Traffic lights for Fitzsimons Lane and promised at last election appear they won't be what people expect.

At the last election two promises made by the Liberal member for Bulleen were for traffic lights at Golden Way/Bulleen Road in Bulleen and Fitzsimons Lane/Porter Street Templestowe.

According to one article on the internet for the five year crash data to 2010, there were 3 accidents at Golden Way and 8 at Fitzsimons Lane. The following is an excerpt from Google search results.

30 May 2011 – VicRoads' five-year crash data to 2010 recorded eight crashes, two ... the Porter Street and Fitzsimons Lane intersection in Templestowe. Three crashes occurred at the Bulleen Road and Golden Way intersection in Bulleen.

For the five year period of 2007-2011, if I read the statistics correctly, there were 2 crashes at Golden Way/Bulleen Road and 8 crashes at Fitzsimons Lane/Porter Street.

That is there were two to four times the number of crashes at the Fitzsimons Lane roundabout and yet it received a lower priority. These crashes are casualty crashes where people are injured. There would be many more crashes where vehicles are damaged.

Now if you read the following it appears the Fitzsimons Lane roundabout won’t get a full set of traffic lights as I suspect most people would have felt should be there and certainly what I expected when the Liberals promised traffic lights at Golden Way and the Fitzsimons Lane roundabout.  

VicRoads acting regional director Anita Curnow said details of planned improvements were being finalised. "The proposal is to add metering traffic signals on each roundabout approach to allow much more control over how the roundabout operates," she said.... Read More

By the time people generally hear about the plans it is too late. We’ve seen how VicRoads has crippled the Hawtin Street/Foote Street intersection. Residents in the area were made aware of the changes (I personally dropped hundreds of leaflets) and the increased danger of the additional lane, but it isn’t real to most people until the changes are made. I didn’t even realise the median strip would be removed making it much more difficult to cross Foote Street in a vehicle. Since then multiple people have raised partitions but the median strip, which would enable cars to move safely into the middle of the Foote Street has still not returned.

If the Fitzsimons Lane/Porter Street intersection is important to you, then make sure your voice is heard. Whether you are for or against traffic lights instead of the roundabout, make your voice heard.

- Kelvin Eldridge
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