400 sign up for bridge battle
DRUMCONDRA residents fighting to improve safety on a busy Geelong West bridge have amassed hundreds of signatures in support of a pedestrian overpass.
A petition with 400 signatures calls for safety upgrades on the Church Street bridge, known as the Telegraph Bridge, citing concerns over narrow footpaths and lack of safety barriers. Resident Pam Colenso said the group had organised letter drops to households and local businesses and canvassed for signatures around town.
“We’ve had a great response from everyone we’ve been talking to,” she said.
“If we don’t rally behind the project and support change, how can our elected leaders move forward on this issue?”
The bridge was constructed in 1971 during upgrades to the nearby Princes Freeway.
The petition includes a request for a separate pedestrian overpass to be built next to the existing bridge, with a 1.5m guardrail on the existing bridge as an interim measure.
“There is no footpath on the south side of the bridge nor cycle lanes on the road due to the narrowness of the width of the bridge,” it reads.
“There are no safety barriers separating pedestrians from motorists. The nearest option to cross the six-lane Princes Highway and two-lane railway line is from Mercer Street, Geelong over 900m away.”
Department of Transport Barwon southwest regional director Vanessa Schernickau said in January that measures had been taken to slow traffic.
“We’ve taken action to improve safety on the Telegraph Bridge for all road users by reducing the speed limit to 50km/ h to help reduce the likelihood of serious collisions and provide added protection for pedestrians and cyclists,” she said. “Pedestrian warning signs have also been installed.”
THEY offered hope to drought-ravaged Dubbo, rubbed shoulders with then Governor-General Peter Cosgrove in Sydney and rode an iconic Melbourne tram.
But while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s tour of Australia in 2018 was an overwhelming success — with the duchess the star of the show — Harry has now claimed Meghan’s popularity Down Under sparked jealousy in the royal family, in the same way Princess Diana’s triumphant tour of Australia did in 1983.
“It really changed after the Australia tour,’’ he told Oprah in yesterday’s interview.
“It was also the first time the family got to see how incredible she was at the job.”
Princess Diana’s torment in Australia was detailed at length in the latest series of Netflix drama The Crown.
While there are some criticisms that the TV show took poetic licence with plots, Harry hinted that it was on the money when dealing with his mother’s tour Down Under.
When asked about the show, which airs on the streaming service the couple now have a contract with, Harry said: “I’ve watched some of it. We’ve watched some of it.” He added he was disappointed Meghan’s popularity, like his mother’s, was not embraced.
“I just wish that we would all learn from the past,” he said. “But (it was good) to see how effortless it was for Meghan to come into the family so quickly, in Australia, and across New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga, and just be able to connect with people in such a (way).”