Cumberland Council calls for street name change after ambulance crew confusion
A street in Merrylands could be renamed after an ambulance was left confused to find a resident because the street was cut in half by a motorway.
A Merrylands street could soon be renamed after an ambulance crew had difficulty finding a resident in need with a street being cut in half by a motorway.
Cumberland Council will write to the NSW Geographical Names Board asking for the street to be renamed north and south Margaret St as the M4 cuts right through it.
Councillor Eddy Sarkis raised the complaint to the council after he received a call from a concerned resident who had to wait longer for the ambulance to arrive this month.
“There used to be one street before the M4 divided the street and … when a resident called the ambulance last weekend (April 13 and 14) to come to Margaret St, well, they went to the wrong Margaret St,’’ he said.
“To get from one Margaret St to the other Margaret St, you’ve got to do a lap that takes a good five minutes.
“He’s got to go to Rita St and Burnett St — it’s a fairly big loop and it could take an ambulance three to five minutes which could mean somebody’s life.”
When Pemulwuy was developed more than 10 years ago, the council closed Butu Wargun Drive at Pemulwuy atop of Prospect Hill when problems arose for couriers trying to reach the street where there is a shopping centre and industrial zone.
Mayor Greg Cummings said several streets south of the M4 were split in two.
Berith Rd at Greystanes is also divided by the M4.
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NSW Ambulance Association’s Liu Bianchi said paramedics were often challenged by several identical street names.
“We used to have Auburn Rd Lidcombe, Auburn Rd Auburn and then Auburn St at Parramatta Mays Hill,’’ she said.
“That’s why we ask for a cross street.”
Ms Bianchi, who worked at Auburn from 1998 to 2004, said railway lines could also cause confusion.
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