Liverpool council to install footpaths following two pedestrian deaths

A southwest Sydney council has committed more than $500,000 to construct new footpaths in a bid to improve pedestrian safety after a father of three was fatally struck in an alleged hit-and-run

A southwest Sydney council will construct new footpaths after a father of three was fatally struck in an alleged hit and run.

A southwest Sydney council has pledged to construct new footpaths in a bid to improve pedestrian safety after a father of three was fatally struck in an alleged hit and run.

Liverpool council passed a motion at the last council meeting to allocate $600,000 for the installation of asphalt footpaths in Austral after two men died following collisions in January and February.

Kaz O’Maye, 30, was found unconscious on the side of Bringelly Rd, Rossmore on January 22 after he was struck by a vehicle.

The father was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition where his family made the heartbreaking choice to turn off his life support on February 10.

He left behind his fiance Clarisse and three young children aged two, four, and nine years old.

Kaz O’Maye died following a crash on Bringelly Rd, Rossmore on January 22.

Mr O’Maye’s sister Shae’Lee Stevens urged the driver to come forward at a press conference in February to help piece together her brother’s last moments before the crash.

“We can give these answers to people that are asking us … for his children so that we can leave them with the best memory [of him],” she said.

A month later, a pedestrian was hit and killed by a car on Devonshire St in Rossmore shortly before 6.25am on February 23.

Paramedics treated the man, but he died at the scene.

Kaz O’Maye (second left) and his family.

Liverpool council proposed to construct temporary asphalt footpaths for residents to safely access schools, transport and shops safely until Austral was “developed to an urban standard”.

Council suggested 17 areas to connect footpaths – including Bringelly Rd and Fifth Ave to access the bus stop to Unity Grammar school alongside Bringelly Rd and Edmondson Ave to reach Leppington train station – where residents are forced to walk on the road until the footpath resumes.

Liverpool councillor Betty Green threw her support behind the $600,000 pledge following the pedestrian deaths.

“It’s very timely and it’s definitely something that council should and must do,” she said.

Unfinished footpaths on Fifth Ave in Austral.

Leppington MP and former Liverpool councillor Nathan Hagarty previously raised concerns about the lack of footpaths and said it was unsafe for the residents to walk on the existing roads due to lack of continuous footpaths to access schools, parks, shops, and public transport.

Mr Hagarty said he was “pleased to see Liverpool Council have finally acted” after he

“raised this issue with them last year, which they initially dismissed.”

“Liverpool only relented after I provided evidence showing asphalt footpaths in Camden Council were a tenth of the price Liverpool Council claimed,” he said.

He said safety and the lack of footpaths in Austral is one of his “biggest priorities” and committed $60m for active transport including new footpaths and bike paths last year.

Liverpool council also agreed to prepare for work to commence in July in anticipation of the 2024/2025 budget.