Residents in southwest Sydney have unleashed on the ‘coffin’ shaped roundabout installed by their local council.
Vehicles navigating the temporary roundabout at the intersection of Twenty-Eighth Avenue and Fifteenth Avenue in Austral have been caught in some near-misses.
Shaped like a diamond, footage published by 7News, showed the alarming moment two cars drive over the fixture and then nearly collided.
In another close call, a ute had to carry out a three-point turn to move around the roundabout.
‘This has to be one of the worst and most dangerously designed roundabouts I’ve ever seen,’ a local in an Austral and Leppington community forum said on Facebook.
‘You literally have to do a U-turn just to turn right — in either direction!’
Another said: ‘Whoever designed the “coffin” roundabout may have taken the name a bit too literally.
‘Its layout is so confusing and hazardous, it feels less like a traffic solution and more like a traffic trap.’
Two cars nearly collided after they drove over the diamond-shaped roundabout
The roundabout in Austral is one of five aimed at improving congestion issues
Another said: ‘Council has lost the plot.’
NSW MP for Leppington Nathan Hagarty has called the roundabout a ‘waste of money’.
‘They’ve had to come back and fix up a job,’ he said.
The local politician posted to the community forum on Sunday saying he had been in contact with the Liverpool Council over concerns about the temporary roundabout.
‘Council says all safety measures are now in place – including signage, a message board and line marking at 28th Avenue.
‘More can still be done to make it safer. Even a bit of spray paint on the roundabout until it’s properly finished would help.’
The roundabout is one of five installed across Austral, with Eleventh, Fifteenth and Tenth avenues all receiving.
The additions aim to ease congestion and improve safety after a Liverpool Council petition to NSW government.
The petition, signed by more than 2000 people, called for ‘urgent upgrades’ to busy Fifteenth Avenue, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said changes have been made to respond to residents concerns after representations from the community and Mr Hagarty.
‘Transport for NSW has spoken to Liverpool City Council, the responsible authority, who has revised the design and intend to complete works in the coming days,’ they said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Liverpool Council for comment.
