A court decision to pay $2M to a family whose son was hit and killed by a car while crossing a street will likely have important implications for the levels of municipal maintence coming out of the ACT Government.

 

The court found that the government had not maintained a bush that blocked vision at an intersection, leading to the accident. A simple "lifting" - pruning of the lower branches - may have saved a life.

There is a clear obligation on the local government to maintain clear sight-lines at intersections and pedestrian crossings. As a Councillor in Maroochy Shire, a lot of my time was taken up by cruising around my electorate locating such problems and reporting them for action, or passing on reports from residents.

 

This obligation would most likely extend to other areas such as clearly denoted pedestrian crossings - so maybe we could get some action on the poorly-highlighted zebra crossings in Hibberson Street now?

 

Notwithstanding the government's obligations, we all have a personal obligation to take action to fix these sort of problems ourselves. The ACT Government cannot be everywhere, but should act whenever problems are brought to their attention. The easiest way to do this is to make a quick call to Canberra Connect on 132281, or rip off request via their website feedback form.