news, local-news, appin road, fred borg, road deaths

Extreme measures are needed to "stop the killing" on the notorious Appin Road, Campbelltown councillor Fred Borg says. Almost 40 fatalities in less than 20 years — four in the past 18 months — have occurred on the stretch of road that runs from Rosemeadow south to Bulli, via the small but expanding township of Appin. While the road passes through three local government areas — Campbelltown, Wollondilly and Wollongong — the state government is responsible for the maintenance and upgrades. The NSW Centre for Road Safety conducted a review of the road and released it's findings late last year. Cr Borg said the upgrades recommended following the review, and previous safety measures implemented by state governments, were inadequate and "cosmetic". Several large developments including Appin Valley are set to push additional traffic onto the road, which currently records about 10,000 traffic movements a day. Cr Borg says he is determined not to approve any more developments that "will allow just one more extra car onto Appin road". He has urged his fellow councillors to follow his lead and not allow the Mount Gilead Urban Release Area south of Rosemeadow to proceed further until the NSW Government assures the council the appropriate safety and capacity needs of the road are in place. The development has potential for up to 1700 lots. "I'm sick of reading newspapers where politicians' responses are cosmetic upgrades," he said. "Appin Road is a death trap. "You would think something like this would have been ratified. "I'm asking not only the politicians to listen, but also [my fellow] councillors to vote with me to make sure [this development] doesn't happen. "There should be no development done without correct infrastructure." A former Appin resident of 11 years, Cr Borg said he frequently heard sirens and always "feared it could have been one of my children or grandchildren". Professor Greaves of the University of Sydney's Institute of Transport and Logistic Studies recently said the the frequency of fatalities on Appin Road should "raise a red flag". The speed limit along Appin Road between the township of Appin and Bulli Tops will be reduced from 100km/h to 90km/h as of Monday, February 23. Professor Greaves said the move would be redundant unless the limits were enforced. ____________________________________________________________ What do you think of Appin Road? Sound off in the comments below.

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