Wonthaggi traders fear traffic chaos and worse in Murray St

THERE’S a noise rising from Murray Street in Wonthaggi and it’s not the town’s famous State mine whistle that’s working up a head of steam.

It’s the sound of protest but is anyone listening?

It started with a gnashing of teeth, between February and March this year, when traders at the eastern end of the street gave a clear response to plans by the shire to introduce a raised Zebra pedestrian crossing, with lights, up their end of their street.

They didn’t want it.

The plan for the crossing isn’t the one recommended in ‘Figure 46’ of the ‘Smarter Choices Access and Movement Study’, prepared for the Bass Coast Shire Council by the Institute for Sensible Transport in July 2020.

That would have put the new crossing at the corner of Murray Street and McKenzie Street (Bass Highway), where plenty of people cross quite safely now, via a refuge island.

The proposed crossing will be further down the street 80 metres or so.

The shire wants to put its new raised Zebra crossing between the side of the Aldi Supermarket building and Wonthaggi Floorworld.

No big deal, you might say, who doesn’t want another pedestrian crossing?

And that’s pretty much how the consultation turned out.

But there’s a lot more at stake for traders, including traffic congestion, loss of car parking, inconvenience for delivery truck drivers, especially those supplying the supermarkets and lost business income… not to mention that there’s not enough foot traffic to warrant what must be a sizeable cost.

It’s a hit they could do without at a tough time in retail.

And you’d have to say the shire’s “engagement” on the issue was spectacularly unsuccessful, apart from the response from business owners themselves, the only ones who bothered to make written submissions.

Of the 1920 people presented with information about the Murray Street pedestrian crossing proposal, mostly via the shire’s newsletter (1153), only 101 responses were recorded by the council, 59 of those via the “ball-drop tool” at the two ‘Pop-Up Engagement’ sessions in Murray Street on Tuesday, March 3 (36 people) and Thursday, March 5 (23 people).

The shire claims that amounted to a vote of 53% in support of the pedestrian crossing, heavily reliant on the response from the 59 passersby, effectively disregarding the strident views of nearby business operators who see the location every day and made five submissions highly critical of the proposal.

An online survey, open from February 12 to March 13, 2026, resulted in 32 responses (plus the 5 hard-copy submissions from the traders), with 51% opposed to the crossing and another 11% expressing concerns – in other words, 62% expressing reservations or outright opposition.

Only one third (32%) of those who completed the survey supported the crossing, and still the shire goes ahead.

Those against the idea said this:

• Would cause further traffic congestion/chaos, particularly in peak times
• Not required, already a pedestrian refuge on this corner, no one will use it
• Will make it more dangerous for cars and pedestrians
• Removal of car parks
• Lights (at the intersection) would be better
• Not enough foot traffic to warrant it
• Don’t support other changes to McKenzie Street intersection and other streets further up
• Money could be better spent on other things

Key issues expressed by traders

They include:

• Submission 1: Concerned crossing will increase traffic congestion Customers rely on convenient vehicle access for the services provided by many of the businesses in this location due to weight of products, high proportion of elderly clientele. Murray street is used by suppliers for deliveries due to limited parking at rear of the business. Concern also about impact on other businesses. Restricting right turns from McKenzie Street in Murray Street is not viable for delivery vehicles.
• Submission 2: Strongly oppose the crossing. Reduced parking and traffic congestion will negatively impact the business. Crossing will create traffic chaos at busy times of the year. A left in left out of Murray Street would lead to customers by-passing their business. Times have been tough for retail – restricting access for customers would be further detrimental.
• Submission 3: Biggest current issue is restricted sight lines turning right out of Aldi (from parked cars). Aware of near misses of right turners with reversing vehicles. Queuing in peak times from traffic wanting to enter McKenzie Street blocks the access in and out of Aldi at times and reduced sight lines. Supportive of crossing but would like to see it shifted further west – perhaps near the toilets.
• Submission 4: Concern about removing more car parking spaces from the Wonthaggi CBD. Don’t feel that the amount of foot traffic in the area warrants a crossing. Possible future removal of right turns into Murray Street from McKenzie Street would not work. Alternative routes would cause other traffic issues and not be feasible for delivery trucks accessing the supermarkets in Murray Street. Pedestrian safety could be improved by introducing a mid-road safety refuge in the area identified (like what’s on McKenzie Street just above the traffic lights) or a zebra pedestrian crossing at the eastern end of Murray Street.
• Submission 5: Crossing would greatly inconvenience customers turning left into Murray Street. Concerned vehicle queueing will be more than one or two cars during the busy time in the morning and afternoon. Crossing would cause congestion. Don’t support left only turn out of Murray Street into McKenzie Street or left only access to Murray Street off McKenzie Street. Business is dependent on traffic flow. Adjoining businesses are destination businesses and require good car access.

But representatives of the Murray Street traders were told at an impromptu meeting with two shire officials on Wednesday morning, June 15, “it’s going ahead anyway”.

“They told us the decision had already been made, that they had the funding and were going ahead anyway,” said Peter Phillips of Autopro Wonthaggi.

“But there’s too much going on in that location already. There’s people coming in and out of the Ampol petrol station, in and out of Aldi and you can see how many cars are coming down from McKenzie Street now,” he said, pointing to a steady stream of cars making the right-hand turn into Murray Street.

Mr Phillips said he also expressed concern about a plan to close off Murray Street to right-turning traffic from McKenzie Street, via a centre-road traffic island (like the one in Biggs Drive) but was given an assurance by the shire officials that there was “no plan for such works at the moment”.

The Engage Bass Coast website says this:

“No, there is no change to this intersection proposed as part of this project. The focus of this project is to provide a safer pedestrian crossing across Murray Street. A change to the intersection such as a ‘left in / left out’ arrangement is on the longer-term streetscape plans for Wonthaggi. Council will undertake consultation on this intersection separately at some point in the future.”

Not all that convincing.

The Smarter Choices Access and Movement Study is unequivocal, however, it’s coming.

Under the freight routes and Wonthaggi by-pass recommendations the study says this:

• Forbid right hand turns from Bass Highway into Murray Street.
• Left-in/left-out at each end of the street
• Reduce to 30km/h
• Right hand turns from Bass Highway (McKenzie Street) into Murray Street (westbound) should be banned, moving more traffic movements north, and relieving east-west traffic congestion at the intersection of Biggs Drive/Murray Street/Billson Street.

What the traders said

Terry Kurz of Bass Coast Dry Cleaners doesn’t believe there’s much need for a new Zebra crossing, in fact he reckons it will make the area more dangerous for traffic and pedestrians.

“People cross at the intersection (McKenzie/Murray), where there’s already a pedestrian refuge or down at McBride Avenue,” he said.

Rod Little at Wonthaggi Electrical is concerned any loss of car parking and restrictions on traffic movement will impact trade.

He also believes traffic turning from McKenzie Street will occasionally bank up on to the highway.

Michael Lindsay at Wonthaggi Floorworld said also concerned about the impact on trade from discouraging people using Murray Street but says the biggest impact will be on the delivery drivers.

“You should be calling Dyers Transport and the other trucks delivering to Woolworths and other shops in the street,” he said.

The Engage Bass Coast website provided the following June update:

“Council is considering the installation of a new wombat style pedestrian crossing in Murray Street, similar to the crossings in Graham Street.

“The crossing provides pedestrian priority and slows down traffic to make the crossing safer by using a raised platform.

“This proposal is driven by requests from the local community and our commitment to improving road safety and reducing the barriers for pedestrians.

“The project recognises the growing population of Wonthaggi and aims to improve pedestrian safety and amenity and provide pedestrian access to fringe parking.

“The project strongly aligns with Council's strategic plans and studies for the area including:

• Integrated Transport Strategy
• Wonthaggi Activity Centre Streetscape Plan
• Wonthaggi Access and Movement Study

The timeline says the tender process is due to start July/August 2026 with construction between September and December this year.

For more information on the Murray Street pedestrian crossing go to the shire's Engage Bass Coast website HERE