Two years ago, Reid resident John Tucker was having breakfast when a car slammed into the tree by his front door.
The car slammed through his garden and nearly hit his front door after a crash took place in the intersection.
Now, he and fellow members of the Reid Residents' Association are petitioning the ACT Legislative Assembly to reduce dangerous "rat-running" in the leafy residential suburb.
Rat-running is the practice of cutting through residential side streets to bypass traffic on busy arterial roads.
Reid, which lies immediately to the east of Civic, is "plagued" by rat-running, according to the Residents' Association.
Particularly during the rush hours of commuter traffic in the morning and evening, drivers cut through Reid from Anzac Parade, in Campbell, or Limestone Avenue, in Braddon, to get to Civic.
The result is dangerous speeding and clogged streets, said the president of the Residents' Association, Marianne Albury-Colless.
"These streets were planned never to take the kind of traffic volumes that we've got now," Ms Albury-Colless said.
"Reid streets aren't suburban streets anymore. They've become major streets like Limestone [Avenue]," Mr Tucker added.
"These drivers are going more than 60 kilometres an hour along our wide streets. They don't even know the limit is 50. There aren't enough speed limit signs."
The Residents' Association is petitioning for a blanket 40kmh speed limit across the suburb, as well as changes to the intersection priority at major streets and increased speed bumps.
In March, the residents' association reached out to the ACT City and Government Services Minister Tara Cheyne about their road safety concerns.
In her responding letter in May, Ms Cheyne referred to data from traffic surveys conducted by the City and Environment Directorate which indicated that the average travelling speeds of motorists in Reid are "within acceptable limits".
Intersection improvements in the ACT are prioritised based on a seven-year crash history.
Ms Cheyne told the residents' association that there has been "a relatively low number of crashes at intersections and mid blocks within Reid over the last seven-year period", and that consequently there are "no immediate plans" for additional safety measures in the suburb.
Mr Tucker disagrees, arguing "It's a miracle that there hasn't been a death".
He has lived on the corner of two busy suburban streets in Reid for 44 years.
He said his home isn't the only one affected by car accidents.
On that intersection alone, three of the four corner houses have had cars crash through the hedges.
Another Reid resident living on the corner of an intersection, Jane Timbrell, said "it's not uncommon to hear a screech and a bang, and just hope like hell no one's been hurt".
"All you can do is give them a cup of tea until somebody comes to pick them up."
With regard to traffic, Ms Cheyne noted the Residents' Association's observations but acknowledged that Reid streets are capable of safely accommodating commuter traffic.
"It is likely that some increase in traffic occurs through Reid due to its proximity to the City during busy times, which has always been something inner-city suburbs experience," she said.
Another resident of Reid, Hamish O'Brien, moved in earlier this year.
"I'm guilty of cutting through the suburb myself, because it's a nightmare driving through the copious amount of traffic lights in the city," he said.
Mr O'Brien avoids the six sets of traffic lights along Cooyong Street, in Civic's east, wherever possible.
For him, navigating the traffic lights is a pain because they're not appropriately synchronised to facilitate 'green waves' that allow quick access to the city from the major arterial road Parkes Way (and vice versa).
"You can't avoid people driving through Reid when it's right next door to the city," he said.
"I don't think a 40 kilometre speed limit will fix the issue. If you cut through Reid at 40 kilometres, you're still getting to [Parkes Way] faster than you would along Cooyong Street."
Mr Tucker, rather, said the ACT government has not paid enough attention to road safety in Reid, comparing the suburb's traffic control methods with the nearby suburbs of Campbell and Braddon.
"It's almost as if we're class enemies, living in this privileged area, like we're all suspect because we don't vote for Labor," he said.
"[Reid] is conveniently ignored because it's impeding Chairman Barr's vision for the suburbs."
For Ms Albury-Colless, Reid should stay a calm residential suburb, despite its proximity to Civic, which she said is growing as dense as "Hong Kong, or Singapore".
"Yes, we're close to the city. That doesn't mean people should be hooning through the streets."
An ACT government spokesperson responded to Residents' Association's complaints of being ignored by reaffirming the sentiment of Ms Cheyne's correspondence in May.
The spokesperson said that traffic surveys and crash data show "local streets are operating within their safe capacity ... [and] Reid has a strong road safety record."
"Based on this evidence, there are no immediate plans for additional traffic calming measures."
The e-petition to reduce rat-running in Reid is open for signature until October 16, when it will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly.
