WHILE Thirroul seems to have won a reprieve from plans by Transport for NSW to remove parking through its shopping centre, Bulli business owners are bracing themselves for the impacts of the likely possibility of extended clearways through the historic town centre.
Extended clearways, one-way streets and traffic changes at key congestion intersections are measures put forward by Transport for NSW to relieve the bottle-necks through Bulli and Thirroul.
Residents were asked to comment on a number of proposals under consideration to relieve the increasing congestion. Under the preferred option, a northbound clearway would be in force weekdays through Bulli shopping centre from 6.30am to 9.30am, and southbound weekdays from 3pm to 6pm, and Saturdays 11am to 1pm.
Parking would be removed from Park Road, and the southern end of Railway Street will become one-way southbound. Angle parking would be provided on Railway and Station Streets to compensate for the loss of parking on the highway.
There were seven key options put forward for Bulli for community consultation, which have now closed.
- Extended clearway hours through Bulli shopping centre
- Parking changes
- No right turn from Princes Hwy into Station St
- Park Rd right turn signal on Princes Hwy
- Memorial Drive/Princes Hwy roundabout upgrade
- Grevillea Park Rd right turn lane from Princes Hwy
- Point St right turn lane from Princes Hwy
The main themes from 821 submissions in response to the proposed traffic improvement options on the Princes Highway at Bulli are now available in a Feedback Summary Report: nswroads.work/bullithirroul
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said community sentiment for the Bulli proposal was positive with strong support for changes to be implemented to ease congestion in the area.
“We heard the community want to see the roundabout at the intersection of the Princes Highway and Memorial Drive upgraded as a priority, and the community is supportive of other parts of the proposal including extending hours on existing clearways on the Princes Highway at Bulli,” the spokesperson said.
Of the seven proposals put forward less support was shown for extension of clearways through Bulli shopping centre, with over 36 per cent of respondents “unhappy” or “very unhappy” with that key option. Over nine per cent did not have an opinion on the clearway option.
Strong support was shown for the other six options, including right turning lanes on the Princes Highway for Point Street and Grevillea Park Road. The right turn lanes will result in the widening of the Princes Highway into Slacky Flat Park and JP Orvad Grove.
The options were developed in response to community feedback in 2019 to improve traffic flow and reliability of the Princes Highway at Bulli and also Lawrence Hargrave Drive at Thirroul.
The spokesperson said there were 903 submissions received in response to the Thirroul proposals.
At Thirroul the preferred option is a number of intersection and traffic changes at key congestion points along Lawrence Hargrave Drive to create one continuous lane of travel. The changes would allow transport users to travel continuously without being temporarily stopped behind cars turning right off Lawrence Hargrave Drive.
This option includes changes to existing on-street car parking and intersections to allow traffic to flow continuously through the town centre as well as the potential construction of a right turn lane at Station Street.
The full summary of this feedback will be released early next year however a Project Update on the preliminary findings is now available.
“After detailed analysis of the feedback received, the emerging theme is the Thirroul community do not believe either of the proposed options would meet their needs, so we have decided not to proceed with either option,” the spokesperson said.
“Transport for NSW has engaged an external consultant who will review and analyse the submissions for both Bulli and Thirroul. Transport will use this advice to help refine designs and inform the final road improvements for each area.
“We want to thank everyone who took the time to provide feedback about their experiences travelling in and around Bulli and Thirroul town centres.”
To find out more information, go to nswroads.work/bullithirroul
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This is so wrong in so many ways? The council and NSW roads are just putting a band aid on an unsolved problem?
Use the idea of a By Pass – this will be the solution and has been for the past 39 years and every government cry’s poor????
LikeLiked by 1 person
Posted by Paul Defries | December 18, 2021, 6:42 pm