Bathurst council: Report says vegetation doesn't cause roundabout crashes

Councillors will be asked on Wednesday night to support the retention of council's existing policy on vegetation and signage for roundabouts.

The policy, adopted in 2015, allows the installation of street signage up to 1.1 metres high on a roundabout and places no height limit of trees planted in the the centre of the roundabout.

A report to councillors by engineering services director Darren Sturgiss provides extensive background to the policy and says a number of reviews of the policy over the past five years had each found the existing guidelines were still "appropriate".

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The report says the guidelines adopted by council had sought to strike a balance between maintaining the visual amenity of the city's streets and providing a safe roads network for drivers.

"Over the last several years, council has received a number of requests to review the safety of some roundabouts within the city centre," the report states.

"These roundabouts have plantings and signage, some of which is of a height or width that may ... obstruct driver vision to the opposite leg of the roundabout.

"Council always endeavours to achieve an adequate balance between enrichment of the heritage qualities of the Bathurst CBD and the design and maintenance of council's infrastructure to a standard that will provide a safer road network for local residents and visitors."

The report says a study of crash data at roundabouts found drivers were more likely to be involved in a "rear end accident" while waiting to enter the roundabout than to have a crash on the roundabout as a result of vegetation blocking their vision.

"A crash history analysis of those roundabouts having high vegetation, in comparison with those that did not, found that there was no increase in crashes," it says.

"... there is no crash history associated with the current landscaping and signage of roundabouts within the Bathurst CBD, and the current landscaping and signage contributes significant benefits to the public through aesthetically enhancing the area and improving the safe operations of these roundabouts."