Tuesday, 3 February 2026

 John PESUTTO (Hawthorn) (20:42): (1497) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for the minister to visit the intersection of Burwood Road and Church Street in Hawthorn with me to inspect the damaged pedestrian safety barrier at that location and provide a solution. Burwood Road and Church Street in Hawthorn is one of the busiest and most complex intersections in my electorate. It sits at the centre of Hawthorn’s retail and transport precinct, adjacent to tram stops, local businesses and residential streets, and is used every day by students attending Hawthorn West Primary School, older residents, parents with prams and people with mobility challenges. I myself travel through this intersection almost every day, and I see the obvious hazards. It is an intersection where pedestrian safety is not optional, it is essential. For some time now the pedestrian safety barrier at this intersection has been damaged and left in a severely compromised state. That barrier plays a critical role in guiding pedestrian movements, discouraging unsafe crossings and providing a physical separation between people on foot and fast-moving traffic. When it is damaged, the risks are obvious and immediate.

My office has raised this issue repeatedly on behalf of local residents. Despite my constituents raising this matter with the department, our community is yet to see visible progress on repairs. In the meantime, pedestrians are left navigating a less protected environment at a location where traffic volumes are high and driver behaviour can be unpredictable. My Hawthorn community quite reasonably expects that damaged safety infrastructure at a major arterial intersection will be treated as a priority. Leaving a known hazard unresolved undermines confidence in the system and unnecessarily exposes pedestrians to risk. That is why I raise this matter with the minister tonight, so that the condition of the pedestrian safety barrier at Burwood Road and Church Street is properly acknowledged and addressed and the safety of pedestrians in Hawthorn is restored without further delay.