Living in Yarra and sense of safety - where and when do you feel safe or unsafe?

I think that amenity is really important, especially in the areas where there are lots of cafes and bars.

I sometimes feel unsafe on Victoria Street. Sometimes you can see people making deals and then shooting up in clear public view. This does not stop me coming to, and enjoying the vibrancy of Victoria Street - it is just another layer of the diverse community in this area.

I've worked in Yarra for nearly 20 years and feel least safe on the roads, especially when cycling. I appreciate the introduction of 40kph zones and bike tracks and would like to see more (especially Copenhagen-style bike lanes).

Alcohol-related violence worries me more than any drug problem and safety strategies should follow the evidence of what works.

Really appreciate the no-drinking on the streets now. Feel much safer.

Better lighting around Collingwood would help ensure safety of pedestrians and cyclists and make the area feel generally more amiable

I generally feel safe in Yarra. I don't tend to be out by myself late at night. I keep my eye out when I'm walking through council estates, but otherwise I feel pretty confident.

I feel perfectly safe walking around the inner suburbs, day and night, and the 2008 survey results (p3) show that most other people feel the same way. The law-and-order issue is being exaggerated by politicians and bureaucrats for political reasons - more police, higher licence fees, fines for unlocked cars and bike helmets, and safety surveys that show safety isn't a big concern. Nanny State stuff!

The most un-safe thing is riding a bike. What's the biggest issue in the Safer Yarra Plan Discussion Paper? A 71% increase in bicycle casualties in five years! (p9) What is being done? VicRoads is doing "education and awareness programs", while Council supposedly builds cycle paths. The Discussion Paper asks "Are design and engineering the solution?" Damn right!

Consult with teenagers:

I live in richmond and i often see syringes which doesn't make me feel very safe. I see police cars around a lot. This makes you realise stuff is going on but at least something is being done about it.

I have lived in the City of Yarra for 8 years. I now have a young family and feelqutie unsafe in and around the Richmond area outside of daylight areas. I have seen drug deals and people acting very odd ... that i can only assume are under some sort of influence. I would like to see improved lighting and improved police presence around the streets in Richmond. I find that many initiatives made by thsi council are directed at Collingwood and Fitzroy and feel that Richmond is often neglected. Considering I pay almost $3000 in rates each year .. as Richmond is one of the 3 highest rating paying suburbs in victoria, i expect that the council should improve the safety in this suburb.

Public Housing consult - Atherton Gardens (Fitzroy) public housing

Noise and fighting at the pub across the road on Brunswick street is disturbing on a Friday and Saturday night

I think that bike riders should have more sense and so should the council over the shared pathways ie bicycles and pedestians. The Citys Bike plan does not allow for safety of the pedestrian. The plan hardly mentions children, toddlers, elderly, people using support aids. People in the park and on the paths for recreation purposes. It is a lop sided document. MOST RIDERS:are rude,have their heads down and ears full of music to notice others, They break the laws by using shortcuts they should not be using, do not read the safety signs,do not let you know when they more…

Residential streets need street lights on both sides working each night. Where I live only one side of the street has street lights working at night - my side of the street is in complete darkness. We've had numerous burglaries in our street ever since the street lighting was reduced.

Consult with over 55's group:

I have seen someone begging while holding a knife on Smith Street, makes people feel uncomfortable.

Consult with children:

Where do you feel safe?

i feel safe at home

In my room

Holding mum's hand

In bed

You might get hurt on the road

What can we do to make the community safe?

staying on the concrete and waiting for the cars

looking after each other

saying sorry to your friends

Consult with Disability Advisory Committee:

Shared pathways can be dangerous. Bikes need to alert pedestrian that they are coming up behind them. Sometimes people have to go onto the road to get out of the way in time when a bike comes up from behind.

Bins can spill onto the pathway making the path dangerous to use. There should be some education campaign to teach people where to put the bins - for residents and workers emptying bins.

It can be dangerous when in a scooter and going to the pub. I sit in the smoking room and people don't give enough room. There needs to be more security.

The old trams can be unsafe; it is steep when boarding, and often your walking stick gets stuck in the doors

At some places, security look the other way when people obviously wanting to make trouble walk in.

Feedback from Incomplete Spinal Injury Support Group: Members reported that many streets and in particular side streets are paved with cobble stones of uneven surface. Surface between stones are deeper and catch walking aids or cause falls among pedestrians with mobility problems. People with spinal cord injuries are particularly vulnerable. The members recommended that Yarra make the streets and footpaths that are covered with cobble stones safer by smoothing these surfaces.

Some Disability Parking Bays that have been relocated to side streets make it harder to use them as many of these streets are paved with cobble stones (on both sides of the street and at crossings with the main streets). This makes it impossible to avoid a cobble stone passage when walking from a parked vehicle onto the street. People with spinal cord injury or after surgeries (and some other pedestrians with disabilities) are in danger and fear of re-injury when walking from these bays.

Anonymous submission

1. The footpaths in Richmond need to be improved considerably. They have patches, gaps etc and are most uneven. As many people in Richmond walk around both day and night there is the possibility of falls. I twisted my foot early this year and it took 5 weeks to get better. I rang the council and although they repaired the section of footpath the path around it is still uneven.

So - spend more time improving the footpaths, not in patches but all over. This will avoid many falls and complaints to the Council.

2. Re drug problems - my husband more…

Anonymous submission

As a resident of nearly thirty years, I have seen the increase in drug trafficking and use Taking public transport in Victoria Street is singularly unpleasant, and all elected officials and agencies must be honest about the problem and argue in a balanced way for the introduction of a safe injecting unit. Drug addicts have terrible problems and must be monitored both to minimise harm to themselves and others, and give them a chance of moving towards recovery. Our old people and children are exposed daily, I see addicts with toddlers. It is really bad.

Anonymous submission -

Yarra needs to continue to lobby strongly for improved public transport so that our communities are not rent apart by traffic, the air poisoned, whilst people in the outer suburbs are condemned to hours of travelling on congested roads to reach the city. Yarra needs better bike paths, it needs to encourage connections in neighbrouhoods by making it safe for pedestrians (streetscaping, calming measures to minimise the impact of cars). Encourage the greening of ugly vacant lots (for example near Victoria Park), support existing community infrastructure (e.g. the Collingwood Children's Farm and the Abbotsford Convent) which nourish our sense of wellbeing by bringing people together.

the walk underneath the train lines at Burnley station - between Swan street and Madden grove. This area would greatly benefit from some fairly inexpensive measures - such as improved lighting, and more of a community atmosphere (perhaps some schoolkids murals, landscaping etc.).