A connected and safer pedestrian and cycling footpath environment
Map of footpath issues at Maroondah Highway / Yarra Road
Due to complexities associated with the layout of the intersection and constraints within the road reserve, there is no formal footpath network within the vicinity of the signals despite the provision of controlled crossings at Maroondah Highway and Yarra Road. The missing footpath link is shown in the dashed blue line.
This is a particularly poor outcome for accessible users that require a firm and even footing. Pedestrians are further exposed to non-standard low angle slip lane crossings (red arrows).
A safer left-turn movement from Yarra Road to Maroondah Highway
Image showing merge lane issues
The existing left-turn slip and merge lane from Yarra Road to Maroondah Highway is non-standard and does not provide a safe or logical merge movement for motorists. There is only approximately 50m of merge lane length measured from the tangent point of the curve which is insufficient for a significant portion of motorists to merge safely on to Maroondah Highway. Motorists are often observed waiting in a stationary position near the end of the merge lane (illustrated in the image above) before attempting to merge into traffic travelling at up to 80km/h from a start-stop; this increases the likelihood of accidents such as rear-ends and side-swipes.
Crash statistics sourced from VicRoads Road Crash Information System database indicates there has been two reported casualty crashes associated with this merge movement within the last 5 years of available data. It is noted unreported crashes that do not involve injuries are likely to be significantly higher.
Improved traffic flow
There can be moderate congestion along this section of Maroondah Highway noting the significant residential catchments it is serving towards the north-east. Yarra Road can be notably congested during the school peak as it is fed by both Plymouth Road and Yarra Road downstream which serve five primary and secondary schools along the routes.
The proposed design provides the following capacity related improvements:
- controlled double left-turn lanes into Maroondah Highway from Yarra Road;
- extension of the existing double right-turn lanes into Maroondah Highway from Yarra Road allowing the movement to clear at the saturation rate;
- double right-turn lanes from Maroondah Highway into Kent Avenue; and
- and extended left-turn lane from Maroondah Highway into Kent Avenue.