Q. What do you get when you put a zebra on top of a wombat?
A. A pedestrian crossing that divides the community.
The new pedestrian crossing on Mostyn Street in Castlemaine’s CBD, a wombat (a raised speed hump) with a zebra (thick, parallel white stripes) on top, was officially opened on Friday by MP Maree Edwards and council representatives. But residents have expressed scepticism about the crossing’s effectiveness, and local disability advocates are disappointed that their pleas for better visibility have not been adequately addressed.
Following sustained community advocacy to make the busy crossing safer, an $80,000 state government investment and community consultation, the work was undertaken. This included building the raised speed hump, a narrowing of the road, a reduction in speed, and improved lighting. Requests to remove a single car park nearest the crossing to improve visibility, particularly for small children and people in wheelchairs, were not granted; instead, the two closest car parks were allocated to ‘small vehicles only’, which is not always adhered to by motorists.
Mount Alexander Shire Disability Access Group member Cathy Wheel said that while the council could ask people not to park there, they could not enforce it.
“We are going to continue to have the problem of thoughtless parking there, blocking the vision, and people are going to continue to be at risk,” she said.
“MASDAG admits that the crossing is an improvement, but the visibility is still blocked by the cars.
“We’ve been advocating to get rid of that car park since 2016. It is just one car park, change that into a motorcycle, or bicycle park or remove it altogether, to avoid the risk of people being injured.
“There’s been a lot of near misses there. The vision is blocked because you can’t see through metal. Whether it’s a small metal car or a big metal car, you still can’t see through it to people crossing from north to south, not until they are right smack bang in front of you.”
Fellow MASDAG member, Lorraine Le Plastrier, an electric wheelchair user, said the crossing was a serious problem.
“I’ve had two near misses since the crossing, because they couldn’t see me in the wheelchair and I’m really frightened of a child running ahead of their mum and getting hit.
Council’s director of infrastructure and development, Michael Annear, said the council considered everyone’s opinions about the crossing, including safety, crossing infrastructure, parking and the surrounding area.
“The works here have improved the safety, and we’ve been able to maintain the parking, which is really critical for the CBD, with the reduction in the size of those vehicles,” he said.
“Managing parking is never easy, but our local law officers continue to observe that location, we continue to talk to Victoria Police about their role in managing adherence to road traffic rules, which include speeds along Mostyn Street and appropriate recognition of the pedestrian crossing, so it is a combination of different factors.”
Many community members have raised the idea of additional car parks in front of the Market Building, and Mr Annear told the Express that following the works on Fredrick Street, there were future plans to look at the area, which were already included in the Castlemaine Streetscape Plan.
