The removal of the raised pedestrian wombat crossing at Tooronga Terrace, Beverly Hills will go ahead under a recommendation by the Georges River Council assets and infrastructure committee.
More than 600 residents signed a petition calling for the retention of the crossing after RMS and the council’s traffic staff said it should go.
The RMS had obtained expert advice that the wombat crossing was not safe.
Residents wanted the wombat crossing to stay, fearing its removal would worsen traffic conditions on Tooronga Terrace which they described as a “high speed rat run.
They said the raised wombat crossing in the four-lane Tooronga Terrace, east of King Georges Road, had been there since the early 1960s
There is a signalised crossing 50-metres to the west of the wombat crossing at the intersection of Tooroonga Terrace and King Georges Road.
But residents said there had been many near misses at the Wombat crossing as drivers were focusing on trying to make the lights at the signalled crossing.
The Beverly Hills North Progress Association called on the council to keep the wombat crossing and remove a lane on Tooronga Terrace with would reduce the appeal to rat-runners.
A head count by the City of Hurstville Residents’ Association found that between 1000 to 1500 residents use the crossing each day.
Residents are also concerned that if the crossing is removed, pedestrians would still cross at the same location out of habit and endanger themselves.
The council decided to remove the crossing in July 2017. AT the time the council was still under administration and a decision was delayed so it could be made be elected councillors.
Last month, the newly-elected councillors conducted a site meeting at the crossing.
A decision on its removal was deferred for legal advice on any potential liability of Georges River Council, as well as the potential personal liability of councillors should a claim arise against the council in relation to the crossing if the council declined to remove it.
The legal advice found that the council should act in according with the available expert advice regarding the safety concerns about the crossing, recommending it be removed.
“Failure to do so may, in the event of an accident at the crossing lead to the council as an organisation and councillors individually, being personally liable to pay damages and legal costs in the event of a claim by an individual alleging loss or damage as a result of the defective crossing,” the council report said.
The matter goes to next week’s meeting of Georges River Council for a final decision.
If the council votes to go ahead with its removal, a number of measures may be adopted.
This includes asking the RMS to extend the green time for pedestrians at the signalised crossing at the intersection of King Georges Road and Tooronga Terrace and installing a pedestrian fence to prevent jaywalking and encourage the suing of the signalised pedestrian crossing.
