CROSSING the road to go to the local shopping centre shouldn’t involve a game of Russian roulette, but that’s how Tamworth pensioners Bill and Elva Warden view it.
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The Wardens are concerned at the difficulty faced by local residents near the Peel St/Marius St intersection trying to access Northgate Shopping Centre.
With the multi-million-dollar upgrade of Peel St/Manilla Rd, Mr Warden believes the needs of pedestrians and cyclists should have been considered more carefully.
He is all for the new kerbing and guttering, the road-widening and the new footpaths, but once you get to the end of the footpath, how exactly do you negotiate the traffic?
“Perhaps council has plans to put in a crossing or something, but at the moment it’s nearly impossible to get across safely from our end of Marius St, to Northgate,” Mr Warden said.
“I would like to see a feasibility study to investigate the installation of a pedestrian crossing, so we can safely cross the road.
“As it is now you have to play Russian roulette with the cars every time you try to go to the shopping centre.”
The Wardens like to walk, and will often visit the shopping centre at least once a day, but the trip to and from is fraught with concern.
“It’s not only us having trouble crossing the road. There are retirement villages on both sides of Northgate,” Mr Warden said.
Tamworth Regional Council regional services director Peter Resch has told The Leader there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, dependent on sufficient funding coming through.
As part of its Fixing Country Roads funding program, Mr Resch said the council would seek funding to install a large roundabout at the Peel St/Marius St intersection and to install traffic lights at the Peel St/Jewry St intersection.
Perhaps then, it might be safer for the Wardens, and other pedestrians in the area, to get to the shops without playing dangerous games.