Fischer Street road safety works

Fischer Street was identified as a high risk corridor for pedestrians and cyclists during the development of Council’s Safer Cycling Strategy in 2022.

In a five-year period in the lead-up to the strategy, there were 12 crashes on Fischer Street causing injury, including seven involving cyclists.

We aim to encourage active transport around Torquay by making it safer for people to travel by bike or on foot.

Protected roundabouts protect cyclists by:

• Provide a safe off road alternative for children to travel through the roundabout safely.
• Speed platforms are designed to slow traffic to speeds under 30 km/h.
• Slowing vehicles to 30 km/h gives more time for the vehicle to perceive, slow down and stop for cyclists through the roundabout.

• A person/cyclist hit at speeds below 30 km/h reduces the likelihood of serious and fatal injuries.

The road safety improvements were selected through a Transport Accident Commission-funded analysis in 2023, which included a community survey and workshops.

We acknowledge the community feedback about the high number of signs at the Darian Road-Fischer Street roundabout when it was first installed.

After a review of the design, we removed 18 posts and 20 signs.

The remaining signs are in place to support the safety of all roundabout users.

We've factored the feedback from this roundabout into the designs of future stages of the project.

This current project is a continuation of our efforts to improve safety on Fischer Street, as a direct connection between central and north Torquay.

It follows the installation of raised priority crossings at the Inshore Drive intersection, wombat crossings at Nautical Rise and Deep Creek, and ‘sharrows’ (shared lane markings for cyclists and cars) at several roundabouts along the street in 2024.