After her mother died in a crash at the Golden Vale Road intersection on the Hume, Natasha Stewart has not stopped fighting for safety improvements.
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Gabrielle Stewart and Berlio O'Brien, both in their 70s, died when their sedan collided with a southbound semi-trailer at Sutton Forest about 6.30pm on July 19.
Natasha Stewart said the Hume Highway required improvements to prevent further loss of life, including new underpasses or overpasses so cars were not first forced to cross the highways to turn right, extra overhead lighting at intersections, vegetation management, and extra signs to warn of traffic entering ahead.
After last year’s horror road toll, the NSW government is taking steps to improve road safety, and the Golden Vale Road intersection is on the agenda.
Goulburn MP Pru Goward said the Golden Vale Road/ Hume Highway intersection held a great deal of concern to her and the community.
“I will continually advocate for safety improvements to this intersection,” she said.
“Already, in 2017/18, the NSW Government allocated funding for the area under the Safer Roads Program and will invest $114,000 to allow for improvements to the Golden Vale Road/ Hume Highway intersection.”
The intersection has faced plenty of criticism in the past, as people need to cross busy lanes of the Highway. Ms Goward said the funding would aim to improve the main areas of concern raised by the community.
“The first of [the improvements] will be adjusting line-marking by including a painted median in Golden Vale Road to separate traffic,” she said.
“The funding will also allow for visibility on approaches to the intersection to be improved. In addition, the give-way sign will also be changed to a stop sign.”
Ms Goward has asked that other community issues about the intersection be raised with the relevant authorities.
“I have asked for this road to be discussed at the Wingecarribee Shire traffic committee meetings and that a proposal from the community be put forward. I plan to bring these additional suggestions to the State Government and RMS to investigate and implement,” she said.
Ms Stewart said she was pleased ti hear of the government’s effort to improve road safety.
“I have been very pleased to see that road safety is very much on the parliamentary agenda and attracting a lot of public interest,” she said.
However, she said she hoped the push for road improvements continued into the future.