A couple of months ago there was considerable Facebook feedback regarding safety concerns surrounding the existing access point to Bargara’s McDonalds restaurant as required by the development’s Conditions of Approval.
In basic terms, these concerns focused on the fact that many motorists who were unaware of the entry system were drawing alongside the premises before realising that they had missed the entrance from the access road to the Bargara Central Shopping Centre. They were then braking and performing sudden U-turns at the Howard Street intersection to return to the entrance. These conditions were not part of the Development Application originally proposed by the developer/applicant which had sought a separate and direct access point off Bargara Road.
In response to these concerns, I met on-site with one of Council’s senior engineers and suggested that a possible solution may be to instal a low-set sign on the centre concrete median strip at the entrance point with the possibility of also including data relating to the access point for the Caltex Service Station.
I’ve recently been advised that the relevant stakeholders have now agreed in principal to this proposal and I look forward to having this matter resolved in the near future.
In the meantime, I’m continuing to push for a better designed exit strategy for motorists leaving the shopping centre to both (eastern) Bargara (via Bargara Road) and otherwise towards Bundaberg (via Davidson Street). Locals are aware of the situation but many visitors remain confused.