Wodonga Council will spend $45,000 on the four “wombat” crossings, in addition to the intersection of High Street and Elgin Boulevard that will feature diagonal crossings and create easier access to the Junction Place urban square and Mann shopping centre.

One of the raised zebra crossings will replace the existing signalled crossing outside the post office.

The others will be located at the water tower, Sesame Lane and Bond Street, south of the old railway crossing.

The raised zebra crossings are already in use in Havelock and Lawrence streets and another one will be installed in Hovell Street, linking The Cube and Woodland Grove.

Mayor Rod Wangman said the council was striving to achieve consistency with crossings through the central city area.

“We want our central business area to be a vibrant, active heart for our city,” he said.

“This will be one of the ways we can achieve that as we look to unveil one of the major pieces of city infrastructure, the Elgin Boulevard re-alignment.

“Research has shown the wombat crossings are one of the best performing pedestrian facilities as it slows the majority of traffic by about 40 per cent.”

It was hoped the crossings would be installed when High Street re-opened later this month.

In consultation with VicRoads, High Street would become a 40 kilometre an hour zone from the water tower to South Street.

Within two years, other major streets in the inner city centre, Hovell, Hume, Lawrence (between the water tower and Smythe Street) and Elgin Boulevard, would also become 40km/h zones.

Drivers must stop and give way when someone is crossing or entering a raised zebra crossing.

“High Street is a busy throughway and drivers must ensure they don’t block the crossings and that the road is clear to enable them to pass over the crossings,” Cr Wangman said.

“The wide, raised walkways increase walker visibility.”

A total of 17 raised zebra crossings will eventually exist in central Wodonga.