Road closures and upgrade works will always attract criticism, especially for the short-term inconvenience they create. This has certainly been the case over the last couple of weeks, while Ovens Street was closed at Cusack Street for the development of a new raised pedestrian crossing. However, that temporary pain seems to have been pushed aside - by pedestrians at least, who have welcomed the ease of negotiating a crossing of the street following completion of the new infrastructure. The Wangaratta Chronicle was there as students walking from the CBD back to GOTAFE encountered the crossing for the first time, and remarked: "This looks so good". For them, and for nearby staff, students and parents of St Patrick's Primary School as well as locals accessing businesses in the area, it's made Ovens Street movement a whole lot easier. And with work on a second raised crossing now under way near the Ovens Street-Ford Street roundabout, even a little ahead of schedule, there will soon be further incentive to walk the CBD. The gradual introduction of raised crossings in Wangaratta seems to have helped alert motorists to the presence of pedestrians, and while there is still the occasional driver keen to speed through them, the majority greet crossing-users with a smile and wave as they wait behind the wheel. Like the railway precinct, which is both pleasing to the eye and user-friendly for pedestrians, these new additions are welcome improvements not only to safety, but to the appearance of Ovens Street. A new school crossing to come over the school holidays should add further value.
