Close the gate

Ryan Hamilton, Mullumbimby

Since the gate to Tallowood Estate was opened (which was not meant to happen), the number of vehicles using Coral Ave and Clays Rd has increased massively. 

Our poor old rural dirt road was not designed for that many vehicles. The resulting craters in the road make it not only a nightmare for drivers to navigate, it’s also now risky for children and other pedestrians, pets, and horse and rider.

Since the gate was opened, when the road is smooth, it’s a wannabe rally driver’s dream come true. Drivers test their drifting skills – most notably very late at night. I’ve seen numerous minor accidents on that corner (such as cars loosing control hitting trees, fence posts, etc – the worst being a car flipped onto its roof in some bushes out the front of our house). Thankfully nothing serious yet. But it’s just a matter of time before there’s an accident. 

It seems there was no allowance for Coral Ave and Clays Rd to be sealed or for the Coral Ave causeway to be widened as part of the Tallowood DA process (what an oversight that was). 

Council and the developers need to install some immovable bollards or unbreakable boom gates to prevent vehicular access. 

Please do not prevent pedestrians from being able to walk through as they don’t seem to do any damage when using the dirt roads for exercise or as a means of getting home from school, and I have yet to see any of them attempt to drift around the corner of Coral Ave/Clays Rd at high speeds.