KENT McNab watched in horror on Friday morning as a car went ploughing towards The Assumption School after a crash at the Suttor, Mitre and Lambert street intersection.
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Mr McNab who along with his wife Dianne, live just metres from the intersection, worry it’s just a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed, and say council needs to do something about the intersection now.
The couple are so worried someone will be killed they wrote to every councillor on Friday afternoon, and have also written to the General Manager of Bathurst Regional Council, David Sherley, voicing their concern.
In February 2013, Bathurst Regional Council undertook a study of the intersection with a view of installing lights, a roundabout or realigning the road.
But three years on nothing has been done.
A spokesperson for council said the Mitre/Suttor street intersection was discussed by council at a working party and the preferred option for the intersection was determined to be a roundabout.
The proposal was listed for funding consideration through council’s budgetary process in 2013/14 financial year but it was not funded at the time as other works were identified as being of a higher priority.
But that is simply not good enough for Mr McNab, who said Friday’s collision highlights how dangerous the intersection is.
“The result of the accident and many other accidents and ‘near miss’ events which occur at that intersection could have been much worse had it occurred at 9am or 3.15pm when children walk along the footpath to and from school,” he said.
Mr McNab said the careful manner in which most motorists enter and pass through the intersection on a daily basis is the only reason a fatality hasn’t occurred.
“One moment of inattention or distraction by a motorist could change that outcome.
“We hope that it does not take a fatality before Bathurst Regional Council acts.”
Mr McNab said he has raised the issue of the intersection with council before, and saw Friday’s crash as an opportunity to again highlight his fears about the area.
He said in the 33 years he has lived near the intersection he has seen many near misses, and feels frustrated council won’t address the issue.
“They spend all that money on Mount Panorama but won’t do anything about this.”