Speeding puts kids at risk

An Emu Point resident has taken to a simple sign in a plea with motorists to slow down along Mermaid Avenue.

Bec Jefferis said she was fed up of seeing cars fly past, doing more than the allocated 40km/h speed limit.

“The community here actually organised stickers for our bins which we have had on there for a year, which is great,” she said.

“But more needs to be done, our family made our own, a bigger sign on the weekend. We are getting over it now — a lot of what we see is women in four-wheel-drives with kids in the car flying past.”

Mrs Jefferis said Emu Point was a holiday destination and it was concerning to see so many motorists speeding in the area.

“We have caravan parks down here, a tennis club, a nursing home and swimming lessons, we are just a bit over the speeding,” she said.

“Our biggest concern is the children, our kids are older and they are savvy on the roads, but there are so many young children around this area, especially up near the playground, and people floor it through there and realise it’s a dead end, and they are going way too fast.”

“We are sick of seeing how fast people drive down here, it’s definitely not 40km/h that they’re doing.”

Mrs Jefferis said she would like to see the City of Albany put signs up on entry to the point, especially during the summer holidays.

“My concern is that if the council don’t do something, it’s going to be too late, we’re going to have an elderly person run over or a child run over,” she said.

“We need a big push on safety.

“There is no reason to be going more than 40 — it’s just not necessary.” City of Albany executive director infrastructure and environment Matthew Thomson said the City, in conjunction with the Friends of Emu Point, was working on a minimalist traffic calming device for Mermaid Avenue.

“This will assist in making the change in speed clear to traffic entering the Emu Point precinct," he said.

“Works will commence in a few months.

“Having said this, the section of road is speed zoned at 40km/h and the issue of vehicles exceeding the speed limit is ultimately a police matter.“