There should be more money put aside especially after the last lot of rain Parkes had, where a lot of places were flooded due to poor drainage. Where I live it always floods and particularly where my neighbours are adjacent to us, their garage always floods due to a higher volume of water flow and poor drainage!

The following letters and comments are in response to the article ''Only a matter of time': Residents concerned over lack of lighting at pedestrian crossing', published in the Parkes Champion Post on March 2.

Dear Editor

Also better lighting is needed at Court Street and Clarinda Street crossing. I have personally come very close to making contact with a pedestrian! However the style of lighting will need to be well thought out. In summer months excessive lighting can attract insects that street diners and pedestrians don't fancy.

Personally the trees are just too bushy for a crossing like this. It is so dangerous and too dark for drivers to see pedestrians, especially on the pub side. Lighting won't fix the problem. The bushes need to be removed. Unfortunately you cannot stop little kids and the elderly walking straight out, but if the bushes were gone it would help a lot of visibility at that spot.

Another way of possibly helping with creating awareness of pedestrians is to put an actual stop sign on both sides of the crossing. This gives the driver no option but to stop, and is a fineable offence if they don't. This will also force the driver to look both ways while stationary, and limiting the risk of an accident. I'm so surprised it hasn't happened yet. A stop light will just make the congestion worse than it already is.

I like the idea of a stop sign. I have had times when I have had to stop half way across the intersection because people driving cars just plow right over it and don't even look or care that there were people on there already. It wasn't even a case of they couldn't see, they just didn't even look or didn't care. It's terrifying to walk across them some days so something that forces them to stop regardless of whether someone is attempting to cross or not is a fantastic idea.

I love what the girls have done with the gelato shop, it's a hub of happiness, always has happy people there. So to keep them safe I'd like to see handrails on the sides of the crossing and maybe a small blister each side to denote people waiting to cross.

There needs to be more pedestrian awareness. Like so many have said - people assume as it's a crossing that cars will stop, but they won't stop if they can't see the pedestrian, and little kids are often several metres ahead of the taller, more visible adults. I have often wondered why that crossing is where it is. Nearer to Woolies would make more sense, but it is what it is. Traffic lights seems the obvious conclusion, with WALK/ DON'T WALK lights for pedestrians. (In my mind's eye I can see the line up of traffic down the main, waiting for the lights to change - shudder).

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