REMARKED signs at a number of Wagga’s pinch-point roundabouts are being reviewed by council after they were blasted as “a tragedy waiting to happen”.
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Dobney Avenue, Best Street and the Sturt Highway intersections have stirred up a heated row among Wagga motorists, who told of watching “daily near-misses”.
It comes after The Daily Advertiser reported the changes had ruffled feathers within the community.
Council in March changed a number of left hand lanes at the city’s roundabouts so that they would only allow left-hand turns; stopping drivers from travelling straight.
Mayor Rod Kendall said council would now investigate these changes after they received an influx of feedback from concerned residents.
“Council staff undertook those changes as a result of traffic committee recommendations and there has been quite a bit of feedback –particularly about one on Peter Street,” he said.
“We’ve asked that they be reviewed to ensure there is as much consistency with the city’s roundabouts as possible.
“You want the vast majority of Wagga’s roundabouts to remain similar so that motorists know they’re in the correct lane and have an expectation of how it works.”
Truckie Bruce Dodds was one of the motorists who flagged concerns with the traffic changes.
He said the combination of inconsistent roundabout rules, traffic congestion and last-minute signage was a recipe for disaster.
“It’s only a matter of time before somebody is killed or seriously injured because of these non-nonsensical re-markings,” he said.
“Some roundabouts you have to turn left – others you must keep straight from the left,” he said. “It causes people to make last minute swerves and lane changes.
“It seems like it’ll take a bad accident before people come to their senses.”
Frustrated local Robert Walker had also told The Daily Advertiser the new markings “completely defied rationality” and were poorly thought out.
Engineers in March released a report defending the changes – but council staff may now consider reversing the signage.