Daniel Andrews says no more can be done to stop cars ramming pedestrians in Melbourne CBD
Daniel Andrews says there is no more that can be done to stop cars from ramming pedestrians in Melbourne’s CBD
- Vic PM says running a tram network prevents more restrictions
- The incident on Friday evening brought back memories of the 2017 tragedy
- “It’s a challenge to go beyond what we’ve done,” Andrews said
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says there is nothing more the government can do to stop cars crashing into pedestrians in Melbourne’s CBD.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says there was nothing more the government could have done to stop a car plowing into pedestrians and cars in the city centre, killing one person and injuring five others.
In scenes that brought back chilling memories of the deadly 2017 Bourke Street rampage, a white sedan mowed down pedestrians near a busy tram stop on Friday evening and accelerated before crashing into two cars, killing a 76-year-old driver.
Concrete bollards were installed at some of Melbourne’s best-known locations after six people were killed and dozens injured when James Gargasoulas pulled them down on Bourke St Mall six years ago.
In scenes that brought back chilling memories of the deadly 2017 Bourke Street rampage, a white sedan mowed down pedestrians near a busy tram stop on Friday evening and accelerated before crashing into two cars, killing a 76-year-old driver.
One man was killed and five others injured after a driver allegedly drove into the intersection of Bourke and Russell streets after driving into pedestrians at a tram stop.
In 2019, additional stainless steel bollards and reinforced barriers were added to create pedestrian refuges next to the tram tracks on the Mall, at Princes Bridge and Flinders Street Station, as part of the security upgrades.
Additional CCTV and an emergency loudspeaker system were also installed.
On Saturday, Mr Andrews was asked if more could be done to protect pedestrians as extra measures had failed to prevent the latest incident.
Mr Andrews said he did not believe anything more could be done to protect pedestrians in Melbourne’s CBD
“If you’re going to run a tram network, that’s obviously going to be incredibly difficult – or if you have roads that cross each other, then you’re always going to have pedestrian traffic,” Andrews told reporters.
“So it’s a challenge to go beyond what we’ve done, and we’ve done a lot.”
Mr Andrews said there were no other technical treatments available or appropriate that would change Friday evening’s outcome.
“I think we have done everything we can to strengthen footpaths so that we can control traffic movements,” he said.
‘It is the opinion of experts in this field that nothing more can be done in this case to prevent an incident like this.’
Mr Andrews said on Saturday he did not believe anything more could be done to protect pedestrians in Melbourne’s CBD.
“I think we’ve done everything we can to strengthen footpaths so we can keep traffic movements under control,” said Mr Andrews (pictured, bollards in Melbourne)
Victoria Police Commissioner Shane Patton said there will be patrols this weekend.
“Ensuring that the public can feel reassured that Melbourne is an extremely safe city,” Patton told reporters.
He said police had ruled out any link with terror, and that the man arrested on Friday evening had no criminal history and would be questioned as soon as he was deemed fit for interview.