Eurobodalla Council staff have just released a Submission to the NSW Future Transport Strategy. You might imagine that this document which claims it contains recommended transport infrastructure priorities for our region might have been endorsed by Councillors, or even the community. You might imagine that, because of a very clear request in the form of a motion by Councillor Constable that a meeting be held with relevant Federal, State and RMS representatives to specifically discuss long term planning of the Princess Highway corridor through Eurobodalla that Councillors might have been involved in the Submission. Councillors were advised of the preparation of the submission and asked to provide their SUGGESTIONS. Pretty much the same as the average ratepayer being asked to provide their submissions to Plans and Policies where they might be read and considered.
This document, penned by Council staff with no apparent consultation with the community, none with the business community and the barest consultation with Councillors formally seeks "the support for funding the projects outlined herein on behalf of Eurobodalla residents and business community to realise the NSW Government’s objective to drive the regional economy and improve the social outcomes" Ex Eurobodalla councillor Allan Brown offers the comment having read a copy of the submission that has not yet been made public and fell of the back of a truck.
Above: The Submission to the NSW Future Transport Strategy. Read the full submission HERE
"This document needs some serious public discussion and input. "It does not deal with a whole list of matters including a school on the Princes Highway at Mogo. "It’s a knee jerk reaction to Councillor Constables very clear Notice of Motion and its resulting Council resolution of February 14 this year to have a proper discussion with a number of people about future planning for the Princes Highway in the Eurobodalla Shire. "The conversations that need to be had are far greater than three summary paragraphs in this submission. Princes Highway – Future By-passes In the medium to long term, by-passes will be required at Milton-Ulladulla, Mogo and Moruya. The RMS should be funded to complete the necessary corridor assessment, planning and acquisition to secure future by-pass corridors to ensure appropriate town planning. This should look at appropriate interim solutions so that the high cost of providing by-pass roads is met when required. This is particularly critical at south east Moruya which is now under-going urban residential growth which may impede a future by-pass route. The timing of the by-pass at Mogo is anticipated to be medium to long term and will depend on the short term solution provided to widen Mogo bridge and provision of a suitable intersection treatment at the Princes Highway/Tomakin Road intersection. Narooma already has an internal by-pass corridor reserved. This internal by-pass was previously assessed by the RMS as offering a high benefit cost ratio due to the significant reduction in travel time and distance travelled by avoiding the existing windy highway route. Whilst this internal by-pass is not required at this time, it will require consideration in conjunction with the planning for the new bridge over Wagonga Inlet. The majority of the internal by-pass route south of the bridge is relatively straight forward and can integrated into the urban landscape with ease. However, the section of the internal by-pass nearer Davison Street is steep and would require careful design to provide a suitable urban design solution.
