When her grandson Reece was three he fell on to the Kings Highway, remembers Trish Young.
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On his bike, Reece veered a bit too close to the edge of the narrow path over Monkittee Creek, and fell straight over the edge, on the road which carries millions of vehicles from Canberra to the coast each year.
Fortunately no traffic was passing at that moment, except for a member of Highway Patrol who stopped to check the small boy was alright.
“If that was a car and he fell on to the car, you wouldn’t know what would happen.” says Mrs Young, “these things happen and it’s just pot luck that there was no cars coming when he fell.”
Both Mrs Young and her daughter Coco Clarke believe that kids are being put at unnecessary risk by the poor pedestrian access over Monkittee Creek.
To get in to town with the kids from the Colonial Motel which Mrs Young runs, they must cross Monkittee Creek. The only path however, is a rocky unsealed track leads up to a narrow footpath over the bridge.
“It’s too narrow” says Mrs Clarke, “There’s lots of prams that always go past, there’s heaps of children from this way that have to walk over the bridge.”
And it’s not just her family, increased housing in the north side of town means she sees many kids walking to school over the creek every morning.
Getting a better path is unfortunately not as simple as council funding some pavement.
As the bridge was not designed as a pedestrian crossing, a dedicated pedestrian crossing over Monkittee Creek would not be as simple as putting a footpath on either side of the bridge, said a QPRC spokesperson.
For the path adjoining the bridge to meet footpath standards, the bridge would also need an upgrade.
And upgrade to the bridge would have a significant impact on the cost of the project, said the spokesperson.
Any future solutions will also need to involve the RMS, as it is part of the state road network.
“Any decision to upgrade this footpath would be the responsibility of council” said an RMS spokesperson.
She acknowledged that Kings Highway is managed by the RMS, including the footpath over the bridge, but said the path was the responsibility of QPRC.
“There are no funds allocated in the 2017-18 Operational Plan for pedestrian upgrades at Monkittee Creek” said a QPRC spokesperson. He added that other alternatives may be looked at as part of the Pedestrian and Mobility Plan.
Those living north of Monkittee Creek have little option but to cross over the inadequate bridge though.
“You just go across there carefully and hope for the best. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, you’ve got to get to the other side of the road don’t you!” says Mrs Young