Victoria Walks Calls for $150 Million Investment to Improve Pedestrian Safety

Pedestrian group Victoria Walks is calling on both sides of politics to invest in making footpaths safer, with a bid to spend $150 million over four years to install or upgrade crossings, so people can safely cross the road.

Data from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) shows 33 pedestrians were killed on the state's roads in 2025, higher than the five-year average of 22 pedestrians.

Victoria Walks chief executive Sarah Pilgrim said most people would like to walk, but the infrastructure was not there to allow everyone to do it safely.

"So if there's any break in it, if there's not a safe crossing, if there's a missing footpath or something like that, then people lose their feeling of safety, they lose the enjoyment of the walk and they stop walking."

She is calling on both sides of politics to commit to spending $150 million over four years to install or upgrade more than 1,000 crossings across the state, as identified in council transport plans.

"So that number of crossings is telling us that the infrastructure is just not keeping up with the need for people to walk," Ms Pilgrim said.

She said upgrading pedestrian infrastructure would also help achieve the state's goal of 25 per cent of all trips being made by active transport by 2030.

Councils move to make walking safer

Figures from the National Road Data Safety Hub show the number of pedestrian deaths has fallen in Australia by 28.9 per cent in the past 25 years.

In Victoria, 192 pedestrians were killed on the roads between 2020 and 2024, a slight increase on the previous five years.

Maroondah Council, in Melbourne's outer east, is reviewing its pedestrian network, including 645 kilometres of footpaths.

According to the council's transport strategy, people walk for 35 per cent of all trips shorter than 3km in the municipality.

Mayor Linda Hancock is an enthusiastic walker and was wearing comfortable white sneakers when she met with the ABC.

She said she had trained for several overseas camino trails by walking up to 50km at a time on paths in Melbourne's leafy eastern suburbs.

"Walking is great," she said.

"Getting out for fresh air, health and well-being, you meet people.

"If you're a dog walker or you walk the same route every morning you get to know people, you smile, you say hello, you have a conversation.

Councillor Hancock said the council was reviewing hundreds of ideas from the community about how to make footpaths more accessible and safer, including for people with disabilities and prams, as well as lighting at night.

In Ringwood, Melissa Witton often finds the footpaths slippery or cracked.

"If you're walking too quickly, like I do sometimes, your toes can catch, you go flying and you can get hurt," she said.

"It's like potholes on the road, but the footpath version."

In 2025, the government responded to a parliamentary inquiry into vulnerable road users, supporting 54 of 56 recommendations.

That included making it easier for councils to reduce speed limits, and reviewing dangerous intersections.

Walking feels 'hostile', advocate says

Cate Hall has been lobbying for years to improve pedestrian safety on Murray Road in Coburg, in Melbourne's north.

The busy stretch of road runs between new homes and shops at the former Pentridge Prison, Coburg Lake and Merri Creek, as well as the nearby swimming pool, high school and childcare centre.

Since the parliamentary inquiry, she said the speed limit had been reduced from 60 kilometres per hour to 40km/h during school drop-off and pick-up times, but more needed to be done.

Ms Hall said the community wanted the road reduced to one lane each way, to allow footpaths to be widened.

"We say it feels hostile," she said.

"It's a hostile environment, and people have to use it."

Merr-Bek Council has included Murray Road on its list of advocacy priorities, noting there have been 23 crashes in the past three years, including five serious injuries that required hospitalisation.

"Improved safety on Murray Road should be a priority, particularly for the high number of school students walking and riding to school," the council said.

The state opposition said Labor had neglected Victoria's roads and pedestrian infrastructure for more than a decade because it could not manage money.

"Victorians are paying the price for Labor's financial incompetence, which has left local councils and communities starved of the funding needed to keep pedestrians safe," Shadow Minister for Transport Infrastructure Evan Mulholland said.

The Victorian government said it was investing more than $1.4 billion towards road safety improvements, including delivering more than 850 pedestrian crossings across the state.

"The safety of all pedestrians and road users is our priority, and we constantly monitor our road network to determine where improvements are needed," a spokesperson said.

"We work closely with local councils and communities to ensure pedestrian infrastructure such as paths and crossings meet the needs of users and become a convenient choice."