Doubts held

IN response to the letter in last week’s edition from D Matthews of Palmyra headlined ‘Many to benefit’, I also live near the intersection on Macrae Road, Applecross, and support the basic concept of attempting to make our roads safer.

I find the changes aesthetically improve the streetscape but like the Browns, I have doubts about the overall effectiveness of the changes.

Motorists travelling up Ardross Street towards Canning Highway confront an island system that intends to slow and deflect traffic into an ‘S’ bend entry to the intersection.

This island system comprises an initial high-profile kerbed island deflecting traffic the left.

There is then a central section with curved kerbing and white lines indicating the direction traffic should follow. This kerbing is flush with the road surface.

At the intersection, there is a further high-profile kerbed island at the same point where Ardross Street traffic entered the roundabout before the realignment.

It is the central section where I see a problem, as it is possible to drive in a straight line from the first high kerb to the second therefore eliminating the intended deviation and need to slow down.

The realignment opened to traffic on September 1 and I have seen three cars already, without any reduction in speed, enter the roundabout by eliminating the deviation.

Furthermore, there are tyre marks on the entry island kerb indicating where some have taken the short-cut line.

I suspect that the low-profile kerb in the centre island was to appease concerns about vehicle access to and from residences within the modified road section.

However, and for whatever reason, the low-profile kerb has a potentially significant impact on the effectiveness of the realignment.

I sincerely hope that the instances I have observed are aberrations of motorist concentration and that the effectiveness of the realignment meets the designers’ aims.

DARRALL TRAINOR,

Applecross