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.