It has been quipped that the reason Braidwood has such a high percentage of agile seniors is that one need be fit to get across the street, but the recommendation of the RMS to add a pedestrian refuge to lower Wallace Street rather than a painted zebra crossing, will mandate that our citizenry will have to continue to dash across the street without priority.
Braidwood Region Seniors Association Inc. have been campaigning for another zebra crossing for a few years and have repeatedly written to the Minister and RMS on behalf of our residents.
Despite appearing to listen to the community at consultation sessions, the RMS is now intent on forging ahead with its plans for a concrete refuge, complete with yellow upright warning signs.
Having a second zebra crossing would be far more consistent. Perhaps there could be white painted dragons’ teeth (zig zag markings) in the central zone to further slow people down. For those approaching the busiest zone, especially from high up in a truck cabin, two pedestrian crossings would signal pedestrian zone and automatically slow drivers down. After all, it’s the law to stop for pedestrians on a crossing.
One could argue that a refuge is more confusing as it’s sometimes not clear who has priority there.
Is this move the tail of the tiger? The first step toward having the current zebra crossing being removed. It could then be deemed inconsistent and confusing to motorists unfamiliar with the town.
The RMS have so far not produced the traffic accident data to back their argument for safety in Braidwood, as there doesn’t appear to be any.
Another argument is if you are going to put in a concrete refuge, then why not have a zebra crossing as part of it? Surely that would be safer still? But this is not preferred by the RMS, because that would mean that the residents of this town would have priority in their own main street.
The heritage issue is of not to be dismissed either. There are no statistics for this as there is no other town quite like Braidwood – no other town that has been heritage listed by the State because of its unique layout, vistas and intact streetscape. It is the aesthetic value of the main street that is the jewel in the crown of this listing, and is highly valued by many residents and visitors alike and has the potential to be the big tourism drawcard. The economic value of this to the town has yet to be fully explored but to lose it would be disastrous.
A quick vox pop on facebook drew comments such as “Sounds like a stupid idea,” “Disaster!,” “Dislike,” “Ummm no thanks,” “Omg!!!” “No thank you very much!” And “It would change the street scape. Isn't Braidwood heritage listed?”
Any appeal against this move would then have to be directed to the Minister. It’s our street. Let’s have our say..again.