‘Trump-style fence’ needed to stop people accessing Mermaids Pool
WOLLONDILLY Council is hoping a parking fine blitz and improved safety measures will stop the increasing number of deaths and injuries at a popular bushland swimming spot.
Macarthur
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WOLLONDILLY Council is hoping a parking fine blitz and improved safety measures will stop the increasing number of deaths and injuries at a popular bushland swimming spot.
Councillor Matt Gould called for a report into improving emergency access to the Mermaids Pool, at Tahmoor, and also for council to investigate ways to discourage tourists, who were using it as a swimming location, from accessing the area.
Since the summer season started, multiple people have been injured at the site and needed a helicopter to winch them out of the area.
Council will also increase ranger patrols to fine people parking on Rockford Rd to access Mermaids Pool.
The council has already fined illegal parkers on the road more than $9000 in total since the start of the year in a bid to stop people only interested in swimming and not bushwalking from using Mermaids Pool.
“Over the last 12 to 18 months Mermaids has become far more popular than it historically has been and we’re getting far more people there and far more injuries from people taking foolish risks and jumping from places they shouldn’t jump from,” Cr Gould said.
Cr Blair Briggs said cracking down on illegal parking would ensure people would enter from the correct location instead of trekking across private land.
“Maybe we need to talk to the landowners to ensure that we get a Trump-style fence across that private land,” he said.
“Once we force the traffic into a distance I think we’ve fixed half of the problem.”
Cr Gould said improving emergency access and signage was important to address the current safety issues.
“We need to be discouraging people jumping into the water ... we also need to deal with the reality of the fact that there are idiots jumping in and getting spinal injuries and we need to not make the situation worse and try to make it so that there is a swift way to deal with it,” he said.
“There have been cases I’m aware of where there have been broken fingers and injuries that are not insignificant but that don’t necessarily require helicopter extraction, but because of the nature of the pool at the moment there is no way of getting out.
“What could be a walkout incident turns into a full-scale rescue.”
Cr Noel Lowry said he was concerned the measures would send a message that Mermaids Pool was closed off to the public and believed they should only be temporary to manage the safety concerns in the area.
“One of the things I’m most concerned about is this is one of our most beautiful assets in the shire and we’re saying don’t go there,” he said.
“Hopefully this is an interim step where, in fact, we should be promoting the site and promoting the safety rules we have on our roads and in our rivers.
“It’s a very enticing place for young people to jump in and have a swim ... but there are rules and we have to teach people what the rules are.”