Belgrave Town Centre Study

04Traffic Movement4.5 Improving PedestrianFacilitiesThe topography of Belgravecreates a challenging environmentfor pedestrians. The barriercreated by the Railway Line andthe secluded location of keyland marks such as the RailwayStation and Puffing Billy add tothe problem.Pedestrian permeability throughthe township would be greatlyimproved by linking the MainStreet precinct with the PuffingBilly / Bayview Road precinct. Thecurrent situation creates somedifficulties because:• The Belgrave-GembrookRoad leg of the Main Streetroundabout has two standuplanes, which createsa wide crossing distancefor pedestrians (only onenarrow lane per direction isthe preferred arrangement).Also the leg is steep on itsapproach to the roundaboutso visibility to pedestrians isreduced and speeds increaseas vehicles accelerate to enterthe roundabout.• The Belgrave Motors entrancedriveway on Belgrave-Gembrook Road is verywide and sight lines betweenpedestrians and exitingvehicles is poor.• The new roundabout willbetter control traffic throughthe Belgrave-Gembrook Road/ Old Bayview Road / OldMonbulk Road intersection,but there has been noprovision for pedestrian prioritycrossings 4 .• Maintaining adequate trafficflow along Belgrave-GembrookRoad remains a priority ifqueues and delays throughBelgrave are to be maintainedat acceptable levels.Despite the challenges, there isample opportunity to create asafe and friendly environmentfor pedestrians in Belgrave if abalanced approach to the roadnetwork is taken. In particular, thedesign of the new roundaboutshould not only consider thefunctional classification ofthe roadway corridor, but allother types of road users, andaccommodate them in a safe andlogical manner.The conventional notion thatroundabouts are bad forpedestrians should not preventgood design from achieving arange of objectives.Some advantages of roundaboutsover other intersections are:• Vehicle speeds are reduced• Pedestrians have fewer conflictpoints• Splitter islands and resultingpedestrian refuges allowpedestrians to focus on onedirection of traffic at a time• Crossing movements can beaccomplished with less waittime than at conventionalintersections with manyprotected phasesSome design elements toconsider include:• Modified designs to slowvehicles• Where capacity permitsprovide single lanes only• Zebra crossings• Signal controlled crossings• Raised crossings, especiallyon exit lanes• Departure lane crossings setback from the yield line toallow some vehicle storageclear of the roundabout• Offset entry and exit crossingsto create staged crossings• Well defined walkway edgesfor wayfinding• Perpendicular crossings• High contrast pavements• Tactile markings• DDA compliant ramps• Bollards or architecturalfeatures to indicate crossinglocation• Pedestrian lightingWith these concepts in mind,options to improve pedestriansafety and amenity in Belgraveinclude the following:• Investigate options to createa formal pedestrian crossingalong Belgrave-GembrookRoad in the vicinity of the newroundabout to create a safeand convenient travel pathbetween Belgrave’s two keyprecincts.• Further to this, investigateoptions to improve pedestriansafety and priority atthe existing Main Streetintersection, and include highstandard pedestrian designin any redevelopment of theBelgrave Motors site.• Investigate further narrowingthe roadway at the existingpedestrian signals along MainStreet by extending the kerbs.This would further reduce thetravel path for pedestriansalong the roadway and assistin keeping vehicle speeds lowalong the Main Street.• Any future redevelopment ofthe Belgrave Motors site torelocate vehicular access fromBelgrave-Gembrook Road toMonbulk Road.• If adequate pedestrianfacilities cannot be achievedat the existing Main Streetroundabout,consider theintroduction of traffic signalsto accompany the BelgraveMotors site redevelopment.4 Council informs us that formal pedestriancrossings are being considered for the sideroad legs (pending funding) but not for the mainBelgrave-Gembrook Road legs.WOODSBAGOT.COMBelgrave Final Report - | April 2010 | Page 32