The long-awaited lights at the Ballarat Road and Perth Avenue intersection will be fitted with female pedestrian signals if the Albion Action Group has its way.
With the installation of the lights now looking like a reality, Albion Action group president Dinesh Jayasuriya said female signals would be a great way to cap off years of hard work.
“If we could get female pedestrian signals on the lights, it really would be the cherry on top of a lot of hard work,” he said.
“It would also make the lights unique as they’d be only the third location in Victoria [behind the CBD and Richmond] to have female signals and the only place in the west.”
Mr Jayasuriya said the decision to ask for female signals wasn’t politically motivated, but one that came from the heart.
“I got involved in this campaign because I wanted a safer intersection for my children,” he said. “There’s no political push here or anything like that, it just so happens that I have a daughter so for me it’s a fitting reflection of the effort that’s gone into this.
“We’ve always used female signals throughout this campaign, so we want to make it official.”
The female signals in the Melbourne CBD have become an attraction within the city and Mr Jayasuriya said a similar set in Brimbank could potentially benefit the area.
“I know people stop and have a look at the lights when they’re in the city,” he said.
“If we had one out here, the only one out here, it could potentially help businesses within the Albion shopping strip with people stopping to have a look.”
Mr Jayasuriya said public money wouldn’t be used to create the signals.
“The template is already there, so there should be no additional cost to the public to
do this.
“If by chance there is an extra cost, it
will only be small and we’ll raise that ourselves.”
Although the lights will mirror those in the CBD and Richmond, Mr Jayasuriya said one important element will set them apart.
“Unlike the CBD lights which were pushed for by the Committee for Melbourne and the Richmond set, pushed by the council, the Perth Avenue female pedestrian signals has been pushed by locals.”
The Brimbank council and VicRoads have identified the intersection as a priority for lights and are awaiting state government funding to begin work.
