Dear Beagle Editor,
Here is a letter I address to all Councillors, To the Eurobodalla Shire Councillors, I, Pete Ward, a resident and ratepayer of Eurobodalla Shire would like you councillors to address what a lot of us out here in the broader community feel is a major issue especially around the tourist holiday season and that being the traffic chaos in Moruya. I regularly see numerous councillors over the last few years talking about how the key to our future is enticing more tourists to the area. Well that is all well and good except for the fact that it is so obvious that the infrastructure is simply not up to standard to accommodate it and yet it never seems to be addressed in your chamber... just the same old rhetoric. In the 2015/16 season and now 2016/17 season the traffic situation in Moruya on most days was nothing short of a fiasco and yet when I made contact with anyone from council the best I got was “that its only a few times a year”.... Well, NOT good enough I'm sorry. Times have changed and for whatever reason the new age tourist no longer sits on the beach or just relaxes in their holiday cottage but feels the need to get out on the road and go somewhere... and that somewhere is generally the shopping centres at Moruya or Batemans Bay and the congestion caused is amazing if you have not been involved. Most days some of the things some of these tourists do defy belief but it is the numbers that are the issue.On an average day it can take up to a half hour just to get through Moruya and its quite obvious that the traffic lights in the main street combined with people's lack of intelligence at roundabouts are the major causes. I have monitored the traffic lights and generally only 8 to 10 cars get through each time on green heading north which is disastrous when we have a line of more that 200 cars banked south.This year when monitoring all the roundabouts in Moruya I was absolutely amazed at what some, or most people will do even though the law and commonsense says don’t do this. These tourists will not only enter a roundabout when there's no chance of exit but then others follow them in and double up around the outside, more or less double parking, and in the process completely block access for any local through traffic and its an absolute nightmare. There unfortunately is never a police car to be seen as all they would have to do is stand in the middle of the roundabout and hand out tickets and I guarantee you they would run out of ticketbooks in less than an hour. I do have a simple fix and I'm not saying it’s the right one but please at least have a look at it and that is to place temporary dividers as you come off the bridge heading south thus diverting all traffic around the back of Moruya down Ford Street and then turn the traffic lights off and make the main street one way heading north. And to make sure there are no entry issues use the same temporary plastic dividers to block off all 4 entries from Church and Queen Streets and, I'm sorry, but if any of the old locals say they’ve been going that way for years blah blah blah then get used to it for the benefit of all. I only suggest this for the two week period over Christmas and the Easter weekend and believe the cost to be minimal and the benefits unbelievable. I really do believe that councillors should make this a priority before someone gets hurt due to this mess.The frustration it creates especially in the younger driver is obvious. It is not so much an issue in the town itself but once they are through it .... and the things they do to get past other drivers. And on top of all this there is also the new phenomenon of the GPS everyone has in their cars. A lot of people are now turning into Bergalia Street and coming around the back to beat the queue and quite frankly some of the speeds are amazing and its only a matter of time before a pensioner or a kiddy is cleaned up on that route and then everybody will jumping up and down. The other thing that has started happening is drivers are turning right into Ford Street once again to try and beat the traffic and it simply gridlocks and as a local just trying to get out of IGA or Woolies it is impossible. This year it banked up to Bingi turnoff and it took me 70 minutes to get from my place of employment at Coila home to Mollee Road which is just not acceptable,not even one day in a year and when I got home I had at least 50 cars come up our road which dead ends at Valley View Lane because their GPS told them it was open to Francis Street and I actually had 3 come in my driveway asking for direction as I lay in my hammock. Seriously., with the sides streets blocked off pedestrian traffic may have some issues in crossing Vulcan Street but to be honest it doesn’t stop most people crossing everywhere but the lights already. I am already impressed by what I'm seeing with our new mayor and supporters so please try and address this situation so as to give the wider community more confidence in you for the future. Pete Ward Moruya
