Croakers Towing Batemans Bay were called to recover this vehicle from Beach Road after the driver unfortunately mounted the middle of the concrete divide.
Above and Below: this vehicle ran aground at the CBD end of the recently constructed median islands on Beach Road. Tyre marks elsewhere on the median strip indicate this car is not the first to have encountered the poorly marked barriers. Council say the northern end median is 300mm so too narrow to install a Keep Left sign.
Photos: Croakers Towing Batemans Bay Croakers Towing Batemans Bay said in their social media post "There were two ways of recovering this vehicle. One being quick but rough and the other taking the time to recover the vehicle utilising different lengths of wood to safely and gently bring it over the concrete onto the tilt tray." The second option was taken to ensure there was no additional damage to the vehicle. Only four days before, on April 4th 2021, ex councillor Allan Brown wrote to Eurobodalla Council General Manager and to each of the nine councillors outlining his concerns that the concrete median strip presented as a potential traffic hazard. Ex-councillor Allan Brown penned his concerns as a local resident and also from the perspective as a local bus driver well informed of the many risks to be found on our local road network. He wrote:
Dear all,
Beach Rd Batemans Bay has a concrete median strip along sections of it. The median strip is difficult to see in the wet and dark nights. Wet roads in the dark don’t help at all seeing the strips. There is no identity at the beginnings of the concrete either, keep left etc..
Are there plans to better aluminate the strips with reflectors and or keep left signs for improved safety of Beach Rd vehicle users in the near future ? A Eurobodalla Council Traffic Coordinator responded to M Brown's concerns today (April 8th 2021) emailing: "We have reviewed your concerns about delineation on Beach Road at the recently constructed median islands between Herarde St and Country Club Dr.
There is a white line mark line adjoining the medians and the road has adequate street lighting. There are no plans to add additional reflective devices.
Apart from the northern (CBD) end, the median island is obvious and Keep Left signs are not necessary. The northern end median is 300mm so too narrow to install a sign.
We will enhance the white line on the northern end to better transition from the double line to the median line. The following image was provided in the Council email response:
Allan Brown has responded to Council's failure to recognise his concerns were in relation to the barriers being clearly visible at night reminding Council that "The point I was making with the matter was about wet road in the dark and raining as well. What you’ve indicated as a patch up for highlighting isn’t the solution as you must know. But Council is now aware it’s suboptimal, isn’t it ?"
