Road rage from Rodeo Drive as residents blast council on communication

Tamworth Regional Council recently voted to go ahead with plans to turn the cul-de-sac on Rodeo Drive into a through road to cater for traffic from the new Arcadia Estate.

"When a lot of people bought those blocks, they were probably misinformed that the road would not open up into the future, but that was never council's intent. That was never the case," Tamworth mayor Russell Webb told the Leader.

Residents of the road's 47 houses demonstrated a united front against the plan at council's latest meeting by packing the Tamworth Town Hall.

"There were only six people from the street that didn't turn up. Two were on holidays, two had COVID, and two were at work," Rodeo Drive resident Dean Tapp told the Leader.

"We get no communication from this council. They don't talk to clients, they don't talk to residents, they don't talk to anyone."

It's been a longstanding complaint among homeowners on the rural road who have previously said they've relied on local radio and newspapers to learn about projects that affect them directly.

Tamworth Regional Council says it distributed about 150 letters to residents advising them of the through road proposal in March 2022, but Mr Tapp says his letter never arrived.

"We've never gotten a letter drop. They say they do letter drops but no one ever gets the letters," he said.

Mr Tapp took his concerns about the proposed through road to council at its latest meeting, speaking to councillors directly before they voted.

"Rodeo Drive was constructed to a rural residential standard, which means no streetlights, no footpaths, no cycle ways, no kerb or guttering, open storm water drains, and no safe on-street parking," he said at the meeting.

He told councillors he was concerned how increased traffic would impact the safety of the cul-de-sac.

A traffic impact assessment (TIA) submitted to council predicts peak-hour traffic on Rodeo Drive will increase by six times the current amount once Arcadia Estate's 2350 new dwellings are filled.

The TIA says that would put the through road's traffic on a similar level to other rural roads such as Spains Lane and Nundle Road.

The assessment also says without access from Rodeo Drive, the impact on nearby Darien Avenue would be more than 20 times the existing base load.

Mr Tapp said he wouldn't want to inflict that pain on his neighbours to the north, but he said the options presented in the TIA are a false dichotomy.

He said the decision council made was a "way to cut corners" by not investigating other options like adding additional access points on Bylong Road and Burgmanns Lane.

"Whoever does the maps for Arcadia has done all the bike ways, the cycle ways, the road ways, the whole lot," Mr Tapp said.

"But what have they done for Rodeo Drive? They gave us two blue arrows that said 'future development'."

Council's decision to proceed with connecting Rodeo Drive to Arcadia Estate also came with a commitment to investigate a pedestrian and cyclist connection to the Sports and Entertainment Precinct.