Perth Voice Interactive

BEDFORD residents want Beaufort Street made safer for children and elderly pedestrians.

Alana Culverhouse is lobbying Bayswater city council to install a central median island at the Bedford end of the street and a dedicated pedestrian phase at the Grand Promenade lights. She also wants speed reduced to either 50 or 40kph.

“As a parent, trying to teach children about road safety without dedicated pedestrian lights is extremely difficult…”

“There are a number of young children who will be attending Inglewood primary school in the coming years and the lack of appropriate pedestrian signals make it very dangerous for children to understand when it is safe to cross,” she says.

“As a parent, trying to teach children about road safety without dedicated pedestrian lights is extremely difficult when all learning materials feature the green crossing man.”

Ms Culverhouse says long-time locals have noticed an increase in both the number of cars and the speed they travel.

She’s submitted a petition to council asking for the safety measures. Council staff are opposed, telling councillors pedestrian phasing is “considered sufficient” and median islands are impractical. They’re backing minor modifications to improve visibility costing about $2500 and will ask WA police to consider installing a red light camera. “We need to address these concerns as a priority and as a matter of public safety,” Ms Culverhouse says. The safety issues go before council later this month.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK