Street/road art is becoming more and more popular. But what are the risks, and how can they be assessed?
In 2021, Maribyrnong City Council painted colourful polka dots of varying sizes on roads in Yarraville Village to catch the eye of drivers and encourage them to slow down.
It was part of a six-month trial to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists following the growth of outdoor dining in the area.
Safe System Solutions was tasked with undertaking a Road Safety Audit with enhanced Human Factors review due to varied stakeholder views on this treatment. We worked with our friends at Opposite on this project.
The history of the project
When the polka dots were installed in March 2021, some community members were concerned that the eye-catching designs were “dangerous” and would entice children to run onto the road.
You might have seen this making major news headlines at the time.
Following these initial concerns, a Road Safety Audit was undertaken which recommended the additional installation of speed humps, signage, and planter boxes on the boundary of the footpath and road – which council implemented.
Around six months later, when the trial was complete, Safe System Solutions was engaged to conduct a post-construction Road Safety Audit – an independent review to identify any safety or performance concerns.
What we found
Our Road Safety Audit, conducted by two Senior Road Safety Auditors with advice from a behavioural psychology expert at Opposite, found that the risk of fatal and serious injury had reduced compared to the pre-installation conditions.
The additional measures implemented on the recommendations of the first Road Safety Audit had mitigated the initial concerns around safety.
It wasn’t possible to evaluate the impact of the polka dots in isolation – the most obvious reason for the reduced risk was the speed reduction through the installation of speed humps.
The importance of Road Safety Audits
Yarraville’s polka dot trial is an example of the role of Road Safety Audits in independently assessing risks in road designs, projects, and infrastructure.
We love to see local governments trialling new and innovative ways to improve road safety for their community – and Road Safety Audits are a critical part of achieving that.
