The Beagle Editor,
We have owned our property in proximity to Smith and Francis St, Broulee for 25 years and in that time have seen the vehicular flow on Francis St increase enormously as has foot, cycle, scooter and skateboard traffic.
Weekends see greatly increased traffic flow, particularly on the Francis/Elizabeth Street intersection, with large numbers of children especially walking and cycling to and from sporting events. The new court facilities at Captain Oldrey Park have yet to be used, surely drawing more traffic when they are.
Large numbers of Banksia Lodge residents use Francis St as an access point to Coronation Drive.
Children walk and cycle to the Primary School through that intersection.
The creation of a new road behind Banksia Lodge and next to Captain Oldrey Park will effectively create a 4 way junction at the intersection of Francis and Elizabeth Streets.
This will create a choke point for all types of users especially at peak times.
Speeding vehicles are a constant hazard on Smith and Elizabeth Streets and even without the proposed new intersection, they are increasing. The proposed increased use of the area makes the possibility of injury and death to road and footpath users far more likely.
We don’t believe that the 2020 traffic impact assessment used in the DA takes these changes into account.
For example:
- the new Broulee Brew House was not even contemplated when this report was used to plan the DA and it is drawing large crowds.
- far more visitors than ever have been drawn to the South Coast over the last couple of years as I am sure your traffic monitoring shows, with accordingly larger numbers coming to Broulee.
- there is now a new shared pathway along Francis St used by a growing number of people
Our solution to the problem is that access to the new subdivision from Francis St and adjacent to Captain Oldrey Park should not be provided and that other options be used. We encourage members of community to make submission to the DA 0493/22 80 Block Subdivision Broulee Stage 7 that closes today at 4pm. You can find all the details of the proposal HERE During the notification period, community members can give feedback about a proposal. They can do this by making an online submission to Council on their eServices web page
The assessing officer will review any submissions received and may ask the applicant to respond to the issues raised. This will occur before the assessing officer determines the application.
Regards
Michael and Susan Cottier
