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Canberra Today 16°/19° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Grumpy / Hell-bent on heartbreak bollards

Heartache… the bent bollard.
Heartache… the bent bollard.
WHILE a large proportion of cars are equipped with blind-spot technology and reversing cameras to stop us backing over playing children, nothing prepares the unsuspecting Canberra driver for the short-yellow-pole phenomenon.

This “street art” has become an all-too-familiar sight in suburban carparks.

While it’s a great idea to reserve a spot next to an accessible car space to allow extra room to enter or exit a vehicle, there’s no point in placing an immovable object at small-child height bang in the middle of an empty space that serves no other purpose than to cause significant damage to vehicles and keep our local panel beaters busy.

More puzzling is the alarming efficiency at which these “booby traps” get replaced. No sooner do I spot one flattened than a new one magically materialises within a day or two.

Nasis Ellis
Nasis Ellis.

When is the local government going to realise these short, yellow, heavy steel bollards cause significant heartache to a great number of Canberra drivers that have the misfortune of coming off second best when they come into contact with them?

Would it not make sense to simply remove them? The benefits would be immediate. Hundreds of thousands of infrastructure and maintenance dollars from the Budget would be saved by not having to erect them in the first place and then not having to replace damaged ones.

Motorists would also save by not having to deal with the stress of a damaged car, a costly repair bill, and having their insurance premiums rise.

Grumpy is an occasional column dedicated purely to things that get up your nose. Readers are invited to vent (no more than 300 words, please) at editor@citynews.com.au

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Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

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