Wrong way, go back, council told

KINGBOROUGH Council will cease its one-way traffic trial on Kingston Beach esplanade in a fortnight, after the exercise failed to slow traffic speed.

The council will end the trial on beachfront Osborne Esplanade and Balmoral Rd on Wednesday, August 15, after the four-month test.

Kingborough Mayor Steve Wass said half of the respondents to a council poll on the issue thought the street should revert back to two-way.

More than 415 residents, businesses and visitors provided feedback.

“What the results [of submissions] proved to us was 50 per cent of respondents wanted it reversed, 42 per cent wanted to keep it, and 8 per cent were undecided.

“An interesting fact is that the traffic speed didn’t really alter during the trial,” he said.

Cr Wass said other considerations, such as road safety, implementation cost and the effect on local businesses also weighed in on the decision.

“By keeping it one-way we would need to install angle parking rather than [the current] 90degree-angle parking. And the staff report suggests we would lose 22 per cent of car parking on the beach as a result.

“Up to $35,000 would need to be spent on making it a permanent one-way system, which includes line marking.

“Of course it’s not a dollar figure driving the decision — road safety, and pedestrian and cyclist safety was taken into consideration.”

The council report also found a flow-on effect of traffic dispersing into neighbouring streets, with drivers using side streets to avoid making full laps of the block when searching for parking spots.