The Northern Midlands Council will conduct a vehicle survey to try and find a solution to address safety concerns about Longford's Wellington and Marlborough streets intersection
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The council will survey the intersections of Marlborough and Lyttleton streets to get data on vehicle movements and investigate heavy vehicle movements to identify alternate routes.
Concerns on pedestrian safety were raised with the council in September 2019, when a crash caused damage to Sticky Beaks Cafe and owner Gregory Howlett wrote to the council.
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In a statement, Mr Howlett said it was widely acknowledged the intersection was dangerous.
He said the problems were the fact the road curved, vision was impeded, the proximity of the William Street intersection was too close and increased traffic flow caused drivers to hurry.
"There have been untold near misses and quite a number of accidents. There have been two accidents where vehicles have crashed into the wall of Sticky Beaks," he said.
"[We] hear brakes screech about once a week indicating regular near misses. Many say it is surprising that no one has died yet. This could easily happen."
The Department of State Growth own Marlborough Street but have no plans to upgrade the intersection.
The council's engineering officer Jonathan Galbraith said kerb alignments would improve safety but may prevent heavy vehicles from turning. Another suggestion was bollards to protect pedestrians.
Council's engineering officer Jonathan Galbraith said kerb alignments would improve safety but could also prevent heavy vehicles from turning at this intersection.
Another suggestion was bollards to protect pedestrians.
"Although the number of officially recorded crashes at this intersection is low there have been many unrecorded crashes most of which have only caused minimal damage. If a pedestrian had been involved in any of these incidents the consequences would have been much more serious," he said.
"The low number of officially recorded crashes at this intersection would make it more difficult to secure funding, but there are provisions in the process for applicants to demonstrate that the risk of an accident is high."
The vehicle survey will be conducted before options are explored by the council.
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Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
