A SYDNEY motorist who was “T-boned” at an intersection in Wagga’s CBD has described the city’s roundabouts as “the worst in the state”.
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Narrow passing lanes and “inconsistent” road markings are leaving local drivers susceptible to sideswipes, according to Cheryl Marty.
While passing through Wagga for a business trip, Ms Marty claims she was forced to perform risky last-minute lane changes at most roundabouts.
“I haven’t seen left-and-right turn only lanes at roundabouts anywhere else in the state,” she said.
“I saw another car in a left-turn only lane near the mall, so I figured they were turning and chose to go.
“Obviously they didn’t understand it either because they went straight anyway and smashed straight into the side of my car.”
She said most of the city’s intersections appeared “rushed” and “illogical”.
“At one end of Wagga you have roundabouts that only allow you to turn left and the other you can only turn right,” Ms Marty said.
“There needs to be consistency.”
The scathing critique comes on the back of ongoing debate over Wagga’s controversial Bunnings roundabout – which last year claimed the mantle of being the city’s worst intersection.
Businessman Gary Gurtner has joined calls for the city’s roundabouts to be reviewed – especially at the Dobney Avenue and Pearson Street intersection.
He believes several intersections containing roundabouts would be better served by traffic lights or stop signs.
“The Bunnings roundabout is obviously the worst but there’s a few of them that definitely need attention,” he said.
“At Fernleigh Road, the buses and trucks are forced to drive over the gutter because it isn’t even wide enough – and that’s an accident waiting to happen.
“Something needs to be done about at least four.
“The cars charge in and out of most of them and it’s unbelievable.”
Re-marked signs at a number of Wagga’s pinch-point roundabouts also came under fire.
Truckie Bruce Dodds 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 told The Daily Advertiser this year.