Balaclava Junction
Balaclava Junction is the only extant grand union in the Southern Hemisphere,[citation needed] a junction where trams can go in all directions from all directions.[1] Two other grand unions formerly existed in the Southern Hemisphere in Auckland, New Zealand on Queen Street, at its intersections with Customs and Wellesley Streets, but Auckland's tram network closed in 1956.[2]
Balaclava Junction is also a tram traffic accident blackspot mainly because it is a grand union, but changes to the light sequence and road markings have improved the safety of the intersection for both cars and trams alike. The junction is located on the intersection of Balaclava Road and Hawthorn Road in Caulfield North which is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria. It is in the Local Government Area of the City of Glen Eira. Its postcode is 3161. It connects Caulfield Racecourse, Caulfield railway station and the Caulfield campus of Monash University as well as places further afield.
[edit] References
- Yarra Trams (May 2005). "Tramlines 03" (PDF). http://www.yarratrams.com.au/Portaldata/1/Resources/pdf_document/newsletter/Tramlines_Issu.3pdf.pdf.
- ^ Victorian Heritage Database: photographs and diagram of junction
- ^ Graham Stewart, The End of the Penny Section: When Trams Ruled the Streets of New Zealand, revised edition (Wellington: Grantham House, 1993), 149.
Coordinates: 37°52′22″S 145°01′29″E / 37.87266°S 145.024717°E
