Traffic on Arterial Roads May Meeting 2019
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Traffic on Arterial Roads May Meeting 2019

MAY MEETING – TRAFFIC ON ARTERIAL ROADS IN AND AROUND BARWON HEADS.
 
We welcomed  back Regional Roads  representatives Mark Tonkin and Fiona Simpson. They presented a detailed summary of the actions taken over summer to protect pedestrian amenity, ensure orderly traffic movement and reduce delays through our little town. We were amazed that the number of pedestrians crossing at the Bridge Road pedestrian crossing between 7am and 7pm was 6780 people, and the hourly count was a maximum of 954 people between 11:30 and 12:30 on 29 December 2018. To put that in context, Christmas day only recorded 654 pedestrians at the crossing 7am to 7pm, which was the lowest during the count time period (20 Dec-6 Jan). Apparently this is more than other coastal areas and more pedestrian activity than busy times in central Geelong.

Only 10% of the cars travelling from the Ocean Grove side stopped in town and 14% of cars from Geelong. We are therefore very much a thoroughfare for cars and trucks. We all know that there are hot days in summer when there is significant traffic at the end of the day with lots of beach users. The traffic delays increase and “traffic stops still when summer heats up”. Regional Roads advised that for the Xmas New year period there was an average time per trip of 7 minutes from Ocean Grove to Barwon Heads; the longest time experienced was 20 minutes.

There three initiatives to improve traffic flow, which were all successful.

  • Traffic Controllers – made a positive impact at the Bridge Rd pedestrian crossing. It was agreed that on public holiday weekends and during the year traffic controllers should also be considered.
  • Installation of a Wi-Fi Monitoring system and the VMS board located at Ocean Grove showed travel time information worked well and was accurate.
  • Left turn lane into Ewing Blythe Drive.-  reduced delays from vehicles turning right.

 
What now?

Regional Roads will be briefing Lisa Neville on the results. In light of the results this year the BHA strongly support the application for ongoing funding for this resource every year.  There is a possibility of something in May budget. We know that this project has been driven by Lisa Neville and it has her strong support. We thank her for that and hope she will support future funding applications. Cost is approx. $800 per day for 2 controllers. We also discussed whether there were opportunities for sponsorships from local businesses.
 

For regional Roads Barwon Heads Traffic Improvements Report click here