|
More Pedestrian Refuges For Northgate Ward
There is a new focus on pedestrian safety in Brisbane’s suburbs, with properly designed pedestrian refuges proving to be an efficient and safer alternative to the traditional zebra crossing.
On zebra crossings, pedestrians tend to assert their rights over cars on the roads, sometimes with catastrophic results for the pedestrian.
Council’s Traffic Management Section studies have found that State and Local authorities in Australia and overseas, believe that zebra crossings generally do not provide the level of safety expected or required by pedestrians.
Pedestrian refuge islands improve safety for pedestrians and motorists by placing the onus on the pedestrian to select a suitable gap in one direction of traffic flow at a time. The refuge is used as a shelter between each stage of the crossing. The number of suitable gaps for crossing is significantly increased with a refuge, since the crossing is made in two stages. Additionally, the refuge provides a more constrained driving environment that is conducive to lower vehicle speeds. Vehicle/pedestrian and vehicle/vehicle collisions are greatly reduced, compared to traditional crossings.
Councillor Flesser said, "Pedestrian refuges are recognised as a great advancement for pedestrian safety - I will be making further representations to the Council to have them installed where appropriate within Northgate Ward". |
|
Our Council Ward
Our Suburbs
|
