Council taking a walk on right side

PEDESTRIAN safety has become one of Darwin Council’s priorities ahead of the Arafura Games, with a number of crossings to be installed at Marrara ahead of next month’s event.

Four sets of traffic lights will be installed in the Marrara sporting complex.

Alderman Rebecca Want De Rowe said the crossings were a necessity at Marrara and would serve the community well after the games were over, particularly given the amount of children who used the precinct.

“Marrara stadium is used by a lot of children – if we put 40km zones where kids are (such as schools), I don’t know why we don’t do it where we know they spend a lot of time,” Ms Want De Rowe said.

“Why it’s needed at the moment is you do have kids, they are running out they’re excited, they’ve just won the game, they will run across the road without looking either way.”

While some called for the crossing to be delayed to ensure it was properly thought out, with other means suggested to ensure pedestrian safety for the games, Ms Want De Rowe said pedestrian crossings were the best way to ensure safety for the games.

Alderman Gary Haslett agreed there was no reason crossings should be delayed.

“It’s about safety, it’s about community use in this area,” he said.

The four crossings are set to be installed with new street lights between the Darwin Basketball Stadium and the opposite car park, the Marrara Hockey Stadium and the opposite car park, at the Abala Rd T intersection and on Abala Rd between the entrance to Larrakia Park and the Marrara indoor sporting complex.

The Arafura games run from April 26 to May 4.