Petition Launched to Upgrade Dangerous Thornton Intersection

BY  MADELAINE MCNEILL

A petition has been launched calling for urgent safety repairs to a notorious Thornton intersection.

The petition was launched by Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison, who has also introduced a Notice of Motion to parliament calling on the Berejiklian Government to make urgent improvements to the site.

Data obtained from Roads and Maritime Services and NSW Police shows eight crashes have been reported at or nearby the intersection over the past ten years, with four Triple Zero calls made at the site between July 2016 and June 2018.

Ms. Aitchison said many residents have complained to her office about the intersection.

"It's a regular feature of all the social media concerns but particularly, the people ringing my office are sending photos of near-misses," Jenny Aitchison told 2NURFM News.

"It's just becoming beyond a joke."

Maitland City Council has plans to improve the Haussman Drive portion of the intersection but Roads and Maritime Services holds responsibility for Raymond Terrace Road, leaving the local MP wondering why nothing has been done.

"This is a busy section of main road connection Maitland to Raymond Terrace and the location is the epicenter of residential boom," Jenny Aitchison said.

"Surely traffic lights are needed here."

Ms. Aitchison is calling on the government to investigate the site's crash history and find a solution before tragedy strikes the intersection.

"We just really want the government to act before someone dies."

Copies of Jenny Aitchison's petition are available here.

Image: Google Maps

Missing Persons Week: renewed calls to find Zac Barnes

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Missing Persons Week has kicked off in NSW and the case of missing Thornton man Zac Barnes is a key part of the campaign.

NSW Police are renewing calls for any information on the now 19-year-old who disappeared into bushland at the intersection of Tripp Close and Haussman Drive on Sunday 13th November last year.

Police believe he may have also attended a house nearby in the area.

Zac's mother Karen has told NBN she's losing hope of ever seeing her son again.

"We never thought that he was never coming home but as we get to nine months it's like he's possibly never coming home."

Zac is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 190cmtall, with short brown hair, a receding hairline and of a large build. He was last seen wearing a faded tie-dye blue singlet, dark blue board shorts and work boots.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Missing Persons Week is an annual campaign which will this year run until next Saturday (5 August 2017) and the theme for this year is 'Still waiting for you to come'

The families of missing persons still waiting for their loved ones to come home being used in this weeks campaign include 21-year-old Sevak Simonian from Belrose on Sydney's Northern Beaches, 15-year-old Stephen Turvey from Macquarie Fields and 52-year-old Kathleen Lidden from Bowral.

The campaign aims to highlight the high number of people reporting missing to police each year and the impact on family and friends following the disappearance of a loved one.