PHOTO: Local resident Jim Parsons says witnessing a possible tragedy pushed him to speak up on the need for off-street parking near the swimming pool.
A hair-raising encounter on the Castlereagh Highway earlier this month has sent local resident Jim Parsons to front shire councillors and staff at the open Community Forum session prior to last Wednesday’s February council meeting.
Mr Parsons told councillors and senior staff he was driving west along Aberford Street (Castlereagh Highway) near Coonamble Swimming Pool in his sedan three weeks ago when a small child appeared in the centre of the road.
Coming the other way was a large truck.
“A little boy broke away, he ran away from his mum. He finished up in the middle of the highway on the double white lines.
“I slammed the brakes on … the Kenworth coming the other way did the same thing.”
Somehow a catastrophe was avoided.
“I wanted to come and talk to you because Coonamble Shire Council have a problem at that swimming pool.”
“The high traffic and busy sidewalks especially during swim trainings and carnivals has created a dangerous situation,” Mr Parsons said.
He pointed out that the supermarkets, MacDonald Park, and Bowling Club also attract pedestrian activity to the area with safety concerns spiking during the peak swimming period.
“Some kid could be absentminded and walk out too far into the road,” Mr Parsons said.
“Especially when it gets hot and dry in summer time, traffic can get heavy.
“I can’t see why the back entrance of the pool can’t be used at busy times.
“Say you get 30 vehicles out there with an average of three or four people, that’s 100 pedestrians taken off that street.”
Councillor Adam Cohen is the current operator of the Coonamble Swimming Pool and agreed with Jim’s assessment.
“I think he’s spot on the money. The more busy the pool is, the more cars will build up on the road.
“It is a safety issue,” Coonamble Pool Operator Adam Cohen said.
He said he has seen a few hairy situations himself.
Cr Cohen said further down the street near the skatepark he also witnessed a child fall off his scooter and be nearly run over by a car.
The heavy traffic has been an issue since Cr Cohen can remember and when he was ten, Mr Cohen was nearly hit by a car himself when using the highway crossing near the pool.
Cr Cohen said the back gates facing the MacDonald Park could be opened to alleviate the congestion from the front gate, particularly when there are events on at the pool.
Council agreed that there is plenty of space at the rear of the pool and were reminded that previous councils had begun the process.
“We do actually have a carpark designed there,” said Mayor Dan Keady. “We need to get some funding or put some funding into the budget to do that.”
Cr Karanouh pointed out that in 2023, Council was successful in their application to reduce the speed limit to 40 kilometres per hour in Coonamble’s CBD and along that section Aberford Street due to safety concerns.
From March, Council will be considering budget items for the new financial year.
“I do think it would be a big help,” Mr Parsons said. “The thing I don’t want to see or hear about is a medical officer signing a death certificate because of a road accident that was probably preventable.
“It needs to happen now.”