be aware of their speed.”
The grant announcement comes following the approval of a Birmingham Road Traffic Management Plan by Yarra Ranges Council at a Council meeting on Tuesday 9 April while Wandin Yallock Primary School sits on the corner of the intersection between the intersection of Beenak Road, Quayle Road and Hunter Road, with safety concerns regarding cars coming over the crest of the hill on Beenak Road and the fact that the intersection is not perfectly aligned.
“We’re submitting an application in this year’s round of funding for other upgrades near schools, and are hopeful that our future applications will be successful,” Mr Phillip said.
“Thank you to the State Government for supporting our application, and we look forward to working on future road safety projects with them.”
Birmingham Road Primary School parent and local resident Bosa Sofranic-Carter first put forward a petition in October 2022 with concerns about traffic and safety near the school, saying the ‘mismanaged intersection’ had not kept up with the growth of the school or the community and it was only ‘a matter of time’ before a tragedy occurs.
Yarra Ranges Council has put forward a pitch to upgrade the intersection with traffic lights, costing around $500,000 and $20,000 annually for maintenance, as well as install the successfully-funded radar display speed signs and zig-zag line marking in the more immediate future to remedy the site.
