Through traffic on The Vaucluse, Richmond poses a danger to pedestrians.

• The Vaucluse has no footpaths.
• The street includes a ‘blind’ dogleg corner.
• The Vaucluse is used by scores of children daily as they walk to and from St. Kevins and the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School, both of which are in the street.
• There will be more children walking up and down the street as the area continues to become an ‘education hub’ with the girls boarding house at St. Stephens, the Brosnan Learning Centre and the new MITS boarding house for boys.
• The street is also used extensively by people exercising, and pedestrians walking to and from sporting events in the Yarra Park precinct.
• Many of the St. Kevins children, and many of the adults who use the street, walk down the middle of the street and/or are looking at their phones or listening to music on their device as they approach the blind dogleg turn.
• Council conducted a traffic count of cars travelling on the street (2019). This showed vehicles travelling at 31km/h in both directions (85th percentile).
• ‘The human tolerance to injury of a pedestrian hit by even the best-designed car will be exceeded if the vehicle is travelling at over 30km/h’ (Tingvall & Howarth 1999).
• The street has historically been a private street. As recently as 15 years ago, it was common for The Vaucluse to be closed at night when the church shut the gates at the east end of The Vaucluse.
• History is not the focus of the petition; however, it suggests that The Vaucluse could be closed to through traffic.

There are several possible solutions to the problem, including:

• installing a retractable or permanent bollard between Rowena Parade and the Vaucluse, adjacent to the existing ‘No Through Road’ sign
• installing a similar barrier at the east end of the Vaucluse near the entry to the St. Ignatius ‘car park’
• closing the gates at the east end of the Vaucluse.