The inner city suburbs of Pyrmont and Ultimo need more crossings and flashing school-zone signs to mitigate the area’s pedestrian hazards, say residents.
Members of the community met in recent weeks to discuss longheld concerns about safety and to pinpoint specific intersections which have been deemed dangerous.
The area’s families have sought solutions from the City of Sydney and the Roads and Maritime Services department and are ramping up their campaign in light of a four-year-old girl’s death on Harris St last month.
A spokesperson for the Ultimo Village Voice, William D’Anthes said the area is plagued with confusing signage, speeding drivers and traffic enforcement issues.
“We have a problem with the way the whole area is configured,” he said.
“The one-way streets make it very difficult to find your way around the area.”
One of the group’s chief concerns is the lack of flashing school-zone signs along its major arteries.
He said many people could be unaware of the proximity of Ultimo Public School to the roads since its location is not apparent.
He said there should be flashing school-zone signs on Harris, Wattle and Jones Streets.
“We’ve been trying to get those flashing signs for some years now.”
An RMS spokesperson said: “Flashing lights have not been installed in the school zones on Quarry, Harris, Jones, Wattle or William Henry streets, but will be assessed using the criteria model for future roll-outs.”
Two of the community’s difficult intersections are along William Henry St, at Wattle and Jones Streets.
Nilo Arif is pregnant with her third child and has lived on Wattle St since 2007.
Her family was one of the first tenants in the new residential building and when they moved in she informed both City of Sydney and the Roads and Transport Authority (now RMS) of the missing crossing at William Henry and Wattle Streets.
“We still have to cross three lights in order to go to the other side.”
She and her husband take their son to a nearby childcare centre and since there are no pedestrian aids along William Henry St until Bulwara Rd, she often runs across.
“I hope that it won’t take more accidents for the Council to do something about road safety,” she said.
An RMS spokesperson said there were 22 crashes at Jones and William Henry Streets in the three years to September 30.
“These roads and intersections are local roads under the care and control of City of Sydney Council.”
A spokesperson from the City of Sydney said: “At Jones Street and William Henry Street, the City has asked the NSW Government and Federal Government for funding to install traffic lights and pedestrian crossings under the Black Spot Program. We expect to hear soon if funding has been approved.”
Restaurant manager Edwin Christanto of Morin said he saw the aftermath of a crash at the intersection a few weeks ago.
The café is footsteps from the corner of Jones and William Henry Streets.
“The last accident we saw, a person was lying on the ground for half an hour … he was a motorcyclist,” he said.
“People just don’t care about signs, they ignore them, such as the no right turn one.”
