Member for Wollondilly Judy Hannan has put Wingecarribee Shire Council, NSW Police and NSW Minister for Roads and Regional Transport Jenny Aitchison on notice regarding traffic safety concerns associated with the 72-place childcare centre approved to be built at 52 Eridge Park Road, Burradoo.
Having joined concerned residents to observe peak period traffic outside the address, Ms Hannan has written to the stakeholders, warning of “an accident waiting to happen”, with specific reference to the busy nature of the road, speeding, banking traffic, vehicles that would inevitably queue to enter and exit the site and restricted driver and pedestrian visibility from the road crest east of the site.
Describing her observations as “deeply concerning”, Ms Hannan has called for the Mayor, all Councillors and Council-appointed qualified traffic and road safety officers to undertake similar on-site observations, and “consider whether you are satisfied that young children and their families can safely enter and leave this location.”
Residents and community-engaged traffic experts meanwhile have slammed brief responses Council has recently provided in relation to the safety concerns.
McLaren Traffic Engineering and Road Safety Consultants found Council’s response to be “erroneous and insufficient” in terms of addressing critical matters such as site access, traffic speed, lack of driver and pedestrian visibility and lack of safety infrastructure. McLaren concludes
“By approving the childcare centre, the Council forwent its opportunity to impose the costs of appropriate mitigation works on the applicant, which was in itself a considerable error… if no action is taken by the Council to mitigate the impacts of the approved childcare centre it has failed in its duty to protect its constituents and ignored the clear and extreme risk to life which will result from the operation of the childcare centre.”
McLaren has produced two previous reports highlighting safety risks and questioning Council’s role in recommending the proposal, in the lead up to approval by the Wingecarribee Local Planning Panel in October last year.
Residents have united to draw attention to safety risks, claiming their concerns were ignored during theassessment phase.
“Yet again Council has been asked to explain itself, and all that’s come back are diversionary responses that don’t address risks to human life,” resident Daniel Udall said.
“We all know childcare centres are needed, but plonking this on a high-crash-risk strip with unforgiving margin for driver error and no pedestrian access or safety infrastructure is asking for carnage.
“Every figure involved in this approval must remember those words.”
Aimee Preece said even a cursory online search showed the horrible history of accidents along the road, including fatalities.
“We invite the Mayor, Councillors and any other government stakeholder to stand with us during peak periods to see how dangerous things are,” Ms Preece said.
“Expecting any parent to cross the road with prams and small kids on foot is a death wish, and the risks of accidents otherwise are through the roof.
You don’t need expert reports to conclude that.
“Jamming a childcare centre here is against all logic and flies in the face of NSW Childcare Planning Guidelines.
“Council and the figures of the Local Planning Panel that approved this have explaining to do.”
Wingecarribee Shire Council has agreed to place the matter on the agenda for the Local Transport Forum, to be held on 28 October.
