Traffic lights have again been rejected as a way to improve safety for pedestrians, including school students, who dodge between cars outside Menai Marketplace.
Up to 35 pedestrians an hour, along with a motorised wheelchair user, were observed crossing Menai Road during a traffic survey conducted by Sutherland Shire Council.
The council’s Traffic and Traffic Safety Committee considered several options before accepting a staff recommendation to construct a pedestrian refuge on Menai Road, near bus stops about 40 metres west of the roundabout with Carter Road and Allison Crescent.
The traffic survey, which took place on a weekday afternoon from 2pm to 4pm found about 1000 vehicles per hour travelled in each direction on Menai Road.
During this period, 20-35 pedestrians per hour crossed Menai Road between the roundabout and the driveways of the Fire & Rescue NSW and the NSW Ambulance stations.
“Increased pedestrian activity was observed around 3.30pm, which can be attributed to buses carrying school students,” the staff report said.
“Pedestrians were observed to select gaps in the traffic streams caused by natural lulls in traffic flow.
“A motorised wheelchair was observed to use the driveways of the fire stations and ambulance station to cross Menai Road in two stages.”
The report said the council regularly received requests to improve pedestrian accessibility at the site.
“Signalisation at the roundabout was previously investigated but cannot be justified on a cost / benefit basis,” the report said.
“A mid-block signalised pedestrian crossing was also found to have a number of disadvantages.
“A [Zebra] pedestrian crossing is not permitted due to the multi-lane nature of Menai Road.
“It is therefore proposed to provide a pedestrian refuge to improve conditions for pedestrians.”
The report recommended the work be further scoped, costed and listed for consideration for inclusion in a futureTraffic and Transport Works Program.
The report said there were four reported crashes at the roundabout in the five year period ending June 2016, but none had involved pedestrians.
There had been no reported crashes on Menai Road between Carter Road and Old Illawarra Road in that period.
The report said the installation of traffic signals was considered in 2015.
“The model results showed that the traffic signals would perform worse than the existing roundabout, with problematic queue lengths on Allison Crescent,” it said.
“In addition, the signalisation would require significant geometric improvements with the addition of numerous exclusive turn lanes.”
“This option was not further pursued due to the prohibitive cost and negative consequences.”
The report said a mid-block signalised pedestrian crossing, about 50 metres west of the intersection, was also modelled.
However, modelling found it would cause queue backup into the roundabout.
The report said a Zebra crossing was not considered because they were not permitted in NSW on roads with two or more marked travel lanes in the same direction.
