In 2013 we spoke to the local community about our plan to improve the intersection of West Street and Glenroy Road. The project did not go ahead due to community and trader feedback that any significant loss of car parking would impact the viability of the shops. The major upgrade works would have involved the loss of up to 12 car parks.

For this reason, we have carefully identified a range of traffic safety improvements for the West Street / Glenroy Road / Geum Street intersection that prioritises safety for all road users – including drivers, cyclists and pedestrians – while also keeping the loss of car park spaces to an absolute minimum.

We heard that car parking is a key concern and so the Final Concept Plan retains as many carparks directly in front of the West Street shops as possible. In summary, 9 car parks will be removed from the service road to:

• 8 car park spaces would be removed from the service road, to make existing pedestrian crossings safer and to improve accessible car parking bays

1 parallel park on West Street will be removed to improve sightlines to the pedestrian crossing on West Street.

This car park loss is balanced with the creation of 3 new car parks located on the service road:

• 2 new car parks have been added at the closure of the exit from the service road to West Street in front of Payless Gifts. This exit and entry point is used less frequently than other entries/ exits.

• 1 new car park has been added at the northern end of the service road.

This would mean a total net loss of 6 car parks within the shops.

Large-scale modifications to the intersection were not pursued based on prior community concerns about significant loss of carparking.

The final plan includes a raft of proposed improvements to enhance the overall experience at West Street shopping strip, and balances the needs of those that walk, drive and cycle to the shopping strip.

The new works will include a refresh of traffic signs and line-marking, which will make it easier to navigate through the intersection.

Installing traffic signals at the West Street and Glenroy Road intersection would require a major simplification of the intersection and changes to the service road access, resulting in the loss of approximately 12 carparks. Based on prior community and trader feedback, this impact on carparking in the centre was not supported.

At peak hours many people rely on West Street to travel north - south by car. Installing a roundabout at the intersection would give equal priority to drivers travelling east - west when they access the shopping strip and Woolworths. This change to the intersection would significantly increase congestion and reduce travel times for people making essential trips such as school pick-ups and travel to work.

The Final Concept Plan includes a right turn ban from Geum Street onto West Street to reduce some congestion without diverting too much traffic onto side streets.

We heard a variety of opinions on turn bans, with some people requesting more bans at the intersection. Transport experts reviewed potential additional bans and we also undertook more traffic counts, to help us understand the impacts on surrounding streets. The side streets close to the West Street and Glenroy Road intersection are already busy local streets, with many drivers already choosing to avoid the busy intersection and access the shopping strip via side streets.

The two additional turn bans investigated were:

• Turn ban from West Street into the Service Road or;
• Right turn ban West Street onto Glenroy Road

Based on the traffic counts, transport experts advised that banning these very busy turning directions would

• Divert more traffic onto already busy residential side streets
• Significantly reduce access to the Shopping Strip and Woolworths by car

If the shopping strip is less accessible, shoppers may prefer to visit other centres/ shopping strips, therefore the additional bans have not been included in the Final Concept Plan.

The Woolworths supermarket and associated car park is a private landholding and not under Council control.

Although car parking in and around West Street is busy at peak times, there is parking available in side streets including Eileen, Middle, Geum, Stella and Glenroy Streets, all just a short walk to the shops.

The Final Concept Plan balances the needs of all customer and visitors to the centre, and also responds to community feedback calling for better pedestrian safety and access.

Council has no plans to buy or repurpose sites in or around the centre to provide for additional car parking spaces.

Where possible existing footpaths will be left in place, and pressure washed clean. Not replacing footpaths will dramatically reduce disruption. During the improvements we will ensure that contractors regularly communicate with traders and that all traders know who to speak to with concerns.

We heard that clean bins and footpaths are important to the presentation of the shops. Council is working to address concerns on street cleansing across all our shopping strips.

Bicycle infrastructure upgrades would require a major reconfiguration of the Glenroy Road and West Street intersection. The Concept Plan configuration will leave open the opportunity for bike path upgrades in the future.

The Final Concept Plan includes improvements to arrival points for cyclists, including safer crossings, more bike parking facilities.

Council sought traffic advice on the potential to close the west end of Eileen Street for community use. We found that retaining two-way vehicle traffic on Eileen Street is essential to the function of the local street network. Wider footpaths on either side of this intersection will provide more space for new shaded seating areas and will slow traffic moving between West Street and Eileen Street.

Undergrounding all the powerlines is beyond the budget of this project. Council will investigate converting one low voltage powerline to an aerial bundled cable. This change is more affordable and could make space to plant much larger and shadier street trees.

The existing trees are relatively small, provide little benefit in terms of shade and are in some cases unsafe due to eye level branches. Council will propose more appropriate street tree species within the centre to maximise green canopy and shade and provide clear sight lines throughout the centre.