Your views: summer 2024
Our readers share their thoughts on road safety for wildlife and illegal parking.
Signs to save our swans
Living close to nature is a wonderful experience, but seeing the unnecessary death of precious creatures is frustrating. Many black swans live and breed near the causeway of the old Bridgewater bridge. Each year l watch delighted as the cygnets grow and wander around my property below the bridge – but a simple sign to inform motorists of the breeding season and to be mindful when driving is something that no department will entertain. When l lived at Dolphin Sands during the echidna breeding season, we would often see these adorable little creatures wandering across roads looking for their mate. Can we not have road signs giving motorists information on breeding seasons? With so many native animals losing their lives as roadkill annually in our state surely this makes sense.
Kathleen Miller
Footpaths are for people, not parking
Is it illegal to park across a footpath? It makes me angry to try to manoeuvre around cars that park across the pathway. It seems this is not being policed, and the practice is proving dangerous, as pedestrians have to use the roadway. Please make people aware of the dangers of cars being parked illegally. Perhaps some TV advertisements.
Sandra Hodge
Editor’s note: In Tasmania, it’s illegal to park across a footpath, as it obstructs pedestrian access and forces people onto the road, posing a safety hazard. If you encounter illegal parking on footpaths, you can report it to your local council, which is responsible for enforcing this law.
A safer option for wildlife warnings
Referring to John’s wildlife tips in the Autumn 2024 edition of Journeys, he writes about the Shoo-Roo and how effective it is. So much so that the Hydro had them fitted to vehicles, until a vehement complaint came in from a horse-riding club. Riding alongside a road, they were passed by a Hydro vehicle with its Shoo-Roo activated. The horses were so spooked that they bolted. I haven’t seen a Hydro vehicle fitted with a Shoo-Roo for years. A while ago I wrote you a letter singing the praises of the whistles (about $6 a pair) that can be stuck on the front of one’s car. I think they work by alerting the animals you’re on your way, and they’re less inclined to panic.
Geoff Iliff
