Thornlands resident Arun Salim has launched a petition calling for safety improvements on a “dangerous” stretch of Cleveland Redland Bay Rd where a teenager was struck by a car last month.
Mr Salim, who was among the first to render assistance at the scene, said the state government must step in to protect pedestrians and prevent another incident from happening in the area.
“How many more hits do we need to get some safety measures?,” Mr Salim said.
Redland City News visited the area last Thursday afternoon during peak hour traffic and witnessed several children, including some on bikes, coming perilously close to cars as they crossed the road.
A police speed camera was also operating in the area at the time.
Mr Salim said people would cross the road – which has a 70km/h speed limit – to access either the adjoining housing estate, William Stewart Park or the route 250 bus stop.
“Even when a car is coming, it is not bright enough to see a person crossing the road,” he said.
“Either they need to put more lighting in the dark [areas] or they need to put a pedestrian crossing in to get the people [across].
“I have also sent an email to the transport minister, [but] we don’t have any replies yet.”
Mr Salim said he was one of the first to render assistance at the scene of the incident, having been at a nearby gym at the same time as the teenager on the night.
“Just imagine, you’ve seen a person in a particular spot [and] after five minutes he is full of blood on the road, how are you going to feel?” he said.
“Are you going to feel like you are going to do something for the community or not?”
Police say preliminary investigations indicate that at about 7.30pm on October 12 a Tesla was travelling along Cleveland Redland Bay Rd when it struck a 14-year-old pedestrian.
The boy was taken to hospital in a critical but stable condition.
Mr Salim said Cleveland Redland Bay Rd was getting busier as more people moved to Thornlands and surrounds.
He said children were particularly vulnerable when crossing the road during peak hour traffic or when leaving the skate park in the evening.
His petition has been circulated on social media and has received a strong response from other residents, many of whom say they support the safety improvements suggested.
So far it has received about 440 signatures.
Concerns listed in the petition include a lack of lighting in the area, no pedestrian crossing and no footpath on the eastern side of the road.
Several residents have branded the road as “dangerous” and say upgrades are “urgently” required.
Cr Paul Golle said he had written to Transport Minister Mark Bailey in the wake of last month’s incident alerting him to concerns.
He agreed with residents that a “combination” of upgrades were required to improve pedestrian safety.
“If you think about where the bus stops are located, people naturally get off a bus and they want to cross in close vicinity, in a lit area with a safe pathway to get to their house,” Cr Golle said.
“At the moment nothing’s lit, it’s not a safe crossing point and there is no footpath on that other side [of the road].”
Cr Golle said successive state governments of various “political flavour” had failed to deliver on promises to upgrade the road.
“Cleveland Redland Bay Road and its verges, lighting and bus stops – it’s 100 per cent state-controlled,” he said. “Even though they have made lots of promises through various state elections, nothing has been delivered.”
Mr Bailey’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
