Business owner fears a tragedy after troubles at Bradwardine roundabout

Steve Hill, of Steve's Quality Meats, says his worry is that there will be a tragic incident at the troubled spot.

"My biggest concern with all this is when is someone going to get killed?" he said.

Bathurst Regional Council, however, says "a significant crash reduction has been observed in NSW Police reports of accidents recorded" since safety upgrades were completed at the roundabout.

Council has also told Mr Hill that it has asked Transport for NSW to conduct a "speed zone review" for the Bradwardine Road approach from the north, but the Western Advocate has been unable to establish that review's status.

Mr Hill said he was hit at the intersection in October 2020 when he was driving eastbound along Suttor Street.

"I was heading into town at 7am to have breakfast with my accountant," he said.

Mr Hill said another vehicle, coming from the Eglinton direction, collided with his Ford Ranger "and spun me around, which caused damage to my neck", including a bulging disc.

He had surgery the next year, but Mr Hill said the effects of the crash remain with him.

He said he and his wife had to sell their Leo Grant Drive home because he couldn't use the ride-on mower due to the way the vibrations affected his neck and he also had to sell a number of rally cars.

In March 2023, he was again travelling eastbound on Suttor Street, this time in his butchery's delivery truck, when, Mr Hill says, he was hit at the roundabout for a second time - again, by a vehicle coming from the Eglinton direction.

"I was trapped by confinement," he said of this second incident.

Mr Hill said he is "living with a constant sore neck now".

"I've got a TV room in my new house that I can't sit in. I have to get someone to mow my lawns because I can't do that anymore.

"I can't work as I would like to work. I turn up to work, give the boys a bit of grief and what have you, and go again."

Mr Hill - who says he has been travelling Suttor Street for almost 30 years and who emphasises that he knows anyone can make a mistake when they're driving - says the problem with the Bradwardine roundabout is that there is "too much open line of sight" and people approach it too quickly.

He knows of a number of other accidents at the roundabout in recent years and says he would like to see the statistics on incidents at the site.

In terms of what he would like to see done, Mr Hill has suggested stop signs in all four directions, putting up a curtain or blind (so drivers can't see through the roundabout and are therefore encouraged to slow down), speed humps or give way signs.

"Council deems it [the roundabout] to be safe. Well, I don't," he said.

The roundabout underwent a $250,000 Black Spot funding upgrade in late 2020 after a series of crashes, including one where a pizza delivery rider was reported to have been knocked off his bike.

The crashes led councillor Warren Aubin to label the roundabout "the worst intersection in the city, bar none".

Under the $250,000 upgrade, traffic islands were widened to change the deflection angle and the left turning lane from Suttor Street into Bradwardine Road was removed.

Mr Hill has written to Bathurst Regional Council detailing his concerns about the roundabout, saying there have been a number of accidents at the site and the 2020 upgrade does not seem to have improved its safety.

In a written reply to Mr Hill, director of engineering services Darren Sturgiss said speed humps, stop signs or screening "are not suitable treatments for this location".

"The introduction of stop signs is not in line with the design principles of roundabouts and would likely result in confusion, congestion and community frustration," Mr Sturgiss wrote.

"Speed humps are not suitable for the approach to a roundabout nor are they suitable for use on Collector Roads.

"Screening is also not supported by current design standards and generally is subject to a degree of driver complaint."

Mr Sturgiss wrote that NSW Police reports of accidents indicated a reduction in crashes since the 2020 upgrades.

He said the upgrades had improved the deflection of the roundabout and had slowed vehicles through it.

"Council's first response to speeding issues is to seek enforcement of existing speed limits," he said.

Mr Hill told the Advocate that he had spent 12 years with the NSW Fire Brigade and he knows that it doesn't take much in a car crash to cause serious problems.

"I just don't want to see someone else go through the same drama as me. That's what it boils down to," he said.

COUNCIL'S letter to Mr Hill also said council had asked Transport for NSW to conduct a speed zone review for the Bradwardine Road approach from the north.

The Western Advocate checked with Transport for NSW, which said it did not have a record of a request for the review.

The Advocate asked council about the status of the Bradwardine Road review, but had not heard back by the time of publication.