Fun Ideas for Safer Crossings

At our evening meeting a few weeks back, Jodie put forward some fun ideas we could do to add a bit of colour to crossings and places we care about.  Here they are:


"This is a great SPOT for a pedestrian crossing!"

• to ‘tag’ the place where the pedestrian crossing should go, 
• to slow traffic and make walking safer, 

An example of children's sticker art facilitated by Yayoi Kusama

Drawing literally, on the idea of the ‘spot’ for a pedestrian crossing, spot stickers of various sizes and colours are stuck on the footpath either side of the road to indicate where we would like the crossing. The spots will ‘pool’ around where people wait to cross the road creating an interesting piece of art. Children love sticking stickers, so with close supervision and support from their parents, this should be a lot of fun.


Pennant Garlands

• to provide a response activity to ‘The Prince’ story for Primary school aged children, allowing them to symbolise their presence as walkers
• to slow traffic and bring attention to the crossing place
• to provide information to children’s families about the crossing via the information and the permission form distributed by the schools

Street Pennant Garlands
(source http://stylemed.blogspot.com.au/2009_09_13_archive.html)

The pennant bunting flags would be displayed in a prominent spot at the proposed crossing.  The flags could be prepared as part of a school children's activity following a presentation of the story 'The Prince Who Walked To School' told by Walk On Moreland.  This story presents the importance of pedestrian advocacy in a narrative form. This activity can further engage school children by asking them to make pennants in a 'royal flag' theme.


Guerilla Gardening

• to slow traffic 
• to draw attention to the area as a place for people not just cars 
• to provide opportunity for a different group of people (gardeners - maybe older people?) to voice their need and make their presence felt as pedestrians. 

  

Pothole garden

Adding some living colour can make a place less harsh and adds a touch of fun to an otherwise busy street.  There are always slivers of unused ground in the vicinity of a proposed crossing that can be taken advantage of and turned into ‘garden’.

Walk on Moreland annual photography competition 

• to explore the issues of the ‘right to walk safely’ with the wider community.

Even musicians were pedestrians once.

Who will participate will depend on the categories but we could involve high school students, adults interested in photography and perhaps adults interested in digital art.  Secondly the exhibition of entries will provide a whole new audience.

Illustrating “The Prince who walked to school” together. 

• to provide opportunity for local primary school students to think about pedestrians needs.

A children’s story was written by Nataniel earlier this year to raise the issues of pedestrian safety. This story is in need of some illustrations and we would like to invite children at the local primary schools to provide illustrations to accompany the story. The finished book could then be printed and shared with the local schools and perhaps launched with a special reading and exhibition at the Coburg library.

Evening Meeting 20 June

Dear Pedestrians,

It's time to come together to meet each other, inspire each other with our ideas for a more walkable world, and to develop a vision for Walk On Moreland during the next year.

The evening will be part-workshop, part-meet&greet, part-infoshare, and its in a pub to also make it part-fun. Dinner is available from the bar.

We'll run the agenda more or less as follows.

1. Introduction
   Introduction to Walk On Moreland, including what got things started, where 'Walking In Freedom....' comes from, and the group's positioning in relation to Council to date.

2. The Members
   We'll invite everyone to introduce themselves, including any relevant experience, what drew you to the group, and what you're hoping to get from your involvement.

3. Street Decorations
   See examples of street art which can draw attention to safety issues and bring some play to otherwise dreary streets.

4. Council's Strategies
   Get a quick overview of Council's pedestrian strategy, budget, capital works program, and status of current planning work.

5. Vision Setting
   Let's throw around some ideas about what we want to achieve.  How do we want to bring about cultural change?  What's the best way to organise ourselves?

6. Actions
   Put your hand up to get involved in street decoration activities, community engagement, state
   government lobbying, website development, or research.

When and Where
   Wednesday 20th June, 7.00pm for 7.15 start, we should be finished by 9.00pm
   The Moreland Hotel, cnr Sydney Road and Moreland Road

Invitations
   Attendance is open to anyone.  If you can, RSVP so we have an idea on numbers.

If you have any suggestions please be in contact.  Hope to see you there!

Council Meetings and Budget

Dear Munro Street People, This update is mainly about Council Business and upcoming activities.  Have a great short week. Cheers, Nataniel. Letter to Mayor and Councillors Last week we wrote to Council to formally introduce the 'Walk On Moreland' group and to support encourage Council to fund improvements at the Munro Street crossing.  See the full letter here.  The key points were: Walk On Moreland has been established to support pedestrian-oriented decisions throughout Moreland, The Munro Street crossing has received support from 350 community members (signatures attached), Council's current strategy of completely relying on VicRoads for funding for Munro Street is risky, and Council should consider allocating funds towards the project, In the interim Council should reduce the speed limit on Munro Street to 40km/h, The letter included a 'Walk On Moreland' lapel badge for each Councillor - look out to see whether your favourite Councillor is sporting theirs! Council Meeting - 2012-13 Budget - Tuesday 12 June 6.00pm Council will decide on the 2012-13 Budget.  The budget includes about $4.4m for pedestrian infrastructure, which is a fairly good result.  See a quick comparison with Darebin and Yarra budgets here. The budget does not include any allocation for Munro Street, which is unfortunate but not unexpected, due to the early stage of the project design and most of the budget decisions having been made much earlier in the year.  Thanks to everyone who put in a budget submission on Munro Street, out of a total of 8 budget submissions, 5 were in support of Munro Street. Council Meeting - Principal Pedestrian Network - Wednesday 13 June 7.00pm Council will be asked to adopt a report on the 'Principal Pedestrian Network'.  This report includes the pedestrian priorty street network, and a list of 'potential pedestrian facilities' which require funding.  The Munro Street crossing is #1 on this list.  See the full reporthere (large download). Munro Street Activity Day - Wednesday 13 June 9.30-11.30am Despite this being a very busy week we'll go ahead with this.  We'll have a simple meet & greet.  If you're in the neighbourhood drop past to say hello.

Letter from Minister Mulder We received a letter from Terry Mulder, Minister for Roads, and from VicRoads last week, in reply to a letter we sent in March.  The general gist of the letter was that VicRoads does not see Munro Street as a priority. But luckily they're funding lots of pedestrian works in Footscray, Werribee, Narre Warren, and on the Peninsula Link Freeway.  See the letter here. Kelvin Thomson also received a similar letter.

Walk On Moreland Evening Meeting - 20 June We will hold our first evening meeting next Wednesday 20 June.  Come along to meet other pedestrians and help shape our vision and plan for the rest of the year.  For more info join our Members mailing list here.  Edinburgh Castle 7.00pm.

Munro St #5 - Budget Comments

Hi Everyone,

Another fairly busy few weeks, we can now report on Council's strategy for Munro Street and a few other happenings.  Thanks to everyone's support, every bit of encouragement and advice we receive is appreciated.

Council Budget - 11th hour chance to comment
Council's 2012/13 budget is open for comment until Monday 5th at 5.00pm.   The draft budget includes:
Roads & carparks $4.19m 
Footpaths & bikepaths $1.71m
Pedestrian safety & traffic islands $0.55m
Shopping centre footpaths and streetscapes (Coburg, Glenroy, Brunswick & others) $1.64m
Total Pedestrian & Cycling $3.9m
Total Capital Works Program $33.09m

I'd encourage you to make a brief online submission in support of the Munro Street Crossing.  What to include?  Simply state that the Munro Street crossing is dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists and urgently needs improvement, and that Council's budget should make allowance for this to be addressed as soon as possible.  If you've made a submission let me know.

Make a submission on Council's website http://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/about-council/have-your-say/community-consultation/proposed-council-budget-12-13.html. 


Munro Street Update
Over the last few weeks we've had various contacts with Council.  We've been informed that Council supports the crossing in principle, and that:
1. Council has prepared a concept layout for the proposal, which provides pedestrian operated signals allowing access across Munro Street between Railway Place and the Upfield Bike Path next to Dan Murphys. 
2. Council's funding strategy is to rely on VicRoads for all funding and detailed design work.  Council is in discussion with VicRoads to progress this.  Our correspondence with VicRoads (see below) indicates this may be a long process.
3. Council is concurrently pursuing a 40km/h speed limit in adjoining streets (although not on Munro Street).


Correspondence
We received a letter of response to the Minister for Transport and VicRoads, which states that funding for the Munro Street crossing is not likely to receive VicRoads funding.  While this may not be a definitive position, it is a strong indication that full funding is not going to be straightforward.

Council asked us to provide some quick input into their Principal Pedestrian Network plan.  I'll keep you posted on whether there's further chance to input to this.


Walk Safely To School Day at Moreland Primary School
Following from our Walk To School Day event we were invited to address the Moreland Primary School assembly.  We told a children's story about walking improvements, and asked the kids to think about what improvements they would most like to see in their neighbourhood.  Thanks Moreland PS!


Other 
You may be aware that Bicycle Network Victoria and Moreland Bicycle Users Group is running a campaign for increased bicycle infrastructure funding, including support for continuation of the Upfield Bike Path to the Western Ring Road, with the support of Christine Campbell MP.  If you'd like to support this campaign please see BNV or MBUG website.

Thanks everyone, keep in touch!

Nataniel & Team.

Walk Safely To School Day 2

We had a great time last Friday at Walk Safely To School Day at Munro Street.  We gave away T-shirts and yellow badges to about 15 kids on their way to school.  A big Hello to everyone we spoke to on the day.

Kelvin Thomson dropped past to lend his support, and to see first-hand the difficulty people have getting across Munro Street.  

We subsequently were invited to address the kids at Moreland Primary School today (Monday), where we asked the kids to think about what would make walking nicer in our neighbourhoods.  Thanks MPS!

Walk Safely To School Day with Kelvin Thomson MP, 18 May 2012

Thanks also to Antonine College for our badges, and to the Pedestrian Council of Australia for the T-Shirts.

Moreland Leader Article

We were featured in the Moreland Leader last week - you may have seen the article?

Walk On Moreland in the Leader Newspaper May 14, 2012

(PS yes well spotted we are advocating for a lower, not higher, speed limit at Munro Street)

Walk Safely To School Day

Walk Safely To School Day - Friday 18th May

This Friday we will be participating in Walk Safely To School Day.  Come and see us at the Munro Street crossing to support safer walking for children.

Cheers, Nataniel Wolfson and the Team.

   

Munro Street Supporters Update #4

9th May Munro Street Event Wednesday 9th May 9.30-11.30am, cnr Munro Street and Upfield Bike Path We'll be at Munro Street this Wednesday to promote the crossing improvement campaign.  If you are in the neighbourhood, come over to take part or help out with one of our activities: Decorate the Fairy Crossing.  Put your creative side to good use and help with cross-hatching and decorations to make the crossing a nicer place to walk past. Have a Say on what improvements you'd like to see at the crossing. Map Your Walking Neigbourhood and where are your favourite places to walk. Launch of our Letters Leaderboard where we keep track of the group's correspondence. Sign Up New Supporters for the campaign.  The aim of the roadside event is to create a bit of a buzz around this issue and involve the wider community.  The activities we're doing are intended to get people talking about what change is possible, and to encourage people to act in support of pedestrian improvements.  We will use community input to support our discussions with Council.  If you would to know more, see the campaign homepage or see you there! Council acknowledges importance of Munro Street crossing Council 'remains highly committed to improving protection for cyclists and pedestrians across Munro Street'. In a letter to Walk On Moreland, Council agreed on the importance of this crossing.  This is an important starting point for our campaign.  Other key points from Council's letter are: pedestrian operated traffic lights are the most suitable solution, a detailed design is needed to work out accurate costs, the community will be asked to have a say on the design, Council is in discussions with VicRoads and VicTrack to take the matter further. We are following up with Council to get clarification on several of these points.  Based on these discussions we will map out a way forward for the campaign.  Read the full letter on our Correspondence page here. Kelvin Thomson's Support Keeps On Giving Mr Thomson helps get us on the agenda with Council and Moreland Leader Thanks again to Mr Thomson for his support for this campaign.  His representations on our behalf to Council and the Moreland Leader have helped get us on the agenda with both parties.  Read correspondence between Kelvin Thomson and Moreland Mayor John Kavanagh here. New Mailing List and Privacy System We have moved to a professional mailing list system to ensure that your privacy is protected.  Your privacy matters.  Our new system ensures that your details are protected, and lets you choose which campaign emails you subscribe to.  Read our Privacy Statement here. 'Tell Me More...' To find out more you can Like us on Facebook, join our Walk On Moreland mailing list, send us an email, or visitwalkonmoreland.blogspot.com.au for info on: Our Vision Other walking improvement campaigns Munro Street campaign strategy Inspirational Places, including Yarraville Pop-up Park Advocacy toolbox Media Releases Upcoming events 'I Want To Help Out...' If you'd like to get involved in the Munro Street campaign, let us know.  You can: Help out with the Wednesday 9th May 9.30-11.30 campaign event, Help out with campaign focus areas such as pedestrian counts, community engagement, etc Write a letter to your local representatives, Also Walk To School Day is on Friday 18 May, let us know if you'd like to help out at Munro Street anytime between 8.00-9.00am.

Pedestrian CrashStats

The map below shows the location of all accidents involving pedestrians in Moreland, between 2006 and 2010, from VicRoads CrashStats records.  

Crashes involving pedestrians in Moreland, 2005-2010.  Source: VicRoads CrashStats

The map reveals that the biggest concentrations of crashes involving pedestrians occur on our major roads.  In addition there is a relatively even, if sparse, spread of crash sites throughout many parts of the local road network.  The following particular problem spots can be identified:

• Sydney Road
• Bell Street
• Lygon Street
• Glenroy shopping centre
• Coburg shopping centre
• Several other more localised clusters including Moreland Road near the freeway.

You can investigate this data for yourself via VicRoads' interactive map at http://crashstat1.roads.vic.gov.au/crashstats/crash.htm 

Munro Street Update #3

Dear Munro Street Crossing Supporters

170 Signatures added to Supporters List

On Wednesday we doubled our signatures list to 320 people in support of safety improvements at the Munro Street crossing.  This is a fantastic show of support. Welcome new people, and thanks to Victoria Walks and our members for their help.  

Photo: Meeting People on the roadside at Munro Street, 11 April 2012

Focus Areas for April

During April we will seek support and an audience with Moreland Councillors.  

To support these discussions, we are looking for people to help out with five focus areas.  If you have expertise or energy in any of these, please get in touch:

1. Munro Street Fairy Crossing, to bring some fun to the site and help the Fairies cross the road.  Think Fairies, yarnbombing, and plenty of colour.
2. Community Engagement, enlisting support from community organisations in the neighbourhood.
3. Pedestrian and Bicycle Counts, a group activity taking 6-8 people in 2 hour shifts
4. Background Research, including investigating similar projects, site history, and demographics.
5. Campaign Planning, 

Campaign Overview

We are advocating for a safe way for pedestrians and bicycles to cross Munro Street.  Ultimately we expect this will require  a full signalised intersection incorporating Railway Place, the Upfield Shared Path, and access to the Station carpark.  This is a difficult and expensive project.  

So far we have kept a fast pace with this campaign.  Our basic approach is to use a broad community support base to advocate for:

1. The current Council to fund a detailed feasibility study (mid-2012)
2. Co-funding agreements from Council and State government in 2013/14 budgets, using October Council elections as a catalyst.
3. In the interim, a speed limit reduction to 40km/h on Munro Street.

Stay in touch

Nataniel & Team.

Munro Street Supporters Update

Dear Supporters of the Munro Street Crossing Improvements Campaign

It's been a busy three weeks since we last collected signatures at Munro Street, so I thought I'd share with you some of what's been happening at Walk On Moreland.  As this is a particularly expensive and complicated intersection, we're expecting this campaign to continue for some time, so it's been great to get off to a really positive start....

Kelvin Thomson MP Supports Walk On Moreland

Kelvin Thomson (Federal Member for Wills) has indicated his support for Walk On Moreland and for the Munro Street Crossing improvements campaign, by making  representations on our behalf to Council, the Minister for Roads and the Moreland Leader.  We'll be continuing the discussion with Mr Thomson on our broader vision of improving pedestrian life in Moreland as a whole.  Thank you Mr Thomson!!

Munro Street Roadside Action #2 - Wednesday 11th April 3.30-5.30pm

We'll be out at Munro Street again next week, with the aim with the aim to re-connect with you and to broaden our reach into the wider community including:

• Launch the 'Munro Street Fairy Crossing' which highlights the immediate safety issues, especially for children,
• Hear from 'Victoria Walks' of lessons from similar campaigns elsewhere
• Find people interested in contributing to our current focus areas: 1. Community Engagement, 2. Pedestrian & Cyclist Counts, 3. Background Research, 4. The Fairy Crossing,
• Collect more signatures,

Support from Community Groups

Several community groups have shown their support for Walk On Moreland and the Munro Street campaign:

• 'Victoria Walks' charity for pedestrian advocacy has recognised us as a 'Walking Action Group', and will be onsite at Munro Street on the 11th,
• Moreland Bicycle Users Group has offered their support and advice for the campaign,
• Moreland Energy Foundation MEFL has profiled us in their April ZCM newsletter,
• TripleR's Grapevine show has given us a mention,

Letters Sent to VicRoads, Local Representatives, Council, and Minister for Roads

We sent out letters with the 150 signatures we collected in March attached.  Letter are now published in our Munro Street Letters section.  

Media Release Issued - Munro Street Crossing Improvements

We've issued a media release which draws attention to pedestrian life in Moreland and the Munro Street campaign in particular - see 'Media' section of website.

Join Walk On Moreland

If you'd like to get a closer look at what we're doing, consider joining us by typing in your email address at walkonmoreland.blogspot.com.au, or take a look at the 'Munro Street Crossing' section on our website.

I'd be pleased to hear from you by reply email or website comments.

Regards and see you soon - NW

MEDIA RELEASE

Community Group ‘Walk On Moreland’ Seeks Improvements to Unsafe Pedestrian Crossing on Munro Street, Coburg

Release: Friday, 30 March 2012

Pedestrian advocacy group Walk On Moreland is raising community awareness and promoting action on improved infrastructure to improve the safety and enjoyment of walking in Moreland.

The group’s catchphrase ‘Walking in freedom is the essence of human dignity’ sums up their stance on pedestrian advocacy as an issue of democratic rights.  

“The dangers in our streets [from cars] are present for all of us” says coordinator and local resident Nataniel Wolfson “however as a community we generally leave it to the pedestrians to take responsibility for avoiding these dangers.  The most vulnerable is responsible for avoiding the most dangerous.  And this is where Walk On Moreland draws the link between pedestrian advocacy and democratic rights.”

“Walking is fundamental to our wellbeing and happiness, yet almost everywhere we turn in our neighbourhoods, pedestrians feel like second class citizens” said Mr Wolfson.

The group especially highlights the experience of more vulnerable community members, such as children, the older people, or people with difficulty walking quickly or for long distances.  

To illustrate the point, Mr Wolfson suggests an experiment:  “Leave your house on a nice stroll during the day.  See how long it takes until you need to look out for your own personal safety, for fear of being hit by a car.  Or to have to negotiate your way around a light pole, a driveway, or a bin.  Then put yourself in the shoes of someone who could only walk half your speed, had trouble with steps, or couldn't anticipate a car's movements.  Now, try to cross a road.”

The group’s current focus is advocating for urgent safety improvements at the intersection of Munro Street, Railway Place and the Upfield Bike Path, in Coburg.  Walk On Moreland has identified this location as a major safety problem spot, with recent observations by the group showing that every hour each afternoon about 200 pedestrians and cyclists attempt to cross between 1,500 cars.  

To demonstrate the high level of community support for improvements here, the group recently collected 150 signatures from concerned community members, which they have used to seek support from Council and local representatives.

A roadside community gathering will be held at the Munro Street railway crossing on Wednesday 11^th April to promote the need for urgent safety improvements.  The goal is to raise community awareness and support for installation of a safe crossing such as traffic lights at this intersection.  Walk On Moreland invites all interested community members to drop past and add their support.

Join Walk On Moreland at the intersection of Munro Street, Railway Place and the Upfield Bike Path on Wednesday 11^th April 2012 from 3.30-5.30pm or visit our website walkonmoreland.blogspot.com.au or Facebook page for further details.

Media Contact: Nataniel Wolfson, Coordinator, Walk On Moreland,walkonmoreland@gmail.com, ph 0405354570.

Munro Street Crossing Petition - Where to from here?

Dear Munro Street Petition Signers,

Wow - what a fantastic response to our first petition signing session yesterday, thank you all for your support!!

We got about 150 signatures in just under 3 hours.  We heard a universal message that the Munro Street/ Railway Place/ Upfield Bike Path crossing is in urgent need of a safety upgrade.


So where to from here?

Your signatures will be attached to letters for:

• Hon. Terry Mulder, the Minister for Roads,
• Hon. Christine Campbell, Member for Pascoe Vale,
• Mr Gary Liddle, Chief Executive VicRoads. 

The letters request support for urgent safety improvements at the crossing, and will be published on this website over the next few weeks.  See the Munro Street crossing hotspot page for a similar letter we recently sent to Council.

We will map out an action plan based on their responses.


Joining Walk On Moreland 


I invite & encourage all of you to join Walk On Moreland.  This will enable us to organise more ambitious future actions and diversify our approach, and means over time we can broaden our outlook beyond a single location.

Several people indicated that they have previously lobbied for action at Munro Street.  I would be especially interested to hear from you so we can build on your previous work.  Ditto for people who indicated they're linked in with other likeminded groups.

You can join by simply re-submitting your email address via our website or by 'Liking' us on Facebook or Google.


Next Event

The next event will be a drop-in, information sharing, and signature gathering session at the cnr Munro Street/ Railway Place (ie same place) in four weeks time, Wednesday 11th April.  If you'd like to be involved in planning, join Walk On Moreland and we'll be in touch.


So thanks again and 'Let's Keep Walking (& Riding)'!  - NW

PS Please also note that several email addresses were hard to decipher, so apologies if you didn't receive this note by email - keep sending people to the website...

Sydney Road Street Party Stall

Hi Walkers!

We had a great time at the Sydney Road Street Party last weekend, thanks to everyone who stopped past to say hi.  It was a real buzz seeing the enthusiasm for the walking cause from everyone we spoke to.  

Walk On Moreland at the Sydney Road Street Party Sunday 4th March 2012 (Photo GK)

And what a fantastic setting to talk about the need for more streets for people, surrounded by thousands of people walking on one of our busiest roads.  What a great reminder of how much potential we have right here in our neighbourhoods to create great places for people.

I was encouraged by the huge cross-section of people who showed interest, from young & old, in prams & on foot, out partying or just taking in the sights, and even a few from nonna's with a twinkle in their eyes.  

Everyone seems to subscribe to the idea that wider footpaths, more crossings, and slower cars are a worthy cause which should be within our reach to achieve.

Walk On!! - NW  

PS. And thanks to the High School for Coburg people for lending us their stall.

"Walking in freedom is a cornerstone of human dignity"

Walk On Moreland is creating a walking culture in and around the suburbs of Moreland.  Through our actions we aim to make walking a safe, convenient, exciting, friendly, dignified and enjoyable way to get from A to B in Moreland.  


We have come together as a reaction to the dangerous, angry, noisy, and unpleasant mix of roads, cars, and drivers which is all too common in Moreland.  


We are a community organisation which works through community engagement, advocacy, and community action to progress our vision.  We see as our stakeholders all those who are pedestrians in Moreland, with special mention for the elderly, young children & families, people who have difficulty walking long distances, and people using a wheelchair, shopping trolley, pram or other mobility aid.


We welcome all those who share this vision to join us.