Nearly a year ago, In the Cove asked readers if they found the Artarmon Merger on the Gore Hill Freeway as nerve-wracking as In the Cove. We were inundated with stories of near misses and accidents.
Is it just me or is this merge on the Gore Hill scary. ITC HATES IT.
Posted by In the Cove on Friday, 13 May 2016
As a result of this support, ITC started a campaign to have the merger made safer. Initially, the RMS responded that the merger met all Australian Safety Standards but did agree that vegetation around the merger made it difficult to see cars.
ITC was not going to give up!! We wrote again to the RMS with evidence of recent accidents and advised why we thought the merger was so dangerous.
- There is only a short time to merge before you can potentially hit the wall;
- You merge into a lane where people cannot change lanes to assist the merger. If they change lanes they are potentially breaking the law as they change into a 24/7 T2 lane.
- There is a blind spot so you only have a limited time to ascertain if the merge is safe;
- If you cannot merge, and stop, it is likely that the car behind you will hit you.
A response was not forthcoming. However one day the T2 Merge sign was removed and another End T2 Merge sign appeared before the merge. It looked like the RMS was listening. However, the signs did not correspond with the painted words on the road. Then the following response was received by a roving reporter from the RMS.
Then a few weeks later the T2 Merger sign was moved back to its original position.
What the heck was going on? One ITC roving reporter told us that it had been removed by a person who was trying to fight a fine for driving in the T2 Lane so that person “relocated the sign”. ITC again wrote to the RMS and left voice messages. Again a response was not forthcoming.
However, one roving reporter received this response.
So folks stay tuned, we will wait a few weeks to see if the T2 sign is relocated. It is great to know that the RMS is on top of this matter and know exactly when their signs are being relocated.
Do you have a local issue you would like help with? ITC is here to help just email us at [email protected]
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