PLAYING CHICKEN: Does RMS want more blood on killer road?

A BALLINA Road resident is pushing for improvements to a sharp bend near his home.

Andrew Baldwin lives on Ballina Road, Goonellabah, and is concerned about the dangerous corner near his house. Picture: Alison Paterson

A RESIDENT who lives on a notorious stretch of Ballina Road in Goonellabah is calling for drastic action.

Andrew Baldwin was witness to a truck crash outside his home on Tuesday, and knows too well the dangers of the bend.

The Sunrise Crescent corner along the Bruxner Hwy at Goonellabah is known to some as chicken coop corner after a truck carrying a load of poultry rolled on the bend in October 2018.

It has been host to a double fatality, and Mr Baldwin fears more tragedies may unfold if the road is not fixed.

"It's only a matter of time before someone else is killed there," he said.

"It seems like the RMS needs more blood on the road before anything happens."

He recently discovered there were plans to straighten the road using the land downhill in 1979, however, these plans have not seen the light of day for some time.

"I think there should be agitation for that again," he said.

"This is a highway, it's not a suburban street, they have room to fix it."

"The engineering of the road that's there is appalling, it's made for accidents.

"The camber of the road goes inward, then cuts the other way after the bend. It tends to destabilise any vehicle coming around at speed."

The RMS advice to motorists is to slow down when approaching the corner, and Mr Baldwin said the only way to enforce that was to implement speed cameras.

Meanwhile, Lismore MP Janelle Saffin took the problem to Lismore City Council's Traffic Advisory Committee in March.

As a result, council's assets team will investigate potential funding under the Safer Roads Funding to upgrade the intersection of Ballina Road and Sunrise Crescent.

"I have walked the area with local residents and understand their real apprehension of a truck rollover or car ending up in their yards," Ms Saffin said.

"Major accidents get recorded but not the many near-misses that residents see and live with."

As for the speed camera solution, Ms Saffin hopes funding will come through to straighten the road.

"Speed cameras tend to slow us down, but a better option is to move to fix the corner once and for all."