A CAR and motorcycle crash at the notorious Giinagay Way/Valla Beach Road intersection closed the former in both directions on Tuesday afternoon, mere hours after Transport for NSW issued a call for the community to “get on board” with road safety changes at the site.
In a media statement released Tuesday morning, motorists were urged to drive with extra care after speed reductions were implemented on Giinagay Way.
A permanent 60 km/h speed limit is now in place from 500 metres north of Valla Beach Road to the existing 100km/h change point south of Valla Beach Road.
Transport for NSW says this change to this one-kilometre section of road adds about 20 seconds to travel times.
It carried out the speed zone review after an increase in the number of recorded crashes and near misses at the site.
“This reduction will help reduce the recent increase in crashes occurring at this location, improve safety for vehicles turning into and out of Valla Beach Road and East West Link Road and reduce the severity of any future crashes that do occur,” Transport for NSW Regional Director North Anna Zycki said.
“These changes have been implemented in response to community concerns – now the community must play its part in helping make this intersection safer.”
New signage, traffic separators and line marking have also been implemented.
Member for Oxley Michael Kemp is calling on the Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison to “immediately address the dangerous conditions” at the intersection.
Mr Kemp said concerns over the site have not been taken seriously by Transport for NSW or the Minister, despite repeated representations from the community, police and emergency services.
“We’ve had crash after crash, and it feels like they aren’t taking it seriously enough,” Mr Kemp said.
“The community is fed up and they want action now before another potentially fatal incident,” Mr Kemp said.
“The upgrades to the intersection have already cost taxpayers a considerable sum, yet the outcomes have failed to address the core problem of driver confusion.
“Community safety must come before theoretical road rules. What looks good on paper clearly isn’t working in practice,” Mr Kemp said.
In a statement to media on Wednesday, Ms Aitchison said the recent crash history at the intersection is “unacceptable”.
“I have made it clear to Transport for NSW that I am not satisfied with the current state of safety measures at the Valla Beach Road intersection and that more must be done, and it must be done quickly.
While previous improvements such as speed limit reductions to 60km/h, enhanced signage, line markings, and traffic separators have been introduced, the frequency of incidents clearly show that the job is not finished.
In response, I have directed the Centre for Road Safety to deploy a team on site immediately to conduct thorough inspections and identify stronger, more permanent safety solutions.”
Meanwhile police are also urging the community to take extra caution.
“Our priority is to protect the lives of everyone on the road, and we need the cooperation of road users to help us do that,” said Coffs Mid Coast Sector Highway Patrol Inspector Anthony Smith.
“We urge drivers to slow down, drive safely, and pay attention to any changes in the roadway and speed limits like we’ve seen on Giinagay Way.”
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