An accident-prone intersection in Islington finally has a set of working traffic lights.
In recent years the corner of Clyde Street and Chinchen Street has been the scene of many accidents and near-misses and with the black spot located right at the intersection of the Tighes Hill TAFE campus, nearby Islington Primary School and a pair of busy cycleways, local authorities knew something had to be done.
Newcastle Council acquired land to install traffic lights way back in 2018 before starting the approval process with Transport For NSW.
But that was all the progress the $800,000 project would make, until a child was hit by a car and hospitalised in November last year, sparking community outrage over the delays and the green light was given for work to go ahead.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes says it is great to see the long-awaited upgrade delivered.
“City of Newcastle is committed to ensuring community members are able to safely and easily navigate our footpaths, cycleways and road networks.
“This Islington intersection is heavily utilised by pedestrians and cyclists accessing Newcastle TAFE and Islington Public School, and we are pleased to have been able to work with the community to improve safety and traffic flows in this area,” Cr Nelmes.
The traffic signals were installed last month and are now operational.
The project has been funded by the Federal Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure grant program and also includes new kerb and guttering, as well as extended shared footpath links along Clyde Street and Chinchen Street.