General News
26 November, 2024
Speeding a risk to children
A NEWELL Beach resident is concerned that speeding drivers along Marine Parade pose a danger to children who play in the area.
Eddie Toth has seen drivers ignoring the 50km/h speed signs and is afraid there will be a fatality if nothing is done.
He said people needed to drive more responsibly in the area.
“There are cars speeding and they’re doing well and truly over 50, over 60 kays and some are even faster,” Mr Toth said.
“It’s pretty much about people being mindful. They’ll just have to slow down on the roads because one day there will be a fatality, and unnecessarily.
“And that’s my biggest concern, trying to avoid any possible fatalities with kids on bikes and they do run out on the streets on the main road.
“Going back three or four years there weren’t that many young families here with kids under 10. But now there are and that’s my biggest concern.
“They’ve put in cameras that tell you the speed you’re going but that’s done nothing – and that’s been up for a bit more than a year, maybe. I really believe our streets should be 40km/h.”
Mr Toth said he spoke to the council a year or so ago asking if they could either reduce the speed limit to 40km/h or explore other safety measures such as speed humps.
He said the response was that “no-one wants speed humps, if that’s an alternative option, because you’d be hearing the cars and trailers (bumping over them) all day and all night – so no one wants that in the area”.
Mr Toth said speeding drivers had killed also four curlews on Marine Parade within two weeks.
“If cars were not speeding, they’d have time to slow down and not hit them.
“A curlew doesn’t just run across the road in front of you,” he said.
Douglas Shire Mayor Lisa Scomazzon told The Gazette, “(the) council has previously reviewed Marine Parade and responded to community concerns in Newell by installing speed warning devices (smiley signs) in key locations along Marine Parade”.
“If residents notice poor driver behaviour, I would encourage this to be reported to the Queensland Police Service on 131666 (13HOON),” she said.
Read More: Far North
