Page 3743 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 23 October 2013
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Minister Rattenbury advised that this intersection ranks outside the top 100 similar intersections in the ACT. I note that a spokesperson for the minister in the Canberra Times on Thursday, 17 October said that this intersection was now ranked number 48. I am really interested that we have seen this intersection shoot up the ratings, and I wonder if it will continue on this trajectory over the coming months.
If my calculations are correct, the intersection moves up the minister’s list by one place every 1.7 days. In 83 days, we should then see it make number one—on 8 January 2014. I would hope that by then it will be fixed. If it were a record, it might go platinum by Australia Day. An intersection with a serious two to three-car accident every six weeks clearly needs to be addressed.
I have seen a media article that suggests the minister plans to install stop signs. Let me address this option for a moment. As a mum who has driven across the intersection with my small kids in the car, drivers are already stopping. They stop to try and see what is coming, but the problem is that they cannot see. If one is driving along Hinder Street in either direction and comes to Hibberson Street and looks west down the main road, if there are cars parked on the main road, it is physically impossible to see if there are cars driving towards you. Cars are obscuring the line of sight. Therefore, no number of stop signs will stop accidents, because visibility is the problem here.
Therefore, what this intersection is going to need is lights. For the safety of all those who are forced to play chicken when driving through this intersection, the minister needs to install traffic lights. Those people who have suffered a car accident at this intersection know the inconvenience is not just the cost of repairs or the excess on their insurance. They are often without a car for days or weeks whilst repairs are carried out. There are also ongoing costs to families. They are unable to do basic daily activities like taking the kids to school or dropping them at day care and getting to work, doing the grocery shopping or taking the kids to weekend sport. As we know, it is not possible to do all these things catching the bus.
The dangers at this intersection are not new. I recall in 2008 attending a community forum put on by the Gungahlin Community Council at which a representative from ACTPLA stated, when asked about this crossing, that there was a plan to divert traffic around the perimeter of the Gungahlin town centre. While there may be some merit in something of this nature, it does not resolve the visibility problems at this intersection.
I recall many times driving down Hinder Street towards Hibberson Street. I really could not see if traffic was approaching from the right coming up from the main road. Like many people driving through that intersection, I felt as though I had to play chicken with the crossing traffic. It is particularly frightening when you have young children in the back seat.
Facebook has come alive with a litany of comments from people who have experienced an accident, seen an accident or had a near miss at this intersection. These are the people who live and work in Gungahlin. One person said, “The sheer volume of traffic at certain times of the day suggests it needs either a roundabout or traffic lights.” Another person said, “Traffic lights, the only solution.” Another person
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