Council now installing speed bumps. BUT THE DOTS REMAIN (Still). More media exposure
The petition was alerted by locals and journalists that Maribyrnong council are now / have installed speed bumps on/around the Yarraville village polka dot sites. YET the polka dots still remain!
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A REMINDER: Make your voice heard by encouraging others to sign this petition, make your voice heard on the council consultation page here: https://www.yourcityyourvoice.com.au/polka-dot-road-safety-project by voting in the poll and adding your comments and maintaining the pressure on council to listen to the local community.
We encourage locals to email us footage (Video and Photos) of situations to: maribaction@gmail.com
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Maribyrnong council installs speed humps - Keeps the dots!?
Locals had thought this may have been an "April fools" joke, but sadly it was not. Council are clearly still maintaining that the polka dots are viable and still retain the core cause of the safety hazards and incidents - which are the coloured polka dots. The safety of the Yarraville community STILL remains at peril and council are still failing to listen to the local community by persisting with their installations at any cost.
The fact that council requires to now add speed humps reflects that council are conceding there are safety issues and that the polka dots by themselves (or mashed up with any other infrastructure) simply do not meet the project requirements to maintain public safety. Rather than to remove the polka dots, they have attempted to install everything and anything to keep the dots. Whether it be the speed humps, planter boxes, information plaquards (The signs which says not to play with the dots, but says NOTHING about right of way between cars and pedestrians) - these are simply bandaid attempts which do not address the root cause of the hazards being still being present.
The petition maintains (and will continue to ramp up pressure) to fully remove the polka dots immediately. Anything less than full removal, will reflect that council is still willing to gamble the lives of the local community with a clearly failed project.
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Media outlets were informed about these developments by Yarraville locals - with coverage again appearing on the Neil Mitchell 3AW radio show and Herald sun on the 1st April 2021. Links to these media reporting are listed toward the bottom of this update.
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This morning as the speed humps were being installed, council appears to have updated the consultation page: https://www.yourcityyourvoice.com.au/polka-dot-road-safety-project
with (quote) "But – on the back of concerns by some community members – we’re taking additional safety precautions at the trial installation sites... During the initial phases of the trial we’ve heard concerns by some in the community regarding the safety of child pedestrians and have modified the trial – including installing temporary speed cushions – to address this. Research overseas has shown motorists drive six to seven kilometres an hour slower when they encounter the colourful painted dots. Our trial is designed to understand if those results can be replicated in Maribyrnong to enhance the safety of all road users. Polka dots are an innovative traffic calming treatment – literally painted onto the pavement – proven to reduce driver speeds in areas where there is the potential for conflict between vehicles and pedestrians."(unquote)
As highlighted by the petitions recent updates, unless the polka dots are fully removed, the safety issues will remain. Includes children playing on the dots, people confused about who has right of way (Cars still have right of way, but both cars and pedestrians are totally confused about how to navigate the polka dotted areas) and still the ongoing near misses - initially primarily presented as children playing on the dots, now also presenting as pedestrians thinking they have right of way and crossing as though it's a "zebra crossing".
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In our recent update on March 31st titled "Pulling apart the Auckland Polka dot findings - The basis of the Yarraville sites", the petition fully pulls apart the evidence base and business case for the polka dot installations - which the Maribyrnong council is basing the Yarraville project off. The Auckland polka dot installations also had similar safety challenges in terms of both pedestrians and motorists being extremely confused about who has right of way. Without the added child safety matters which the Yarraville site has presented.
The Auckland polka dot site at High street was so problematic that their website states "Two years on, work is now underway to progress the polka dots at High Street to an interim zebra crossing to further reinforce pedestrian priority until funding for the raised table is secured."
This reflects that the Auckland polka dots were so problematic that this polka dot site had to immediately be converted to a temporary Zebra crossing to address the ongoing confusion about who has right of way - with then the site set for a raised road section as a permanent road safety measure. THE POLKA DOTS SIMPLY DO NOT WORK AS A ROAD SAFETY FUNCTION - AND MUST GO IMMEDIATELY.
Again as highlighted previously the Auckland trail did reduce driver speeds BUT by the very negligible amounts. According to the Shortland street / High Street - Auckland project page by Auckland council - https://www.activateakl.work/tui#/shortland-street-stage-one/
(Quote) Vehicle speed results only showed a "5.4% slowing of the 85th percentile speed from 33.2kph to 31.4kph". Followed by "informal observations 12 months later"(Unquote).
Is a 5.4% reduction in speed worth the ongoing near misses of people and children which is occurring in Yarraville village? Definitely not! Council are being mischievous to the local community in their messaging that the installations deliver equitable outcomes, when in fact the safety risk trade off simply means the project does not stack up.
Local traders and the local community have been calling for council to work and collaborate with them for years, but all council have provided is an unwanted safety hazard with no public consultation prior to implementation. We would highlight that the precedent of the Auckland polka dot site being converted into a more proven and effective Zebra crossing (which has widespread community understanding about its use) and then a raised road area, reflects this is what Maribyrnong council should proceed with in addressing this situation in the interim.
We call for Maribyrnong city council to immediately remove the polka dot installations - and in the interim to address safety matters a viable temporary measure can be zebra crossings, whilst council proceeds to engage and open up a process of consultation with community stakeholders to find longer term solutions for the road challenges in Yarraville village.
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MORE MEDIA COVERAGE:
"Speed humps installed on top of Yarraville’s ‘traffic calming’ polka dots" - Peter Mitchell morning show - 3AW Radio - 1st April 2021
https://www.3aw.com.au/speed-humps-installed-on-top-of-traffic-calming-polka-dots/
Less than a fortnight after giant polka dots were painted on a Yarraville street, in a bid to reduce speeds, speed humps are being installed.
Maribyrnong City Council painted the spots on Anderson Street last month as part of what mayor Michael Clarke called a “traffic calming initiative”. But it doesn’t appear it was successful.
Caller Julie spotted workers installing speed humps on the same stretch of road this morning. “Council are currently putting speed humps over the top of them and 20km/h speed signs!,” she told Neil Mitchell.
“The polka dots are still there.”
"Polka dot traffic move changes in Yarraville" - Herald sun - 1st April 2021
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/melbourne-city/yarraville-polka-dots-anderson-street-speed-bump-alternative-brings-danger-fears/news-story/0657ad5397818da380e4d773ee4a44a7
"After parents hit back at a potentially life-threatening installation to ease traffic Maribyrnong council have changed their tune."