Cade Lucas
Maribyrnong council has expressed support and sympathy for Cheryl O’Connor, the cyclist whose legs were broken when hit by a truck in Yarraville last month.
Ms O’Connor was riding back to her Kingsville home on the morning of January 22 when she was struck by a semi-trailer at the intersection of Somerville and Williamstown roads, leaving her with multiple leg and ankle fractures.
She is currently recovering from two rounds of surgery, while a police investigation into the accident has been closed.
At Maribyrnong council’s first meeting of the year on February 18, president of cycling safety organisation BikeWest, Pierre Vairo, used public question time to ask if council was aware of the incident involving Ms O’Connor and why protected bike lines were not installed along Somerville Road as part of recent resurfacing works.
Council infrastructure director Patrick Jess told the chamber that council was aware of the incident and had been liaising the with the transport department about safety issues at the Williamstown Road intersection.
Mr Jess said recent resurfacing work involved keeping bike line markings remaining consistent with what came before, but that chevrons had been added to provide greater separation between cyclists and traffic.
Speaking on behalf of council, deputy mayor Bernadette Thomas wished Ms O’Connor a speedy recovery and said she wasn’t surprised a serious accident had occurred on the corner of Somerville and Williamstown roads.
“As a bike rider who rides at that intersection multiple times a day, I can understand how that (accident) could’ve happened. It’s very unsafe,” Cr Thomas said.
Brendan Yates from the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group then asked what council was doing to improve safety at the nearby Ballarat Street pedestrian crossing and if it was possible to install speed cameras to deter trucks from travelling too fast in the area.
Mr Jess said while the crossing was a state responsibility, council would look into whether speed cameras could be installed.
A spokesperson for the transport department said they were continuing to monitor safety at the intersection of Williamstown Road and Somerville Road and had already made changes at the Ballarat Street pedestrian crossing.
“Late last year, we made a number of improvements near the Francis Street and Ballarat Street intersection including improved speed signage to make it easier for drivers to spot the 50km/h speed limit,” the spokesperson said.
