Line marking to finally go ahead in troublesome school drop off zone

Three years after a traffic issue was first raised with Gunnedah Shire Council, new “Keep Clear” line marking will be added for safety in Elgin Street, Gunnedah.

It follows the latest Local Traffic Advisory Committee report which recommended the changes be implemented.

According to the report, which was expected to be endorsed at Wednesday evening’s council meeting, the traffic committee supported a recommendation to install line marking and a “Keep Clear” area adjacent the bus stop in Elgin Street.

The report said this was to keep bus and vehicle movements apart and to delineate the centre of the road, thus discouraging queueing of turning traffic into the McDonalds carpark.

The recommendation followed correspondence to council in September 2022 regarding the congestion at the entrance to McDonalds on Elgin Street during school pick up and drop off which also indirectly impacts the Conadilly-Elgin St roundabout.

“Of an afternoon at 3pm this area gets extremely busy,” the correspondence stated, “with traffic going into McDonalds drive-through, the petrol station across the road, parents picking up kids from the school and the buses trying to get into the bus zone to pick up kids.

“With cars queueing up for McDonalds, there is a continuous line of traffic blocking the buses from getting in and out of the bus zone. Cars will continue to queue across the intersection, including across double lines and hold up traffic in both directions, the post office roundabout and the main street.”

After undertaking a “line marking plan” in November last year, this month’s report to Gunnedah Shire Council advised the new lines were recommended to be implemented.

Separately, the traffic committee dismissed other suggestions for the installation of a new pedestrian crossing at the corner of Elgin and Barber streets.

This followed a 2024 report to council which indicated near misses during school drop off hours.

“I cross this road twice a week to collect our children from [school] and twice within a matter of four months I have almost been ran over by a car coming from Elgin Street turning left into Barber Street,” the report stated.

“My concern is that a lot of primary school children from Carinya, and other schools that get off the bus there, cross this road both morning and afternoon to get to and from school.

“It is only a matter of time before a child is hit crossing the road here at the hands of a driver approaching the intersection and racing around the corner too fast.”

According to the traffic committee report, Transport for NSW guidelines suggest that where 200 vehicles in an hour and more than 40 pedestrian movements exist at the same time at a location, a pedestrian crossing could be considered.

The report stated the number of pedestrian movements could be reduced to 20, subject to council policy but Gunnedah Shire Council did not approve this adjustment.

The report stated that traffic count data in the area indicated about 2700 vehicles per day passed this location with evidence that there were times when more than 200 vehicles passed in an hour.

At the November 2024, Local Area Traffic Advisory Committee meeting, it was agreed to undertake pedestrian counts to determine if a pedestrian crossing at this location was warranted.

The traffic committee advised that following this pedestrian study, the counts were “generally low” and no further action was needed in relation to pedestrian activity at this specific location.