Dear Fellow City of Yarra Resident,

We have raised this petition to ask that Yarra City Council remove the traffic barrier they put up on the corner of Nicholson, Mollison and Langridge Streets earlier this year. The barrier is supposed to be on a trial basis; however, Yarra has made no attempt to seek community feedback, and it’s clear they intend to make it permanent.

Yarra Council created this barrier without appropriate community consultation, and with no regard for the impact that it would have on local residents and businesses. The only consultation was over two years ago in 2018, as part of Yarra’s broader Local Area Place Making initiatives. Only a handful of people were involved, and those that opposed it were ignored. At the time, large apartment buildings adjacent to the intersection were not built, meaning that the people most affected had no opportunity to have a say on something that affects them daily. Yarra has confirmed that they did not consider the traffic impacts of the many office and apartment buildings that have been approved in the area, including on the very corner of the intersection.

Yarra’s reasoning for the barrier was that it would increase safety, however they have not been forthcoming on exactly what the safety issues were, or how they will be addressed by the traffic barrier. As locals, we see the intersection every day, and know that it is not dangerous. This is backed up by VicRoads statistics which show no accidents of any type at the intersection in their available data (2014 - 2019).

An unintended consequence of the barrier is that traffic is now forced off Nicholson St, and onto residential streets which are narrow, dark and which should not carry through traffic. This in itself is a safety issue which Yarra refuses to acknowledge. There is also the issue of drivers being funnelled into directions they do not want to go, resulting in dangerous U-turns, and the need to double back on themselves, increasing traffic and travel times.

Most importantly to Abbotsford locals, the barrier has affected our ability to move around our local neighbourhood without undue encumbrance, and this adversely affects the amenity and liveability of this beautiful area.

In our discussions with Yarra Council, it is evident that they did not consider these outcomes and have no plans to mitigate them. Yarra has dismissed locals’ concerns and their advice is that the local residents just have to deal with it. This is a worrying trend with Yarra, as they have shown in this and other initiatives that they are unwilling to listen to the residents and businesses who they are supposed to represent.

We do not accept this, and we ask for you to support this petition to show Yarra Council that they have made a mistake with the Nicholson St traffic barrier, and that they need to listen to the local residents, and remove the barrier promptly.

We will be presenting this petition to Councillors in the December Council Meeting, and your support would be greatly appreciated. If you have the time, please also voice your concerns to the Yarra Councillors as well as Yarra City Council:

crs@yarracity.vic.gov.au
langridgewardcouncillors@yarracity.vic.gov.au
info@yarracity.vic.gov.au

We thank you for your time and wish you all the best. If you would like to get in touch, feel free to contact us on Nicholsonstreet2020@gmail.com

Kind Regards,
Your Abbotsford neighbours.