Council receives funding to fix safety issues, save lives in black spots

Friday, 30 July 2021

Penrith City Council will soon introduce greater safety measures on dangerous roads in the LGA thanks to funding from the Australian Government.  

Council is receiving $623,000 under the Black Spot Program for 2021-22, with the money to be spent on overhauling two unsafe thoroughfares.  

These include Forrester Rd (between Glossop St and Christie St) in St Marys, and Victoria St (between Richmond Rd and east of Burton St) in Werrington – sites Council identified as black spots prior to applying for funding.  

The approved Black Spot funding allocations have been announced by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Barnaby Joyce, and Chair of the NSW Black Spot Consultative Panel, Dr David Gillespie.  

Penrith Mayor Karen McKeown OAM welcomed the news and was pleased Council could continue making the City a safer place for residents. 

“This additional funding is a win for Penrith and will go a long way towards local road safety,” Cr McKeown said.  

“Many residents of our growing City travel these main streets to get to work so it is crucial that we improve our roads, not only to meet the needs of the community but also to keep people safe.  

“Sadly, we still see high rates of accidents and fatalities. Council is committed to significantly reducing these numbers.  

“We thank the Australian Government for its ongoing support, and we look forward to fixing two more major black spots with this funding.”  

Of the approved funding, $408,000 will go towards the St Marys site, while the remaining $215,000 will fund the stretch of road in Werrington. Each site is set to benefit from various new safety measures, including additional street lighting and either ‘Give Way’ or ‘Stop’ signs.  

Council has been successful in its Black Spot funding applications over consecutive years and continues to put the money towards remediating safety concerns.

These two projects will be carried out in addition to other intersection upgrades and road works taking place around the City. 

Find out more about Council’s projects and programs at penrith.city/roadsafety

Information contained within this news release was correct as at Friday, 30 July 2021.