A recent accident near a childcare centre has staff asking for a roundabout to increase safety.
Centre Director of Green Garden Childcare Penrith, Melanie Carter, has brought attention to the intersection at Colless and Lethbridge Street where a recent accident saw a car flipped onto its roof.
“I think it is just more of a safety concern for everyone especially because we’ve got the childcare right here,” she said.
“Seeing the recent accident that happened and seeing how close it actually was to us made us really alert to how it needs to change, and this isn’t the first accident that has happened.”
Fellow educator Olivia Bateup said other staff at the centre have been in accidents at the intersection as well.
“We’ve had educators wiped out as well, not to that extent but as we’ve come out of the street we’ve been hit,” Bateup said.
Carter and Bateup have started a petition to try and get community support for a roundabout before taking it to Penrith Council.
“So far we have 220 people who have signed the petition that we are hoping to bring to the Council,” Carter said.
One of the main factors behind Carter and Bateup taking this action is that their outdoor play area for the children is right next to the road.
“The scary thing was we had the children out in the yard, and we heard it [the accident] happen and we got the kids inside straight away because we weren’t sure what the noise was,” Bateup said.
“Our cook was the first one out here and saw the boys still stuck in the car and that is when we had come out as well, and by then no one knew what had happened, but all we could think about was if it wasn’t for that median strip there that car could have rolled into our yard.”
Penrith City Council provided a statement regarding the intersection.
“Council officers will be undertaking an investigation of the existing site condition at the intersection of Lethbridge Street and Colless Street to determine if a roundabout is warranted at this location,” a spokesperson for Council said.
“Council officers will also liaise with the police as part of their investigation with regards to the recent crash at the intersection.”
For those interested in signing the petition please visit Green Garden Childcare’s Facebook page for more information.
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.