Cr Frank Mofflin at the South Street pedestrian crossing in Hilton. Cars are running the red light, but some pedestrians aren’t helping; as he posed for the photo, a young woman tempted fate by crossing without even waiting for the light to change. Photo by Steve Grant.

MORE than two cars every hour are running a red light intended to protect pedestrians on South Street in Hilton.

Hilton councillor Frank Mofflin says it’s a tragic accident waiting to happen and he wants the WA government to review the pedestrian crossing between Gilberts Fresh and the local IGA to make it safer.

Cr Mofflin said he was shocked when the council approached the Road Safety Commission to get a red light camera installed, only to be told they’d only go up after someone was killed or property was damaged.

The commission handballed the issue to Main Roads, but Cr Mofflin said they weren’t interested in taking any action.

“The Hilton town centre is growing in popularity and I would expect that in a post-Covid world, we are only going to see more people shopping locally,” Cr Mofflin said.

Peak worse

“More people using this crossing means that we are closer to a serious injury or in the worst case a fatality.”

Cr Mofflin said the data collected by the council showed that during peak period the problem was even worse, with almost three cars and hour running the red light.

“This data has genuinely shocked me; when I have taught my children road safety, I have always told them not to rely on a green light, but I never realised the extent of this risk.

“Several older residents use this crossing and should be able to do so safely, but they are at increased risk of being struck if they rely on these signals.”

Cr Mofflin said Main Roads could put up extra signage or reduce the speed limit to make the crossing safer.

He said he was putting a petition together to show there was community support for his push.

“I can’t stand by with this information and not take any action, the state should do the same,” he said.

By STEVE GRANT