RESIDENTS have slammed council’s latest decision to stall work on a notorious intersection with the hope federal government funding will ease the cost.
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Slighted by another delay to work on the Moore Creek Rd Browns Ln intersection, residents have begun rallying signatures calling on Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) to get to action sooner.
Amanda Boyd is spearheading the campaign to get a roundabout installed, sooner rather than later.
She said there has been talk for about three years, but the action to date has been further delays.
Ms Boyd said demand for land in the area in growing with blocks “selling like hotcakes”, which said would only lead to the roads becoming more “populated”.
The issue will be compounded by TRC’s recent decision to reduce lot sizes in the Hills Plain area to accommodate Tamworth’s growing population, Ms Boyd said.
Ms Boyd has left copies of her petition at David Bright Homes, Horseland and a number of other local businesses and hoped to table the signatures to council before their next meeting on May 23.
Fellow resident Adam Downey said his main concern with the delayed works was “the lack of transparency” from council.
“Council makes an announcement that is about to go ahead, only for it to be pushed back again, a couple of months later,” he told The Leader.
“We understand it can be tricky to secure funding.
“But there’s a difference it what is being promised and what is being delivered.”
Councillor Mark Rodda took to Facebook calling for infrastructure such as this to “be factored into the approvals of subdivisions and constructed by developers”.
Cr Rodda said such provisions could help circumvent wait times associated with council looking to secure funding.
A poll of The Leader’s readers found about 60 per cent of respondents were in favour of TRC constructing the roundabout right away, while about 28 per cent said there are worse intersections in the region.
Council opts for patience
If TRC secures the Black Spot funding, work on the intersection won’t be able to start until the 2018/19 financial year, which proved to be a sticking point for Cr Juanita Wilson, who tried to move an amendment calling on council to fully-fund the project.
“Our infrastructure isn’t keeping up and this is clear example,” she said.
The amendment was quickly shot down by Glenn Inglis, Phil Betts and Russell Webb who all held firm that TRC was “a good chance” to land funding. Read more.
However, in 2015, it was “a matter urgency”
Councillor Phil Betts said the roundabout is a “matter of urgency” and the traffic committee has discussed a number of interim measures to put in place until it is constructed.
“The short term solutions include enhancing the visibility of the intersection with more signage and guide posts, and changes to the line markings, which again aims to makes the intersection more visible,” Cr Betts said. Read more.