Road safety upgrades for Barwon Heads near completion

Upgrades to help improve traffic flow and make Barwon Heads a safer place to walk, cycle and move are nearing completion.

By early April, new speed signage will be fully installed with the aim of promoting the shared use of local roads and a pedestrian-friendly environment. Following feedback from the community, Sheepwash Road will return to a 50 km/h speed limit, while side streets connected to the road will receive Area 40 signage, which applies to all roads within a designated zone.

The signage works are part of the broader Local Area Traffic Management project in Barwon Heads to improve community safety, reduce crash risks, manage increased traffic flow, and discourage non-local and through-traffic from residential streets.

We’ve already installed raised intersections on Ozone Road at Margate Street and Seaview Avenue, with the raised intersections designed to help slow down vehicles and improve safety for all road users.

On Seaview Avenue, speed humps have also been added to slow down traffic and improve safety.

A mini roundabout has also been installed at Hitchcock Avenue and Geelong Road to reduce the likelihood of crashes, simplify traffic movements and create safer crossing points for pedestrians and cyclists.

Together, these upgrades will help manage growing traffic volumes, reduce vehicle speeds, create safer residential streets and encourage active methods of transport across Barwon Heads.

These works have been funded through the Victorian Government’s $210 million Safe Local Roads and Streets Program.

In May 2020 we asked the community to provide their concerns relating to traffic, parking and active travel within the Barwon Heads area. We have used this feedback, along with traffic counts and parking occupancy data, to develop some possible solutions in answer to community concerns within the area.

Stage Two engagement was completed in December 2020 and sought community feedback on the possible solutions that have been developed. These proposals received strong community support and we’ve incorporated the community’s feedback on the proposals where needed.

We’ve now developed the draft report for the study, and an implementation plan with actions and recommendations for the project. We are now seeking any final community feedback on the reports.

You can find a copy of the full report in the Document Library. As the report is quite long, we've also developed a summary document which is also provided in the Document Library.

The summary document shows some of the key parts of the report, including:

• What we heard during stage 1 community engagement
• What the data tells us about traffic and parking in Barwon Heads
• What we heard during stage 2 community engagement
• The proposed implementation plan of the proposed

Contributions to Stage 2 engagement has closed. We've reviewed all the feedback and received some very valuable comments for the proposed actions which have informed the draft report.

Thanks to everyone who contributed.

You can click on the icons on the map to see the proposed actions.

– City of Greater Geelong owned roads with proposed changes

– Regional Roads Victoria (RRV, formerly VicRoads) owned and managed roads

– Other information

Contributions to this Stage 1 of this engagement have closed and have been evaluated. This feedback has been used to inform the proposals developed for Stage 2 Engagement.

The City of Greater Geelong sought community feedback to inform the Barwon Heads Transport and Parking Study in May 2020.

We heard from local residents, business owners and regular visitors about key transport, parking and pedestrian issues or opportunities relating to Council-managed roads in Barwon Heads.

We have used this feedback to inform the proposed treatements for the Barwon Heads Transport and Parking Study. This plan promotes sustainable transport, improves pedestrian and cycling accessibility, enhances safety and reviews parking conditions for the benefit of the community now, and in the future.

We heard from the community on topics including:

• Parking options, including current parking time limits
• Access to and from school
• Speed limits
• Pedestrian and cycling networks, including crossing points
• Congestion and delays in peak periods
• Road surface types (coastal vs formal treatments)

Thank you to those you took the time to contribute to Stage 1 engagement for this project.