Move the stop sign

By Jennette Lees

RESIDENTS are up in arms at a decision by Shellharbour Council to move a stop sign from Wooroo Street and place it at the end of their street, Windang Street in Albion Park Rail.

Berenice Murphy said residents end up locked in as traffic drives down Wooroo Street uninterrupted. Residents can wait a number of minutes before seeing a break in the traffic long enough for them to drive through, causing frustration and increasing the risk of an accident.

Shellharbour Mayor David Hamilton said the stop sign was originally moved to ease traffic congestion caused by a series of stop signs placed along neighbouring Koona Street to discourage speeding drivers.

He said the stop sign would remain as is until the six month trial period is complete.

"You have got to give something a decent trial first before jumping in to change it," he said.

He also said the removal of the stop sign from Wooroo Street has caused a number of residents to thank council, when located in Wooroo Street the sign tended to cause traffic to bank up close to the railway track causing a potentially dangerous situation.

Ms Murphy said residents are fed up with the lack of response they are getting from council regarding their complaint.

She said Traffic Committee meetings continue to provide residents with an unsatisfactory result and she wants to see the situation fixed now, not when the six month trial period is up.

In addition to halting residents leaving their own street Ms Murphy said the removal of the stop sign from Wooroo Street to Windang Street took away the only safe crossing area for residents, including children, the elderly and one man who is reliant on a wheelchair.

"?What they have done defies logic, they are an incompetent council that doesn't do their job," she said.