IT has taken a predictable serious accident to awaken our Council to the need for traffic management measures in the Hassans Walls Reserve.
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Reduced speed limits have been mooted but speed limits anywhere are only as effective as the level of policing and it is doubtful that police resources could be regularly diverted to The Walls (apart from the obvious problem of getting the BMWs dirty).
So unenforced speed limits are no more than a token gesture and the hoons know it.
More permanent safety measures for the benefit of all recreational visitors are needed and some years back a sub committee of Councillors, Council officers and invited members of the public was set up to work on various issues in the reserve, including traffic safety.
The committee identified the danger spots in need of safety fences, recommended progressive sealing of the road on the western side of the reserve (opposed by cyclists and some walkers) and designed attractive gates for both entrances to the mountain to keep out cars, trail bikes, vandals and rubbish dumpers during hours of darkness.
The plans were generally well received, including by the emergency services, until a change in administration and the new general manager of that time disbanded the committee and decreed that council officers would deal with the issue.
And dear readers that's where hours of deliberation and good intentions withered on the Local Government vine.
Maybe it's time to dig out those plans; they're still relevant.
Leading the blind
TRAFFIC management also left a lot to be desired when the highway was closed for hours last week at Mt Lambie. West bound motorists were diverted off the highway into Wang's Barton Avenue - then left to find their own way to the detour routes. With many totally unfamiliar with the area, including a B double tanker driver, the result was chaotic at times and with road rage imminent. All that was needed was another detour sign or flagman at the Black Bridge but, shame, that just didn't happen.
Raining mud
THINGS got a bit messy on Friday around our area. A dust storm had been hanging around all day and when there was a light rain shower it literally rained droplets of mud. It wasn't pretty, nor was the mood of an associate of the column who had just emerged from the local car wash.
Spring's downside
WITH Sprtingtime comes revival - and the re-emergence of masses of weeds on the highway median and nature strips between Donnybrook and Dunns Corner. It spoils our Tidy Town image but if the indifference of past years is a yardstick we won't expect any control measures too soon.
