Labor Councillors Imogen Draisma and Stuart Larkins have made the commitment to improve road safety with the development of a Local Road Network Safety Plan ahead of the upcoming local election.

Residential roads such as Farmer and Taylor Street were pointed out as areas where the speed limit should be lowered to 40-km/hour for “consistency of speed limits in town centres.”

A traffic calming and safety meeting was held on the corner of Farmer and Taylor Street on Tuesday 20 August, with community members and councillors present.

“We recently met with residents and their concerns and feedback are very clear - they want a safer local road,” said Clr Draisma.

30 concerned residents in the area have formed the ‘Taylor Street Traffic Action Group’ to advocate for traffic calming in the area.

“We’re hoping for traffic calming as soon as possible, it’s a narrow street and has become a traffic hazard”, a spokesperson for the group said. 

The group has been campaigning for a safer street for years, reaching out to Gareth Ward, local Councillors and the Minister for Regional Transport to voice their concerns over speeding cars and buses that “fly down the street at breakneck speed.”

Kiama Council voted on the motion, with all council members supporting making the safety along Taylor Street a priority but one; Clr Mark Croxford objected. 

“It feels like no-one is communicating with each other, we raise the issue over and over and over again. What do we have to do to raise the flag?” a spokesperson for the group urged.

It’s indisputable that the faster a car is travelling, the longer it takes to come to a complete stop. According to the NSW Department of Transport, if a car is driving at a speed of 50-km/h it will take 37m to stop, the distance cuts down to 27m if the car is travelling at a speed of 40-km/h.

Clr Larkins emphasised the importance of speed reductions across urban-residential areas in keeping pedestrians safe.

“The research has made it clear the connection between pedestrian safety and vehicle speeds. There is a 10 percent chance of survival for a pedestrian impacted at 50-km/h. A reduction even to 40-km/h would increase the chance of survival to 60 percent” said Clr Larkins.

Parents of Kiama Public School have experienced first hand the safety risks of insufficient traffic measures near the school's entrance during pickup and drop off. 

Kiama Council manages over 308-km of roads. Recent upgrades to local roads have included upgrades to Minnamurra Public School, Gerringong Public School, Kiama High School,new pedestrian crossings and the expansion of ‘kiss-and-drop’ zones.