Victoria pedestrian deaths rise, prompting calls for $150 million safety investment

Victoria Walks is demanding significant investment in pedestrian safety, calling for $150 million over four years to upgrade crossings and footpaths. The group highlights a concerning rise in pedestrian fatalities, with 33 deaths in 2025, up from a five-year average of 22. "People will only walk when they are safe and when they feel safe," said Victoria Walks chief executive Sarah Pilgrim. She emphasized that inadequate infrastructure, such as missing footpaths or unsafe crossings, deters people from walking.

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People will only walk when they are safe and when they feel safe. 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.

Pilgrim's proposal includes installing or upgrading over 1,000 crossings across the state, a figure derived from council transport plans. She believes this investment is crucial not only for safety but also for achieving the state's target of 25% of all trips being made by active transport by 2030. While national pedestrian death rates have fallen over the past 25 years, Victoria has seen a slight increase in the last five years, with 192 pedestrian deaths recorded between 2020 and 2024.

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

Local councils are also taking steps to improve walking conditions. Maroondah Council is reviewing its pedestrian network, recognizing that walking constitutes 35% of short trips within the municipality. Mayor Linda Hancock, an advocate for walking, noted its benefits for health, community interaction, and passive surveillance. The council is considering community suggestions for enhancing footpath accessibility, safety, and lighting, particularly for people with disabilities, those using prams, and for nighttime use. However, residents like Melissa Witton in Ringwood still face challenges with slippery or cracked footpaths, underscoring the ongoing need for infrastructure improvements.

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Walking is great. 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. It's just about community and passive surveillance. If more people are out, you feel safer.