Campbelltown residents fight for Raby Rd to be safer following Margaret Waugh’s death

Campbelltown residents are calling for urgent safety upgrades to a dangerous stretch of road which claimed the life of a beloved 70-year-old grandmother in March.

Dedicated locals are fighting for a dangerous stretch of road in Sydney’s southwest to be “fixed” after a 70-year-old was killed in a horror crash earlier this year.

Beloved grandmother Margaret Waugh was killed on March 30 when she was involved in a three-car crash on Raby Rd at the intersection of Mustang Drive.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene following reports a Ford Falcon, Mazda 3 and Toyota Corolla collided and found the 70-year-old with serious injuries.

Emergency crews worked to save her but she died at the scene.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene following reports a Ford Falcon, Mazda 3 and Toyota Corolla collided on March 31.

In the two months since the fatal crash, a pair of dedicated locals have been fighting to have the road made safer, with a petition now being circulated in shops throughout the suburbs.

Resident Angela Lemaitre said Ms Waugh’s death opened her eyes to the fact something needed to be done on Raby Rd.

“Everyday I cross this intersection and the Kearns Ave intersection and I always say to myself ‘it’s so dangerous’,” Ms Lemaitre told the Macarthur Chronicle.

“I have witnessed three accidents this year already on the Kearns Ave intersection and I have seen the carnage from the Mustang Drive intersection regularly.”

Margaret Waugh tragically died in the horror crash. Picture: Facebook

Following Ms Waugh’s death, Ms Lemaitre kickstarted a Facebook page to gauge whether others were as fed up as she was.

She quickly noticed many locals had similar concerns.

“In an ideal world we would like to see traffic lights as it would provide safe road crossing on each side of Raby Rd and pedestrian crossing for students coming from various schools,” Ms Lemaitre said.

“It would provide safe turning onto Raby Rd and it would slow down speeding cars that treat the section of road like a raceway.”

“Another option is a pedestrian bridge and a speed camera, or at the least a slip lane from both intersections.”

Following multiple calls to Campbelltown Council voicing her concerns about the dangers of the road, Ms Lemaitre decided to start the petition as she believed her concerns were “falling on deaf ears”.

In her many calls with the council, Ms Lemaitre asked for reports regarding the safety of Raby Rd and was told one had been completed in 2016.

“This is outdated and even though we have been told work will take place, we don’t think it’s good enough,” she said.

Locals are calling for two intersections onto Raby Rd to be safer. Picture: Google Maps

The petition was started on June 1 and pushes for the community to support the women in getting a Traffic Flow Analysis from council as a first step to make the road safer.

It has since been left at multiple businesses in Raby, with Ms Lemaitre saying many people are signing and agree with her concerns.

Campbelltown City Council Director of City Delivery Kevin Lynch said a traffic study model prepared for Raby Rd in 2016 “identified several upgrades to improve traffic flow and enhance safety for road users”.

“Based on the traffic study, both Kearns Avenue and Mustang Drive intersections have been identified for improvements subject to future traffic assessments in the area,” Mr Lynch said.

“Following the recent crash at Mustang Drive, NSW Police did not raise any immediate concerns with Council regarding safety or infrastructure improvements.

“We’re working closing with NSW Police to monitor driver behaviour on Raby Road.”