Ballina Road has become the “Berlin wall” for residents of Girards Hill, who say it’s a “nightmare” to cross the road, also known as the Bruxner Highway.

Despite being so close to the Lismore CBD, locals say the highway has turned Girards Hill into an island that they can’t get out of easily, without the fear of being hit by a car.

Dawson Street resident Anne Meagher said “it’s only a matter of time until someone is killed.”

“We’ve been fighting since 2015 to get a safe pedestrian crossing installed near the roundabout there,” Anne said.

Making the road safer for pedestrians to cross is an issue that has already been identified as important by the NSW Government.

In a 2019 election pledge, the Government promised a $6 million safety upgrade and traffic lights installation at the Dawson St and Bruxner Highway roundabout.

But now the Government has changed its mind - and plans to upgrade the Bruxner Highway and Molesworth Street roundabout instead.

Anne said the reason the government changed its plan was because the cost of upgrading the Dawson Street roundabout was too high.

“They have funding resources of $6 million allocated, but the they have delayed too long and now it’s about money,” she said.

“They have put it in the too hard basket.”

Angry

The issue has made many Girards Hill residents angry - and activated State MP Janelle Saffin to champion the issue.

Recently, Ms Saffin sent letters to 312 Girards Hill residents expressing her concerns about the NSW Government’s decision.

The letter arrived in the same week as a glossy NSW Government brochure detailing the new proposal for the Molesworth street intersection upgrade.

Having the support of MP Saffin is good news for Anne Meagher, who is one of many people who try to negotiate a roundabout that sees 25,000 cars a day - with no safe pedestrian crossing.

“Girards Hill is so close to the centre of CBD and people should be able to ride their bikes or walk to town,” Anne said.

“The kids living here get their parents to drive them to school because there is no crossing.

“The irony is that the kids live too close to school to get a government bus pass, even though the road is classed as dangerous by the Education department and deemed unsuitable to cross.

“I have a dog and getting to the island between the sides of the multilane highway with 60 km/hr is a challenge.

“People who are not fit, or elderly, or have injuries or children tend to avoid it – and many people take their cars instead, because walking is dangerous.”

Central to CBD

Near the Dawson Street and Ballina Road roundabout is a cluster of food take away shops, a laundromat and an Aldi.

The roundabout is a central to town and people also use it as a short cut through to Farmer Charlies and then onto the CBD.

Girards Hill residents Mark Butcher and David Dyer said they have often made a “mad dash” to the centre of the road while trying to cross.

“Just standing at the side of the road waiting to cross is also dangerous,” Mark said. “I’ve had to step back to stop being run over by truck tyres.

“Large trucks can’t navigate the roundabout and override the kerb frequently – you can see places where the concrete has been broken away by trucks.”

David said he tried to cycle through the roundabout and has” nearly been collected”.

“I’ll never do it again. Trying to the road is a logistical nightmare – the stuff of nightmares.”

Options and solutions

Anne wants to see the government honour its 2019 election promise to make the Dawson Street intersection a safer place to cross the road.

“Dawson Street is the gateway roundabout that continues onto Bangalow Road and gets all the north bound traffic,” Anne said.

“More and more trucks use this road as a shortcut to Ballina. Moving the traffic lights to Molesworth Street won’t resolve the issues.

“People can already choose to walk under the bridge at Molesworth Street and use the park throughway to cross the road.

“One the other side of the Ballina Road bridge, there is a bottleneck there too – and traffic often backs up to the Hollingsworth bridge – something needs to be done about that too.”

The Molesworth Street upgrade plan

The NSW Government’s brochure about the proposed upgrade to the Molesworth Street and Ballina Road intersection said the upgrade would “ease congestion at the intersection to reduce travel times”, “allow safer crossing for pedestrians” and “complement future planning for the Bruxner Highway through Lismore”.

The plan involves creating signalised pedestrian crossings, more dedicated turning lanes and ‘storage lanes for stopped vehicles.

The upgrade also plans to remove car parks from the western end of Bounty Street and remove trees in the road reserve between the road and Heritage Park.

Cheap fix solution

“The cheap fix solution to the Molesworth Street intersection is easy,” Mark said.

“Where the two lanes of Ballina Road lead onto the Ballina Bridge, make one lane a designated right hand only turning lane.

“Then bring the traffic lights back to the Dawson Street gateway roundabout and put in a pedestrian crossing where people access services.”

Anne said there used to be a zebra crossing in the vicinity, but it was taken away because traffic didn’t stop and people were injured trying to cross Ballina Road.

"In a previous consultation period to find a solution, a number of options for the road were considered and dismissed," she said.

“The government entertained having an underpass, but the area was in the flood plain so it deemed inappropriate."

“And an overpass was deemed too expensive and not accessible for those with disabilities or bicycles.”

“Lismore City Council’s Traffic Advisory Committee also decided that the upgrade at the Dawson Street roundabout was a preferred option.”

To have you say about the NSW Government’s plans, you can complete an online survey by Friday, August 6 at http://www.yoursay.transport.nsw.gov.au/molesworth

You can also call Region North on 1800 653 092.

More information about the proposal can be found at http:///nswroads.work/molesworthstreet