Exeter residents have raised concern about a section of the West Tamar Highway, which has been described as an “accident waiting to happen”.
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The 100km/h section of road near Tamar Valley Christian Church was the site of two crashes on Thursday.
One of those crashes saw a log truck overturn, taking out a large cross which stands at the front of the church property and cut off water to the buildings for more than 24 hours.
It was not the first time a crash had occurred outside the church and members are considering putting forward a petition to see the speed limit lowered.
Pastor Kevin Donohue said he had witnessed “many near misses” and experienced some himself throughout his 10 years at the church.
The church previously approached the government about the highway, which resulted in a slip lane being added to give drivers a safer option when turning into the property.
Mr Donohue also removed trees from the front of the property to improve visibility– but he said members were still “jumpy” about entering and exiting.
Up to 80 cars currently enter the property each day, with the organisation operating its non-profit community service out of the church building.
“We have a lot of elderly people come in to have meals and do their shopping,” Mr Donohue said.
“It’s quite a big operation and we’ve increased from three to four days a week so we have a lot of people coming in and out every day.
“Some of the staff are increasingly jumpy about having to turn in off the road.”
The corner is also frequented by trucks and other large vehicles which drive past the church at high-speed while travelling towards areas such as Bell Bay.
“We are not here to blame anyone, the truck drivers are just doing their job,” Mr Donohue said.
“It’s not that people travel too fast, it’s that this section of road is 100km/h with a corner and it seems to create the potential for more crashes- sooner or later someone could get hurt.”
Members of the church discussed their options at the organisation’s monthly meeting on Friday. They will push for the 100km/h section to start further along the highway “just past the church”.
The Department of State Growth was contacted for comment.