Presented by Robert Clark MP		www.robertclark.net

Tram stops create access problems

4 June 2003

The Editor
Whitehorse Leader

Dear Editor,

Dan Moran is wrong to suggest that those objecting to the Whitehorse Road tram stops are opposed to disability access (Letters 28/5).

In fact, part of the problem with modifying tram stops rather than trams is that once a person in a wheelchair boards a tram in Whitehorse Road, there is nowhere they can get off until the tram reaches Victoria Gardens, Richmond.

As well, there are no pedestrian lights or crossing at the Hood Street stop, so when someone in a wheelchair needs to cross the road, they will have to travel several hundred metres to High Street to do so.

Residents are entitled to ask for why access isn't being built into the trams, or why a single, middle-of-the-road stop isn't being used for trams in both directions, with pedestrian lights allowing safe crossing to both sides of the road.

Overall, these stops have been poorly thought through for motorists and tram users alike. Not only have they caused traffic diversion and delays, they threaten a serious accident if they are ever hit at speed by a car or other vehicle.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Clark, M.P.,
Member for Box Hill.