Tuesday, 28 October 2025

 John PESUTTO (Hawthorn) (02:04): (1368) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. The action I seek is that the minister visit my electorate to discuss pressing road safety issues raised with me by my constituents. Firstly, I wish to raise concerns relayed to me by a number of constituents regarding the intersection of Riversdale and Glenferrie roads. Residents report that traffic coming from the city along Riversdale Road often accelerates downhill and turns right into Glenferrie Road at speed. This has created a dangerous situation, with pedestrians crossing between the Sacred Heart op shop and the local pharmacy. One constituent has witnessed numerous near misses, including a recent incident in which a pharmacy staff member was struck, fortunately sustaining only minor injuries. The issue appears to stem from vehicles turning right while pedestrians have a green signal. A simple but effective improvement would be to install a dedicated right-turn arrow, ensuring that vehicles face a red arrow when the pedestrian light is active.

Secondly, I also wish to raise the broader safety issue around trams, in particular along route 72 between Camberwell station and stop 56. A constituent recently wrote to me describing a disturbing pattern of motorists overtaking trams while their doors are open and passengers are boarding or alighting, most recently only this morning. Despite the warning bells and flashing lights, vehicles continue to speed through. One incident cited occurred at stop 57 at 5:12 pm on 13 October 2025, when two cars ignored tram signals within seconds of each other. Another, just the other night, saw the tram driver, perhaps ill advisedly, get out of his tram to confront a motorist. My constituent reported afterwards that the driver felt that in his experience, even if reported, nothing would happen. As the minister is no doubt aware, these are not isolated cases but a daily occurrence. My constituent has suggested that Yarra Trams, VicRoads and the Department of Transport and Planning explore deploying compliance cameras on trams to drive greater compliance going forward. Such enforcement, alongside community education, is essential before a tragedy occurs on one of our busiest tram corridors.