Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington and local Kilkivan businesswoman, Katy McCallum have secured a win for road safety in Kilkivan.
Mrs Frecklington said there will be significant improvements to line marking and the installation of new and larger directional signs through the main street of the town.
“Katy contacted me in January this year to share her concerns about the road safety issues she had experienced in Kilkivan,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“We had a meeting in early February in Kilkivan to discuss the problems and inspect the roads, in particular James Street, which has become a popular ‘rat running’ road for drivers trying to bypass the Wide Bay Highway through the main part of the township.
“Concerns were also raised about heavy vehicles ‘overshooting’ the 90 degree bend in the Wide Bay Highway in Kilkivan when travelling west, resulting in the heavy vehicles approaching the school zone area at high speeds.
“Following our meeting, I wrote to the Department of Transport and Main Roads, who took the issues to the Gympie Traffic Advisory Committee Meeting, and it was agreed that improvements needed to be made,” Deb said.
Katy McCallum said it is a huge win for Kilkivan and a big relief when it comes to road safety for both vehicles and pedestrians.
“Our businesses are on the main highway, and I have seen many near misses and heavy vehicles ‘racing each other’ down James Street. James Street also borders the main recreational park in Kilkivan and it’s a dangerous situation for families with young children playing in the vicinity,” Mrs McCallum said.
“When the fully loaded truck overshot the 90 degree bend on the Wide Bay Highway, it was 8.15am when our school children were walking to school. It was a very scary scenario, and the truck actually ran straight over the pedestrian crossing – it was just fortunate there were no kids on the crossing at that moment.
“These improvements to road markings and the installation of new signs will greatly improve the safety of traffic through our town. It’s overdue, but I’m really pleased to have been able to finally have these issues raised and to have created some change for our community.
“From what I have seen, we've had such positive outcomes for Kilkivan in all the matters Deb has helped with. Every bit of assistance no matter how big or small that is given to Kilkivan contributes to a happy, thriving community and makes for a strong solid town for our children to grow up in, our elderly to retire in and our workers to have jobs in - thanks Deb," Katy said.
The following road safety changes will be implemented in coming months:
Photo: Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington, with Kilkivan business own, Katy McCallum at the James Street intersection with the Wide Bay Highway. James Street will have ‘Local Traffic Only’ signs installed.
