A number of visiting motorists to the region appear to be confused when they drive along the Esplanade at Bargara and try to turn into Bauer Street against the one-way traffic flow.
On Saturday morning I watched the intersection for nearly 2 hours and saw 5 vehicles attempt to enter Bauer Street with 1 of them succeeding and then having to reverse out. Business owners and regular patrons at the cafes will confirm that this is a regular ocurrence although thankfully there haven’t been any reported accidents.
It’s easy to lay the blame on the drivers however when it happens on such a regular basis, the real problem must lie with the extend or positioning of the signage even though each approach has two signs displayed (1 x ‘No Right/Left Turn’ & 1 x ‘No Entry”).
This afternoon I met on-site with one of Council’s senior engineers to review the situation and consider a few options. I believe that the 2 x ‘No Entry’ signs are located too far into Bauer Street and are difficult to see until a motorist begins his/her turn.
The engineer agrees and these signs will now be moved closer to the Esplanade, however to avoid creating a line of sight obstruction for motorists exiting Bauer Street, they’ll be placed directly in line with the existing large pandanus trees on each corner (outside Kacy’s and Salt). They will also be replaced with slightly larger signs.
The existing ‘No Right Turn’ & ‘No Left Turn’ signs farther along each approach will remain unaltered.
Once installed the situation will be monitored and hopefully we can alleviate the need for any additional works.
I’ve also asked for the kerbside bushes outside Salt to be trimmed shorter to improve the line of sight to the south.