Would the closure of Arundel Road affect access to the Neighbourhood Safer Place or an escape route in an event of an emergency?

    Arundel Road has a narrow carriageway width and is extensively treated with traffic calming measures. As such the road was not designed as an emergency escape route.

    In the event of an emergency where residents need to assess Domeney Reserve, the use of Arundel Road will not result in shorter travel time, as traffic from Arundel Road turning into Knees Road will still need to give way to traffic on Knees Road.

    Would the closure of Arundel Road adversely affect emergency services access?

    No. All relevant emergency services departments (Fire Rescue Victoria, Country Fire Authority, Ambulance Victoria and State Emergency Services) have offered no objections to the proposal. Pedestrian access will be maintained at any road closure and emergency access would be provided.

    Shouldn’t other traffic management measures be considered before resolving to the road closure?

    Other traffic management measures to discourage through traffic and improve safety will not be as effective as a road closure.

    The provision of a footpath is considered highly desirable if through traffic continues to use the road. However any footpath will result in a change to the overall streetscape along Arundel Road. There are a number of ‘pinch points’ where the construction of a path will present challenges in relation to street tree retention and path clearance from the road.

    Would traffic be displaced to other local roads east of Knees Road (such as Arundel Road east, Dalry Avenue and Euston Avenue etc) as a result of the proposed road closure?

    As part of the Knees Road upgrade we have recently improved the capacity of Knees / Park Road by providing separate left and right turn lanes at the north approach. As such drivers are unlikely to use other local roads to bypass the intersection.

    There would be no reason for through traffic that is currently using Arundel Road (west) to use other local roads as a result of the proposed road closure.