A move to make exiting the Warrnambool Racecourse safer for carnival patrons has been successful.
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Punters can be collected from outside the main gates on Grafton Road, which becomes one way from 2pm to 6pm, to improve pedestrian safety.
The lane closest to the course is for taxis and buses, while the other lane is for public pick ups.
Tuesday was the first day of the traffic management measure and Warrnambool police Acting Inspector Di Thomson said it went well.
“Naturally when you change direction for the first time there’s some teething issues,” she said. “It was mainly about understanding the flow of the traffic, that Grafton Road will be one way, two lanes going in the one direction.
“We’ve tried to educate the pedestrians around not walking straight up out of the racecourse and straight across the road.”
She said police monitored the site on Tuesday and some slight modifications would be made prior to Thursday, which was the busiest day.
“We’ll be increasing our presence there as the crowds increase and making sure it’s safe.
“I think it’s much safer than it has been in previous years but obviously there’s an adjustment to any changes made.”
She said police were very happy with crowd behavior. “We were down on the course today. We were out with the traffic and we were around in the town and it was a good day for day one.”
