🛑 Safe Crossings on Blackshaws Road 🌳
Our community is growing — but Blackshaws Road isn’t keeping up.

The announcement of a new pedestrian crossing between Watt Street and Stephenson Street is great news, and we thank Melissa Horne MP for making this important improvement happen. A new crossing will create a safe walking and bike connection between South Kingsville and Newport — and help us have, more walkable neighbourhoods.

Now we’re calling for that crossing to be the best it can be. Let’s make sure it’s in the best location and includes excellent safety treatments, greening and shade — and let’s bring the same level of care and investment to Altona North, where residents still face long, unsafe gaps with nowhere to cross.

The Altona North section of Blackshaws Road also needs a safe crossing and we call for one near Fourth Avenue, to help residents reach schools, shops, bus stops, and move around the neighbourhood safely.

 
🚸 Why these locations matter:
Three signalised new intersections — at The Broadway, Fabric Drive, and Sutton Street — are planned as part of future developments. These will all include signalised bike and pedestrian crossings, but developers will build them under HBCC Council responsibility, and might not be delivered for a few years or more.

Even with these developer-funded crossings built, there will still be long sections of the State managed Blackshaws Road with no safe place to cross. At the moment, families, school kids, older residents and people catching the bus are forced to take risks every day.

Adding a safe crossing near Fourth Avenue in Altona North — and ensuring the South Kingsville crossing is in the best possible location, with quality design, greening and shade — will close these gaps and make Blackshaws Road safer, greener and more connected.

🌿 What these crossings should include:
We’re asking the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) to deliver the safest, most people-friendly designs, including:

🟡Kerb outstands to shorten crossing distances and slow turning traffic
🔵Raised zebra or platform crossings, daylighting, improved visibility and traffic calming
🟤Pedestrian lights (signals) where traffic speeds or volumes require them
🔴Central refuges, trees, garden beds and vegetation for shade, cooling and greening

These improvements make crossings safer while creating a cooler, more inviting street for everyone.

 
We appreciate the strong commitment to the much-needed South Kingsville crossing — but safety shouldn’t stop halfway.

We, the undersigned, ask Melissa Horne MP and the Department of Transport and Planning to support:

🧭 Checking that the Stephenson/Watt Street location is the best location for South Kingsville
🌳 A green, high-quality design for the South Kingsville crossing
🚸 A new, equivalent safe crossing near Fourth Avenue in Altona North

Let’s make all of Blackshaws Road safe, green and people-friendly.

Organised by residents of Altona North, South Kingsville and Newport.