Cootamundra Shire Council and local Police have been lobbying the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) for some five years to do something about the intersection.

Larger than usual Give Way signs are placed on Mackay Street to try to combat the problem, as well as bigger safety islands, however the intersection continues to be a trouble spot.

Between 2002 and 2007 six accidents were recorded at the intersection, all on fine, dry days between 9am and 4pm and countless other minor crashes and near misses go unreported on a weekly basis.

Cootamundra Shire Council Traffic Advisory Committee Chairman Jim Slattery said the committee has visited the site with RTA representatives at least three times a year for the past five years, working towards an effective solution.

Cr Slattery said the roundabout will be similar to that which sits at the intersection of Parker and Hurley Streets.

Throughout the years of minor accidents at what is known at the ‘Scout Hall corner’ the community has discussed why it remains a trouble spot.

Some suggest the landscaped median strip provides a distraction, others say the road is wider than drivers realise, while another theory is that motorists have right of way for much of the length of Mackay Street before they reach the intersection and may miss the fact that at Parker Street they must give way.

With the Medical Centre and Hospital, as well as the Nursing Home and TAFE, Mackay Street is very well utilised.

Cr Slattery said a number of the accidents which have occurred at the intersection involved local people, suggesting that the propensity for mishap at the intersection is not always due to motorists being unaware of the Give Way sign.

Sergeant Greg Lynch of the Cootamundra Highway Patrol, who also sits of the Traffic Advisory Committee, said the roundabout will be a great for the road safety of locals and visitors.

“It will be a significant improvement, more traffic is using Mackay Street than ever since the Cootamundra Primary Health Centre was built,” he said.

Sergeant Synch said the intersection has been the site of a number of injury crashes, blaming the width of the road for the number of incidents.

Valued at $296,000 the roundabout is funded by the RTA.