PEDESTRIAN crossings in close proximity to a roundabout may be common in the Bathurst central business district, but a number of residents have deemed them unsafe.
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Resident Jeff Milne has had several bad experiences at the crossing in George Street, near the Howick Street intersection.
He said he regularly witnesses motorists drive straight across the crossing to enter the roundabout when there are pedestrians waiting to cross.
“I’ve noticed that sometimes people don’t give way, and it’s not just that crossing, it’s others as well,” Mr Milne said.
Even those who do stop grow impatient very quickly, according to Mr Milne, who said he has had motorists beep their horns at him as he is crossing.
He believes it is only a matter of time until there is a serious injury.
“It’s playing with people’s lives,” Mr Milne said. “Pedestrians should feel safe on a pedestrian crossing, and I don’t think they do.”
He said something needs to be done “sooner rather than later” to prevent an accident.
“I’d like to see something done about it [such as] more signage to let motorists know there is a crossing there, or move it to the middle of the block,” Mr Milne suggested.
“If council is responsible or the RMS [Roads and Maritime Services] is responsible, they deserve a good rap over the knuckles because the crossing isn’t working.”
Another person who believes the crossings are dangerous is Shea Peterson, who is co-owner of Bathurst Health Foods, which sits just one store up from the crossing.
While he has not witnessed any near-misses between vehicles and pedestrians yet, he said an accident could easily occur.
“It is typical that big trucks and SUVs don’t mind the pedestrians there,” Mr Peterson said.
He said Bathurst Regional Council needs to be more vigilant on safety at crossings in the CBD, and suggested that they could issue fines to drivers of vehicles that don’t stop for pedestrians.
In January, 2015, the George and Howick street intersection was declared the city’s worst intersection by the Bathurst Regional Council Traffic Committee.
At the time councillor Warren Aubin, who is a member of the committee, said a remodel of the intersection was being undertaken by the RMS.
Traffic lights were ruled out as a potential fix for the area as they would likely create further congestion, however, Cr Aubin was open to removing the pedestrian crossing and replacing it with the system used further down on Howick Street where vehicles have priority.