Our Neighbourhood hub could be more pedestrian and people-friendly.  It could be a place where people like to linger, chat with neighbours and do more of their shopping, dining and attend to their medical needs.

Speed Limit

Central Moorooka, or Morevale as it is known to some, recently reduced its speed limit on Beaudesert Road to 50 kl/hr.  It has also been beautified with some greenery.

Currently the speed limit of 60 km/hr on Orange Grove Road (between Musgrave and Boundary Roads) in Coopers Plains is incongruous with the street front activity:  There are shops, churches, neighbourhood and day care centres, bus stops and the library.  Cars and people are regularly coming and going and crossing the street. 

Results of several weeks of on-the-street canvassing revealed a vast majority of people who live and work in the area support traffic calming, including lowering the speed limit.  Comments include, “Definitely.” “It’s a rat run.” “It’s dangerous.” Last week, six speeding tickets were issued over a four hour (afternoon) period on Orange Grove Road near Musgrave Road. The mobile camera was deployed as a result of the number of incidents reported over the past 12 months. A review of crash statistics for the past twenty years show there have many incidents requiring hospitalization on Orange Grove Road between Musgrave Road and Bosworth Street. Cr Steve Griffiths has indicated his support for a review of the speed limit.

Angle Parking Bays

The angle parking bays help slow traffic down, but they need work to make them safer and more convenient.  It is more dangerous to back out of them than it is to back into them. Therefore, signage needs to be erected requiring vehicles to rear-in only.  To facilitate this, a solid line should be drawn down the middle of the road to allow room to maneuver and discourage drivers from crossing the road to park front first from the other side of the road. Exiting the parking bays front first, with the flow of the traffic is safer than backing out. Exiting vehicles could cross the road to join the lane going in the opposite direction. This would help them avoid doing a u-turn at nearby street intersections. Additionally, the wheel stops are not installed correctly. They need to be realigned at right angles to the lanes. This facilitates easier parking particularly if vehicles have rear view cameras installed.  It would also get the vehicles further in, away from the road.

Pedestrian Crossing

Another pedestrian crossing is needed at the shops where Little Forest Cafe and the men’s hair salon is. This could be a zebra crossing (which would slow northbound vehicles speeding downhill). Or it could be an island crossing similar to the one in front of the library. The pedestrian crossing would allow drivers to access shops on both sides of the road without reparking their vehicles.

Right Turn Signal

The signalized intersection of Orange Grove Road and Musgrave Road is somewhat treacherous for turning vehicles and pedestrians. Southbound traffic on Orange Grove Road tends to speed downhill in the left lane when vehicles are paused on the right lane to turn into Musgrave Road to get through the lights, causing a hazard for northbound vehicles seeking to turn right into Musgrave Road. Pedestrians are at risk as well. Turning arrows in the signals are required.

Illustrated Possibilities

Here is an illustration of some of the traffic-calming proposals

Coopers Plains Shopping Plaza needs some work to make it more appealing. Shoppers would spend more time and money there if it was beautified. Trees and outdoor seating in front of the cafes and restaurants draw people in. Space could be made for these features by narrowing the road to a one way street with parking at the rear. This would allow more space at the shop fronts for pedestrians and bicycle and disability parking. Note this land is privately owned and discussion of these ideas have not yielded results. The land was rezoned Neighbourhood Zone a few years ago. This is an illustration only:

Meeting – Call For Supporters & Volunteers

A meeting will be held for those interested in supporting this initiative next Wednesday. It will be at 6pm at the Coopers Plains Library Meeting Room (at the back) on the 27th of November.  Please come if you can volunteer some time collecting signatures to a petition. You may RSVP by commenting on this post.

Overkill At The Overpass

Next year TMR will begin construction on the Boundary Road Overpass at the railway level crossing. The current design (Option 2) will increase traffic through our neighbourhood hub. Canvassing up and down Orange Grove Road over the past month indicates that those who live and work in our neighbourhood are concerned. Consultations that TMR conducted with the community were rushed. Now that people have had time to think about it, many believe that the flow on effects were not adequately taken into account. The merits of the first Option TMR offered (Option 1 below), are only now being fully appreciated. For more details, please read Overkill At The Overpass.