THE pedestrian lights near St Macartans’s Primary School in Bungower Road, Mornington could be turned on “before the end of June”.
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s infrastructure projects manager Derek Rotter, said the lights had taken longer than expected due to the impacts of COVID-19 and the need to consult with external agencies, including the Department of Transport.
The department initially approved the design for the traffic lights, which were installed almost one year ago, but then requested additional works before they could be activated.
Rotter also said the department was procuring and installing its own equipment to link into the lights.
“We anticipate that works will be completed before the end of June and look forward to having these lights switched on,” he said.
The lights and associated works, paid for and managed by the shire, are believed to have cost around $400,000 and were expected to ease the congestion issues on Bungower Road, near St Macartans and Racecourse Road.
The shire has completed a road safety audit and has finalised the design in discussion with the DoT and is now working with the department to complete the works and the programming of the pedestrian signals.
To make the crossing safe the shire has installed “puffin” (pedestrian user-friendly Intelligent) detectors, lanterns at the pedestrian crossing and “stop here on red signal” signs.
First published in the Mornington News – 10 May 2022
