Concerned that someone – especially a young child – could be killed or seriously injured, Cr Hughes and residents called for the installation of a pedestrian crossing but the council decided to go ahead with a pedestrian refuge, along with speed humps to slow the traffic.
However, a rescission motion by Cr Hughes, means the council will now have to reconsider the report at its first meeting this year.
Residents, like Alex Doyan, have told the council that the street is getting busier and busier – and faster.
“I feel really unsafe … All we are asking is to be safe on the street,” he said.
Roula Christodoulides, whose grandson died from his injuries eight months after he ran out onto Kibo Road and was hit by a car (no fault of the driver), has lived on the street for 32 years and just wants to see traffic slowed down.
“I don’t want another family to go through what we went through,” he said.
“We need to slow the traffic, there are too many young families. We don’t want to see any else hurt.”
Cr Hughes said residents had been crying out for something to be done for the last four years and the proposal for a pedestrian refuge rather than a crossing, was “ludicrous”.
“It is what is being asked for by the people for the people,” she said.
Cr Hughes said the crossing would provide more safety while families would still need to dodge traffic if they used the refuge.
“A refuge does not slow down traffic and make people stop,” she said.
“We need to give residents and families peace of mind, and that means a crossing.”
The council has also proposed the installation of speed humps to further slow traffic.
We want crossing not refuge
IT’S back to the drawing board for safety upgrades along Kibo Road, Regents Park, with councillor Helen Hughes and several residents saying more needs to be done.
