Three traffic crashes in a month prompts call for urgent action from Acacia Gardens homeowners
AFTER three close calls with cars careering off the one street, some north western Sydney homeowners are asking when the local council when it will do something.
Blacktown
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THREE Acacia Gardens homeowners whose properties have been ploughed into by cars say urgent action is needed before someone is hurt.
Blacktown Council says impact bollards will be installed on Wilson Rd where the houses are but cannot say when.
The property owners, who have seen cars crash into their fences and yards, wrote to the council after three accidents that occurred in the space of about month from June to July at the intersection of Trevor Toms Drive and Wilson Rd.
On July 8, a driver turning from Sunnyholt Rd into Wilson Rd crashed his car into a Chetna Khatri’s backyard fence and shed, coming to a stop just centimetres from her lounge room.
“If it was a school day both my children would have been downstairs,” she said.
“I was worried, what if it wasn’t stopping and it came into the house?
“I can’t even think about what would have happened.”
Later that same day, about 4.30pm, another car hit an electricity box outside Mrs Khatri’s home, narrowly avoiding hitting a pedestrian on the footpath.
“She was lucky, it could have been worse,” she said.
Mrs Khatri and two of her neighbours have written to the council requesting speed deterrents such as a guard rail or speed humps on Wilson Rd.
Another resident said on June 2, a car drove through his fence, causing a huge amount of damage.
“While the damage to my property is extensive, it can all be fixed,’ he said.
“My concern, however, is that if my son or wife were in the backyard at the time, or if a pedestrian was walking by my house on the footpath, they would have been killed by either the car, or the debris that was struck.”
A report to the council’s traffic committee recommended 24 impact bollards be installed in Wilson Rd for $72,000. It also suggested the council investigate the road surface at the location, including a slip resistance test because two of the accidents happened in wet weather.
A council spokesman said there was insufficient space in front of the properties to install a safety barrier that met RMS guidelines.
He said speed humps were not appropriate measure at intersections, in isolation or on busy roads such as Wilson Rd.
The spokesman said it had been listed under the 2017-18 works improvement program for future funding consideration,
Mrs Khatri said the work needed to be done as soon as possible. “What are they waiting for? For someone to die?”
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