Wednesday, 27 November 2024

 David HODGETT (Croydon) (19:00): (951) My adjournment today is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for the minister to prioritise pedestrian safety by installing a flashing ‘Give way to pedestrians’ traffic sign at the pedestrian traffic light crossing located at the T-intersection off Civic Square and Mount Dandenong Road, Croydon, and/or change the lights to pedestrian priority traffic lights so that the green light for pedestrians comes first for a time before the green light for motor vehicles.

On Monday 12 August my constituent Nava and her 3½-year-old daughter Ellie were hit by a car when crossing on the pedestrian traffic light across Mount Dandenong Road in Croydon as they headed toward the skate park. The driver of the vehicle turning left out of Civic Square failed to give way to them and hit Nava and Ellie. The driver disclosed that she saw pedestrians crossing from the opposite side of the road and was trying to get through the intersection quickly before those pedestrians crossed in front of her, and she subsequently failed to see Nava and Ellie on the crossing directly to her left. This incident prompted Ellie, with the help of her mum, to write to me, and I would like to share her letter with you:

To whoever can help, me and my mummy were hit by a car. We were crossing the road because we had a green light. But it was also a green light for the cars at the same time. The lady that hit us forgot to look out for the people. Can you please change the traffic lights so it’s not green for people and cars at the same time?

Since the accident, Ellie will not go back to the crossing as she says it is not safe. The location of this busy pedestrian crossing means there is a high volume of foot traffic, as it is close to a playground, an oval, a skate park, shops, a university, the library and the local pool. Many of the pedestrians who use the crossing are families, children and the elderly. With no signage currently to alert the drivers to take care and watch out for pedestrians, there is a risk of more accidents occurring.

Minister, I urge you to install a flashing ‘Give way to pedestrians’ traffic sign at the pedestrian traffic light crossing located at 220 Mount Dandenong Road, Croydon, or change the lights to pedestrian priority traffic lights so that the green light for pedestrians comes first for a time before the green light for motor vehicles. We see this in and around other intersections where for a brief period of time green comes on for pedestrians or indeed cyclists to let them advance into the intersection and cross before the green light comes on for motor vehicles. That would be a good solution here. My constituents were lucky this time and are physically okay after the accident, but the next person may not be. This simple addition could prevent a tragedy from occurring whilst showing Ellie she can make a difference and improve pedestrian safety here and for others.