Rail crossing safety upgrade

GEMBROOK MP Tammy Lobato said the rail pedestrian crossing over the railway intersection with Clyde Road, Berwick, would be upgraded as part of the 200708 works program.
Ms Lobato said this would significantly improve safety for pedestrians, people in wheelchairs and the elderly.
She said the work was part of the Victorian Government’s Pedestrian Crossing Upgrade Program and that VicTrack would undertake the works.
“The pedestrian crossing will feature full height, active pedestrian gates triggered by the approach of a train and audible warning where it currently has crib arrangement with signage, without active gates or audible warning.”
“This will greatly improve safety and help to reduce pedestrian injuries, and the potential for fatalities, and improve disability access across the rail line,” Ms Lobato said.
Ms Lobato said the upgrade was expected to cost about $260,000.
“The work requires the skills of highly trained technicians and engineers and extensive consultation among a number of stakeholders.
“The Victorian Government is undertaking a fouryear program to improve the safety of railway crossings for pedestrians.
“As announced in the transport and liveability statement, Meeting Our Transport Challenges, the Government will accelerate the pedestrian crossing upgrade program from 200607, as part of a $208.7 million boost for railway crossing safety.
“The Pedestrian Crossing Upgrade Program includes the upgrade of 230 regional and 479 metropolitan pedestrian crossings to new disability access standards over the coming years.
“I ask drivers and pedestrians to take extra care at railway crossings.
“To ensure the safety of level crossings people also have to be responsible for their own safety and ensure that they use the crossings appropriately and obey the warning signals,” she said.