Media coverage update: Star Weekly Newspaper, Herald Sun and Channel 10

The Yarraville Polka dot child safety issue has received considerable media attention since the petition was created - so far the Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay Star Weekly newspaper and Herald Sun - with even Channel 10 having approached Yarraville locals regarding this issue.

Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay Star Weekly newspaper have generously covered the issue. You can read the article text via the link (or article text below). We understand this will be part of the print newspaper edition of the paper too. Thank you to the journalist Goya Dmytryshchak for your work. 

The Herald Sun will also be reporting on this serious issue, in both their print Victorian statewide newspaper and online coverage, tomorrow Tuesday 23rd March. Look out for the coverage. The Herald Sun journalist has made contact with Yarraville parents directly to hear from them and their stories (who had raised concerns and had first hand near misses).

Ironically right as the Herald Sun journalist and photographer were taking photos of one of the lovely Yarraville families on the polka dot site today for their paper coverage, right in front of the journalist and everyone else, a young toddler escaped the hands of a grandparent and ran onto the dotted road area. Having been enticed by the play area appearance of the site.

Yet again another first hand account of how dangerous to young children these polka dot sites are, even with the most attentive parenting. 

Please share and make especially parents of the local Inner West area of this important safety issue.

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Article: Polka dots a ‘safety risk’ - Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay Star Weekly newspaper. by Goya Dmytryshchak - 22/03/2021

A petition is calling on Maribyrnong council to remove polka dots painted on the road to slow down traffic after children started running onto the road to play on them.

The council last week painted the giant colorful dots at three locations to make drivers slow down as they drive through Yarraville Village.

However, a Change petition started by Maribyrnong Action and signed by more than 250 people is calling on the council to “remove the polka dot road installations in Yarraville Village before a child fatality happens”.

“Children’s safety within the Yarraville Village area is now at an unnecessary level of heightened risk,” the petition states.

“For those not aware, there have been numerous recent near misses of children almost being run over in these three colourful polka dot installation areas in Yarraville Village because children spontaneously run away from their parents and think the polka dots are a ‘fun’ play area, running right onto the roads.”

The dots have been painted at three locations: the corner of Ballarat and Anderson streets, Ballarat and Canterbury streets and at the bend of Anderson Street with Willis Street.

Maribyrnong council’s infrastructure services director Steve Hamilton said the council was “reviewing feedback provided by the community and acting on the concerns raised since the polka dots were put in place last week”.

“Site observations have been consistently undertaken and we will continue to audit the trial to understand how road users – drivers, pedestrians and cyclists – engage with this unique traffic-calming measure, which has been adopted more globally as a lighter, quicker and cheaper change to the local street environment to mitigate potential conflicts between road users and specifically vehicles with pedestrians and cyclists,” he said.

“The safety of our community is of paramount importance to us.

“As an added measure, we’ll be installing planters – to reinforce the boundary between the footpath and the road – and posters to share more information directly with pedestrians on the purpose of the polka dots as a measure to support them to cross the road safely, not as an area to play on.”