Foothills Road bypass plan dumped

A suggestion to use a fire trail at the top of Philip Street Thirroul to connect to Foothills Road Austinmer as an alternative route to by pass Lawrence Hargrave Drive has been dumped by Wollongong Council.

A CONTROVERSIAL proposal to upgrade Foothills Road Fire Trail as an alternate route for traffic to Lawrence Hargrave Drive through Thirroul has been dumped by Wollongong City Council after strong community opposition.

Community feedback collected by the Council through the Thirroul Traffic Workshop has been provided to the State Government for their consideration. Council hosted the workshop in February in response to community concerns about traffic in Thirroul.

At the workshop, Council staff collected more than 165 comments as well as further feedback submitted by people who were unable to attend the workshop.

Investigations found the community concerns fell within three broad categories – safety, capacity and amenity.

“I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to attend the workshop and share their thoughts and feedback on traffic conditions and pedestrian and cyclists safety in our northern suburbs, with a focus on Thirroul,’’ Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said.

“This area is a challenge for Council as Lawrence Hargrave Drive, while the backbone of the northern suburbs, is also a State Classified Road. This means the Roads and Maritime Services are responsible for managing traffic conditions on this road.

“That said, Council is here to advocate on behalf of our community and that is what we have done here by bringing people together, discussing and collating their concerns and passing this information on to those who can respond to it.’’

The workshop also included a discussion about a possible upgrade to the Foothills Road Fire Trail to provide an alternate route for traffic to Lawrence Hargrave Drive. There was strong community opposition to this proposal. Council’s subsequent investigations of this proposal have confirmed the nature of the terrain along with other feasibility issues mean this will not be considered further.

If you’d like to know more about the project, contact Council on (02) 4227 7111.