Pedestrian Crossing Still on the Table
Wallace Street on Saturday morning
Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and Palerang Council are still in discussions about the best additional pedestrian facility for Wallace Street, to be installed this financial year. RMS has confirmed that there are still two options on the table a ‘copy and paste’ version of our existing pedestrian crossing and an island crossing.
RMS understands that the community’s wishes for a pedestrian crossing is best for the town, however, RMS believes that statistically, pedestrian crossings are not the safest because pedestrians expect the cars and stop.
RMS would like to put the onus on the pedestrian to make the judgement when they cross the road instead of the driver being guaranteed to see the pedestrian when they are crossing at a pedestrian crossing. Drivers make mistakes. RMS needs to minimize the risks to both the driver and the pedestrian.
RMS has been putting in a lot of effort to get the best facility in the best location for Braidwood. Recently, RMS had cameras set up in four locations between the Duncan Street and Lascelles Street intersections on Wallace Street to record crossing behaviours of pedestrians including how fast, how often and where pedestrians crossed the road. This data and other information is now being assessed.
The typical profile of an island crossing (as seen in the Cooma or Goulburn main Street) would be two metres wide - enough for a parent with a pram or bicycle to stand safely in the middle of the road. There would be curb blisters with drainage underneath running from the footpath level to slope down to meet the road to leave a lane width of 4 metres wide for cars on either side.
Careful consideration is also being given to the impact on available car parking spaces and unused driveways. It is thought that at least two car park widths on either side of the road would be needed for the installation of an island crossing with kerb blisters.
RMS representatives are planning to meet with Palerang Councillors to discuss the options further.