By Alesha Capone
Road space is being used to create a pop-up shared zone for pedestrians and cyclists in Werribee, under a Wyndham council trial which will run for five months.
The pop-up shared zone has created a three-kilometre loop that connects to the Werribee River shared path and Chirnside Park, allowing people to exercise while social distancing.
From this week, a portion of the road along Greaves Street South will be transformed into the shared zone, with the speed limit for adjacent traffic already lowered to 40 kilometres per hour to allow walkers and cyclists to safely exercise.
The loop also includes Melanie Drive and Tesron Court, where the speed limit has been reduced to 20 kilometres per hour.
The council’s director of city design and liveability, Ludo Campbell-Reid, said the low traffic volumes in the area and excellent connections to Wyndham landmarks made Greaves Street South a great choice for the trial.
“With the advent of COVID-19, we’ve seen more people out walking and cycling than ever,” Mr Campbell-Reid said.
“That’s why we’re trialling a pop-up shared path, a worldwide tactical urbanism trend designed to make it easier for residents to walk, ride or scoot while social distancing.
“We’ve made this pop-up zone at Greaves Street South uniquely Wyndham with vibrant decals that pay homage to the nearby Werribee River and park precinct.”
Mr Campbell-Reid said the launch of the Greaves Street South pop-up zone followed extensive community consultation via the council’s ‘The Loop’ website, where respondents said they wanted to see a strong connection to open space and other shared paths.
“Greaves Street South, with its connection to Chirnside Park and the Werribee River shared path, meets this brief,” Mr Campbell-Reid said.
He said this latest initiative was part of an ambitious Council plan to make Wyndham the active transport leader of Victoria.
“The Wyndham Active Transport Strategy, which was endorsed by Council recently, aims to make it easier for residents to make more trips by foot or bike by connecting the missing links in our walking and cycling paths,” Mr Campbell-Reid said.
“This Greaves Street South pop-up shared zone is a perfect example of improving liveability for our residents by trialling a new style of path that provides additional space to actively travel in a fun and unique way.”
