SPEED HUMP REMOVAL RAISES SPECTRE OF FATALITIES Signs of worse to come
A HERMIT Park resident whose two family members have been involved in separate crashes at the same suburban intersection says it is a matter of time before somebody dies.
Shari Tagliabue, whose mother and niece were involved in crashes at the intersection of Carmody and Halloran streets, said the removal of speed bumps from Carmody Street had turned it into a thoroughfare and now only a give-way sign slowed down traffic.
The latest crash happened on Thursday when two vehicles collided at the intersection. One of the cars brought down a give-way sign before crashing into a fence in Carmody Street.
“We’ve had speed bumps before, so why you would take them away?” Ms Tagliabue said. “The fact that there’s give-way signs with trees planted in front of both them, it’s not clear; and the fact there’s been serious accidents means it’s clearly a hotspot.
“We have had three accidents (recently) — two of them involving my family, and neither of them their fault — it could have been a lot worse; somebody could have died.
“There’s a lot of traffic coming down this (Carmody) street leaving the supermarket, so if you’re going to have a lot of traffic down a narrow street, you have to have conditions.”
In July a car believed to have been stolen went through the intersection without giving way and hit a car being driven by Ms Tagliabue’s mother, sending it through two fences and into a backyard. Witnesses said it was a miracle the consequences were not more severe.
Ms Tagliabue’s mother suffered seven broken ribs and a broken sternum.
“My niece was T-boned at this same spot about a year ago and then we had the other accident the other day with two cars, and people were taken to hospital,” Ms Tagliabue said.
“I mean if all else fails we could have a roundabout but we have the hoons coming through here, so I’d imagine that would just cause another issue for the stolen car circuit.
“People living on the corners have had their houses crashed in to. If there’s children in the front yard … I mean it’s a flow-on effect that hasn’t been considered.”
A Townsville City Council spokesman said it was aware of four crashes happening at the intersection in the past five years. “At least two of these crashes occurred because a driver disobeyed the give-way sign,” the spokesman said.
“The speed bump on Carmody St was removed because it had deteriorated.
“Council will undertake a traffic study of the intersection and will explore the installation of additional signage and line markings to enhance safety.”