A CARINE mother was left shaken after a car crashed into a Duffy Road childcare centre on Tuesday.
No children or staff were injured in the crash into the perimeter wall, but mother Amanda Houghton said children would usually be in the play area and were moved inside due to bad weather.
Ms Houghton said centre staff often parked their cars between the road and the perimeter fence as a buffer because they were worried about the proximity to the road.
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READ NOW“It happened around 3.30pm… they would have been sitting there having their afternoon tea, but due to the weather, staff were starting to move children inside,” she said.
“The centre have been amazing with immediately barricading it up and the manager loves our kids like her own and is obviously shocked and stressed by it all.
“We’re very lucky babies and carers weren’t harmed; it could have been tragic. We just want something done about it.”
Centre owners had asked the City of Stirling to install crash barriers but the measure was rejected because of low crash statistics.
Stirling engineering design manager Paul Giamov said the City had been made aware of the crash by the childcare centre owners.
“The owners have made a request for a crash barrier to be installed as part of notifying the City of the crash,” he said. “While it is appreciated that this was an unfortunate and stressful event, the City is unable to agree with the request for the installation of a crash barrier.”
Mr Giamov said the City would usually consider measures such as crash barriers but there had been only one reported midblock crash in the past five years on the section of Duffy Road, which did not suggest a history of crashes.
“The City understands the concerns for the safety of children at this childcare centre, but considers that each and every request should be considered in a fair and transparent manner that does not favour one type of land use over others,” he said.
“It would be unreasonable to expect the City to install crash barriers at every roundabout intersection or every day care centre in the City in anticipation of a vehicle leaving the roadway, as these types of events are quite random and unpredictable.”
G8 Education marketing manager Erin Day and child care centre staff declined to comment.
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