Following community concerns with road safety, Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) has investigated alternatives to the current right turn filter arrangement for westbound motorists turning right from Edinburgh Road into Eastern Valley Way, Castlecrag.

Background

Castlecrag residents have requested that a dedicated right turn arrow be provided for westbound motorists turning right from Edinburgh Road into Eastern Valley Way. Residents are concerned the existing right turn when oncoming traffic clears or breaks is dangerous. This existing arrangement is known as a right turn filter arrangement.

RMS investigated the safety of the existing arrangement. It was found no crashes have been recorded as a result of this right turn filter arrangement. However, it should be noted crashes are only recorded if police attend the incident, injuries are recorded or a car is towed away. Minor crashes are not recorded.

In April 2012, Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) invited community feedback on options to provide a dedicated right turn phase for westbound motorists turning right from Edinburgh Road into Eastern Valley Way, Castlecrag.

Community comments were evenly matched with respect to retaining the existing arrangement at the intersection or introducing a dedicated right turn phase. RMS has considered the comments and prepared a community issues report (PDF,225KB).

Proposal

Following consideration of community feedback, a proposal has been made to change parking arrangements to make the intersection safer and more efficient:

• Move the existing bus zone on the southern side of Edinburgh Road (east) to immediately west of the mail zone.
• Extend the one hour parking zone to include the bus zone and install No Parking '6.00am-9.30am Monday to Friday' to make two clear westbound lanes available during the morning peak hour.
• Extend the existing No Parking restrictions on the southern side of Edinburgh Road (west) to include the intersection of Fourth Avenue, to enable through traffic to pass right turning vehicles.
• Investigate the relocation of the bus zone and shelter on Edinburgh Road (west) to increase the merge distance for vehicles turning right from Eastern Valley Way.

What happens next?

The comment period is now closed. RMS will be reviewing all feedback and will inform the community of the next steps.