MOUNT Gambier City Council promptly responded to a perceived safety issue at the city’s rail trail last week.
A concerned ratepayer approached council on Thursday after crashing into a steel bollard while riding his bicycle along the cross-city path.
A Mount Gambier resident of 58 years, Shane Duigan said he raised the issue with council as he was concerned for children who might also collide with the unforgiving steel.
“I love the rail track and I believe council has done a really wonderful job there – I ride my bike along that path every day,” Mr Duigan said.
“On this occasion I took my eyes off the path for only a few seconds and caught my leg on the bollard – I was travelling pretty fast and hit it with some force.
“I’ve had a big purple and blue bruise on my leg for a couple of weeks and I think if a little kid hit one of the bollards it could be really dangerous.”
Mr Duigan said the steel posts were not especially visible and suggested council invest in some form of padding.
“The steel blends in with the asphalt of the road from a distance so they are hard to see,” he said.
“I’m just concerned for children using the path and I think it would be worth looking at investing in padding around the steel, similar to the padding on footy goal posts.
“The smaller white bollards have reflectors on them, so even some reflectors on the steel ones would work.”
City Council fixed three reflective strips to each bollard on Thursday afternoon.
