MORE victims and concerned members of the public have spoken out about their experiences with the intersection of Mitre, Suttor and Lambert streets.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At the latest Ordinary Meeting of Bathurst Regional Council, several residents used public question time as an opportunity to address councillors on the confusing and dangerous intersection.
Susan McMann spoke about her own accident at the intersection during the Bathurst 12 Hour weekend.
She said she drove up from Hill Street and "approached the intersection cautiously”, when a car appeared suddenly and the two collided.
“It was the first time I’ve been in an accident in my whole life and I’ve only been living up there for two and a half years and lived in Bathurst my entire life,” she said.
Former West Bathurst resident Lois Petford said she supported the public campaign to fix the intersection after years of seeing people approach it with no idea who has right of way.
“I lived up there for 10 years, I don’t live there now, and it is the worst intersection in NSW and something could be done about it,” she said.
“A roundabout would help. You might have to level a bit of Suttor Street on the western side and then people could drive straight through there.”
Kent and Dianne McNab, who have been leading the public campaign since late 2016, also spoke at the meeting and urged councillors to realign the intersection and install a roundabout.
This method has been recommended by council’s engineering department three times in 20 years.
A report on the intersection was before council at the meeting to provide an update on the matter.
Each councillor present spoke on the issue, including Warren Aubin, who reiterated that council had to find not just a solution, but the right solution.
He said he is not against the primary recommendation, but it could introduce new issues.
“If we are going to go and throw $1.7 million, and it could be plus, at this intersect, we need to get it right first go. We don’t have another go,” Cr Aubin said.
“If we put a roundabout there … and you actually get a crash history because you put a roundabout in, then are we doing the right thing?
“It’s all nice to say ‘Put a roundabout there and it’s going to fix the problem’, but I want to know that it is going to fix the problem.”
