Safer pedestrian connections will make it easier for families, workers and visitors to travel around Bendigo on foot under a major Victorian Government investment in boosting pedestrian safety across the state.

New pedestrian-operated traffic lights and a raised safety platform will be installed on Bendigo-Maryborough Road, to make it safer for students walking to and from Bendigo Special Developmental School thanks to the $23 million investment in improving pedestrian safety and infrastructure right across Victoria.

The new crossing will also provide a safer connection for Victorians travelling to the recently relocated Kangaroo Flat Library and for Bendigo Creek Trail users looking to cross this busy road.

St Andrews Ave / Lyttleton Terrace will also receive raised priority crossings, and Short St / Queen St will see the construction of two raised intersection with crossings.

“We’re investing in pedestrian upgrades here in Bendigo and right across the state to ensure that families, students, workers, and everyone who walks our streets can do so safely and easily," Ms Edwards said.

“Thank you to the community members who have advocated to me for this important project along Lockwood Road.”

In total, the program of upgrades will improve almost 30 sites across the state, with the majority of upgrades being delivered in regional Victoria including in Ararat, Geelong, Wangaratta, Merbein, Woodend, Torquay and Gisborne.

Victoria has seen a spike in pedestrian fatalities this year with 26 pedestrians losing their lives on Victorian roads right across the state – up 62 per cent on the same time last year.

As part of this round’s Safe System Pedestrian Infrastructure program, councils applied for funding to develop and deliver upgrades in areas or on sections of road that they identified as high risk to pedestrians in their community.

The package supports Victoria’s Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 which aims to significantly reduce road trauma and halve road deaths by 2030.