More than 700 people have rallied behind a petition to implement a formal horse crossing at the section of Travers Street where horses cross to access the Murrumbidgee Turf Club in the mornings.
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The section of the road between Beckwith Street and the Olympic Highway is currently a 60 kilometre per hour zone but petition founder Scott Cox said he wants to see the speed lowered to ensure the safety of not just the horses, but everyone else everyone using the road.
“There have been a number of incidents where a horse and a rider have narrowly escaped injury due to the speed of passing cars,” he said.
“The outcome of the petition aims for the installation of a horse crossing. What I want to try and accomplish is similar to a school zone.
“There would be a reduced speed limit to 40km per hour between 4am and 10am, Monday to Saturday because the track is only open from 4:30am to 9:30am of a morning.”
Mr Cox also noted the amount of houses being built around Estella Rise and Gobbagombalin was another reason change needed to be made.
Jockey Megan Taylor said the idea should have come earlier and that horses become extremely volatile and “unpredictable animals” when frightened or scared.
“I used to be on that side of the levee bank and there was numerous times when people would speed up past you and you’ve got no control,” she said.
“It’s just not safe. I know there are road rules to give way to cars but when you’re on a horse that has a mind of its own and weighs 500 kilograms or more, its not as easy to stop and break when we’re riding.
“I had a horse take off on me from the track once; luckily there was no cars on the road at the time otherwise it could have resulted in a very dangerous situation.
“There is a sign with a photo of a horse but it’s no bigger than a stop sign. More needs to be done to at least make people aware that they need to stop or just keep in mind to slow down when approaching the crossing.”
The petition was part of a university assessment for Mr Cox where students had to select a “civic issue that we see in our community”.
“The best scenario would be to see something similar to a school zone,” he said.
