Towards Zero
Mornington Peninsula Towards Zero Road Safety Strategy for 2020-2025
The Mornington Peninsula has a long history of high rates of road trauma. In the past 15 years, 105 people were killed and over 2300 seriously injured on roads within the Shire. Among Victoria’s 79 municipalities, we’re one of the worst in terms of the number of road deaths during this period. Our community has consistently highlighted road safety as a significant concern.
Road safety is a complex issue that affects everyone. Reducing road trauma is a shared responsibility – the community, road users, Mornington Peninsula Shire and all other stakeholders have a role to play in making our road network safer and working together for us to move Towards Zero.
In response to the challenge of reducing road trauma on the Peninsula, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has developed its Mornington Peninsula Towards Zero Road Safety Strategy for 2020-2025 which provides a framework for the Shire’s policies and actions aimed at reducing road trauma.
The strategy is founded on the Towards Zero principle that no one should be killed or seriously injured on our roads with the ultimate vision that all journeys are safe and feel safe for all road users by 2050. This will require transformation of the road network over the next 25 years to reduce the likelihood of crashes and protect people when crashes do occur so that death and serious injuries are not the result.
Following public exhibition and consideration of community feedback, the strategy was adopted by Council at the 8 September 2020 Council Meeting.
Download: Mornington Peninsula Towards Zero 2020 - 2025 - Our Road Safety Strategy(PDF, 2MB)
Download: Mornington Peninsula Towards Zero 2020-2025 Technical Report(PDF, 4MB)
Our current Mornington Peninsula Towards Zero 2020-2025 road safety strategy is currently being renewed. The refresh will include updating with the latest crash data, analysis of road trauma trends over the past five years, ensure the strategy is aligned with updated best-practice road safety practices, and development of action plans.
Safer Roads Funding and Priorities
It's your turn to help us shape the future of road safety in the Shire!
We’ve put together a list of high-priority locations: roads and intersections with the highest number of crashes, but we also want to hear more than just feedback about the crash statistics. That’s why we’ve included locations the community has raised as concerns, even if they don’t have the highest crash rates.
We want to hear from you about what roads feel unsafe and which areas need attention – whether or not the data backs them up.
For more information and to provide your feedback: Safer Roads Funding and Priorities | Shape Our Future
Towards Zero municipality initiative
In April 2016, the Shire became Victoria’s first Towards Zero municipality and adopted the goal of zero road deaths and serious injuries on roads within the Shire.
The Shire’s commitment to reducing road trauma is underpinned by the best-practice Safe System philosophy which is based on three key principles:
- People make mistakes – human error is inevitable but the consequence of a mistake should not be death or serious injury
- People are vulnerable – the human body can only absorb a certain level of crash impact so the risk of crashes should be minimised and when crashes do occur, the impact should not exceed the threshold where a person will be seriously injured or killed
- Shared responsibility – road safety has many stakeholders that all have a responsibility to contribute to a safe road network
There are four pillars to a Safe System to improve road safety and address road trauma:
- Safer Roads – upgrade of roads and intersections
- Safer Road Users – education of drivers and other road users
- Safer Vehicles – improvement of vehicle safety
- Safer Speeds – appropriate speed limits and reduction of the number of vehicles travelling over the posted speed limit
Our ultimate goal is for all journeys to be safe and feel safe for all modes of transport by addressing systemic crash risks through the implementation of Safe System principles.
Road Trauma Parliamentary Inquiry
As part of our road safety advocacy, in 2020 the Shire made a detailed submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the increase in Victoria’s road toll and made a presentation to the committee.
Download: Mornington Peninsula Shire Submission - Road Toll Parliamentary Inquiry(PDF, 251KB)
The inquiry report was tabled in Parliament on 25 March 2021 and the Government responded on 7 October 2021. The report and Government response is available on the inquiry’s webpage: Reports - Inquiry into the increase in Victoria’s road toll - Parliament of Victoria
Road safety initiatives
The Shire has commenced many road safety initiatives since adopting to become a Towards Zero municipality in 2016. In collaboration with TAC, the Department of Transport & Planning and Victoria Police, programs are being developed that demonstrate the Safe System principles in a coordinated effort to improve road safety.
Black Spot projects
The Shire has delivered the following projects since 2021 through the Federal Black Spot funding to improve safety at high-risk locations:
- Mount Eliza pedestrian safety improvements
- Hastings township 40km/h area
- Dromana township 40km/h area
- Myers Road/Hendersons Road, Bittern roundabout
- Hodgins Road/Stumpy Gully Road, Tuerong roundabout
- Shoreham Road safety upgrade
- Codrington Street/Ligar Street, Dromana roundabout
- Arthurs Seat Road safety upgrade between White Hill Road and Red Hill Road
- Rye & Tootgarook area wide 40km/h and safety improvements
- Craigie Road & Osbourne Drive Compact Roundabout
- Dunns Road speed calming measures between Craigie Road & Mornington-Tyabb Road in Mount Martha
- Tucks Road delineation upgrade between Punty Lane and Higgins Lane
In addition, the Shire has secured approximately $1.6 million for the following projects from Federal Black Spot funding for the delivery in 2024-2025:
- Somerville Local Area Traffic Management
- Melbourne Road and Turrana Street, Rye roundabout speed management
Watt Road and Bruce Street, Mornington intersection upgrade
Safer Speeds
In December 2019 Mornington Peninsula Shire commenced a two-year Safer Speeds trial. For this trial, the speed limit on 33 Shire-managed, high risk sealed rural roads was reduced to 80 km/h. The trial period has now concluded and a comprehensive evaluation of the trial has been undertaken by the Victorian Department of Transport.
At the 22 November 2022 Council Meeting, Council resolved to apply to the Victorian Department of Transport to make the 80 km/h speed limits permanent on all of the 33 roads.
For more information, please visit the Safer Speeds webpage: Safer Speeds - Mornington Peninsula Shire
Roads to Recovery projects
Each year Mornington Peninsula Shire receives Federal Roads to Recovery funding to repair and upgrade our roads. A recent Roads to Recovery project involved stage 1 of Broadway project which included rehabilitation and drainage upgrade of the existing roadway between Truemans Road and Elizabeth Avenue. Upcoming projects for 2024-25 and 2025-26 include the following projects:
- Construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Truemans Road and Broadway.
- Road Rehabilitation at Mount Eliza Way, Mount Eliza, between Wimborne Ave and Nepean Highway.
- Road Rehabilitation and safety upgrade of Eramosa Road East, Somerville, between Lower Somerville Road and Western Port Highway.
- Road Rehabilitation and safety upgrade of Bungower Road, Somerville, between Tyabb-Tooradin Road and Westernport Highway.
Forest Drive and Uralla Road intersections with Nepean Highway, Mount Martha
The intersections of Forest Drive and Uralla Road with Nepean Highway in Mount Martha have been recognised as high risk.
The construction of traffic signals at the intersection of Forest Drive and Nepean Highway is well underway, with completion expected in the next few months. This $10 million upgrade has been funded by the Australian Government under the Infrastructure Investment Program. For more information, please visit the Transport Victoria webpage: Forest Drive and Nepean Highway Intersection Upgrade - Transport Victoria
The Department of Transport and Planning has engaged Major Road Projects Victoria to support planning for the Uralla Road and Nepean Highway intersection upgrade. The planned works are for the construction of traffic signals at the intersection, with funding committed by the Australian Government. For more information, please visit the Transport Victoria webpage: Uralla Road and Nepean Highway Intersection Upgrade - Transport Victoria
Coolart Road/ Myers Road intersection, Bittern
As part of the 2023-2026 Road Safety Program, the Victorian and Australian Governments have made a joint $10.05m commitment to construct a roundabout at the intersection of Coolart Road and Myers Road in Bittern.
A construction timeline is currently being finalised. For more information, please visit the Transport Victoria webpage: Myers and Coolart Road intersection upgrade, Bittern - Transport Victoria
Road safety education programs
The Shire collaborates with a number of organisations to support and deliver a range of road safety education programs. One example is the “Slow Down, Kids Around” Holiday Time campaign. The summer holidays are a busy time on the Mornington Peninsula and research shows that young children are at particularly high risk during this time. Mornington Peninsula Shire partners with the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation each summer to promote the “Slow Down, Kids Around” Holiday Time campaign. This encourages drivers along the Port Phillip Bay coast in the Southern Peninsula to slow down and be aware of children, and for parents to keep a watchful eye on their children. The campaign includes colourful roadside signage and media promotion.
Road Safety Programs - Mornington Peninsula Shire
Further information
Please email trafficrequests@mornpen.vic.gov.au or phone 5950 1048.
Last updated: March 2025