SAFETY CONCERNS OVER PROPOSED
MONA VALE ROAD EAST UPGRADE
Friends of Mona Vale Road as a community group have been heavily involved in negotiations on various aspects of the Mona Vale Road upgrade even prior to the announcement of the Mona Vale Road East and West Upgrade projects.
We have attended many workshops and arranged onsite meetings with the RMS. After months of prodding we were able to meet with Steven Head the RMS Network General Manager and a staff member from the Minister for Roads. At that meeting we raised concerns about the need for immediate action with safety arrangements including installation of a dual speed camera for the downhill run to the cemetery which would catch heavy vehicles exceeding the low gear speed limit and also other drivers exceeding the 70 kph car speed limit. Whilst Mr Head took note of our concerns we have not heard anything from him in the way of a follow up to that meeting.
Another concern we have with the RMS proposed upgrade is the current roundabout at the Mona Vale Road intersection with Samuel / Ponderosa Streets will be replaced with traffic lights as shown in the image below.
Another concern we have with the RMS proposed upgrade is the current roundabout at the Mona Vale Road intersection with Samuel / Ponderosa Streets will be replaced with traffic lights as shown in the image below.
The roundabout will be removed at Samuel Street and traffic lights installed
We see this as a major issue as traffic can be stopped at the lights and a runaway truck coming down Cemetery Hill will have a catastrophic collision impact with vehicles stopped at the red signal.
Friends of Mona Vale Road insist the only solution at this intersection is an overpass for traffic on Mona Vale Road which will negate stopping at Samuel / Ponderosa Streets where traffic on these roads will pass under the overpass.
We first met with Rob Stokes with our concerns on 3 March 2016 and he said he would make representations to the RMS and keep us updated. Months went by with no correspondence and no updates from Rob Stokes or the RMS.
Friends of Mona Vale Road insist the only solution at this intersection is an overpass for traffic on Mona Vale Road which will negate stopping at Samuel / Ponderosa Streets where traffic on these roads will pass under the overpass.
We first met with Rob Stokes with our concerns on 3 March 2016 and he said he would make representations to the RMS and keep us updated. Months went by with no correspondence and no updates from Rob Stokes or the RMS.
Rob Stokes at the Samuel / Ponderosa Streets Roundabout on Mona Vale Road
About 6 months later during an NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) hearing present was Matty Mathivanar RMS Project Development Manager. He admitted the RMS had not received anything from Rob Stokes making representations of our concerns from that meeting in March.
Rob Stokes simply ignored the concerns of his constituents on this Mona Vale Road safety issues meeting and reneged on his agreement to write to the RMS.
Rob Stokes simply ignored the concerns of his constituents on this Mona Vale Road safety issues meeting and reneged on his agreement to write to the RMS.
While it has been announced that $150M is to be made available for the Mona Vale Road East upgrade works progress is slow and at times it seems that it has more or less grinded to a halt. Apparently tenders are being called in November 2017 (next month) but we are not privy to the final road plans.
On face value the money allocated is unlikely to address our safety concerns or provide for anything more than a basic road widening along the existing steep road corridor. There is also lack of any appreciation of the impact that construction will have for local traffic. There are also concerns about how the road design will impact on traffic in the future Ingleside subdivision.
Following the petrol tanker crash at Mona Vale 1 October 2013, the Mona Vale Road East upgrade was given priority over the Mona Vale Road West upgrade apparently to appease safety concerns and alleged pressure by the local community.
On face value the money allocated is unlikely to address our safety concerns or provide for anything more than a basic road widening along the existing steep road corridor. There is also lack of any appreciation of the impact that construction will have for local traffic. There are also concerns about how the road design will impact on traffic in the future Ingleside subdivision.
Following the petrol tanker crash at Mona Vale 1 October 2013, the Mona Vale Road East upgrade was given priority over the Mona Vale Road West upgrade apparently to appease safety concerns and alleged pressure by the local community.
Cootes Petrol Tanker Crash 1 October 2013
While safety issues are claimed to be the driving force there is little evidence that the present RMS plans actually prioritise safety. For example there is a single arrestor bed proposed for the left hand lane but nothing for the right lane. This is not consistent with the 2 arrestor beds on the downhill run on the Central Coast Highway from Kariong into West Gosford.
On 21 September 2017 Friends of Mona Vale Road had an onsite meeting at the bus stop near the cemetery on Mona Vale Road to make further representations to RMS staff with ongoing concerns of: -
- Safety
- Pedestrians
- Cyclists
- Landscaping
- Internal Ingleside access across Mona Vale Road
- Wildlife
Friends of Mona Vale Road Meeting with RMS representatives 21 September 2017
From that meeting RMS representatives said plans were locked in, tenders will be called in November 2017 and nothing will be changed. RMS has not ever seriously taken onboard many of the concerns we have raised with them since the start of the whole process of upgrading Mona Vale Road.
Time is of the essence and Friends of Mona Vale Road has done what we can to put pressure on the Government and RMS. The Government has done the bare minimum to address concerns about Mona Vale Road as is evidenced by a lack of real impetus in progressing the work on Mona Vale Road over other Sydney road projects which they regard as a higher priority. Residents of the Northern Beaches have waited literally decades for some real action, back to the 1960s at least. Successive State Governments have made promises but have not delivered.
There is also no evidence of any real support from either the former Pittwater Council or the new Northern Beaches Council for acceleration of the Mona Vale Road upgrade. Our fear is that the project will remain in limbo unless we can force the issue. We were told that the former Minister for Roads, Duncan Gay, was very hesitant to allocate funds or give any priority. One way of putting pressure on the current Government would be if the Opposition actually took up the baton and ran with it.
Note a recent video which our group has produced which explains our concerns and the reason we are so passionate about exposing the issues of the Mona Vale Road upgrade entitled Mona Vale Road Madness at the following link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4DEaC2FQT8
Regards
Friends of Mona Vale Road
Time is of the essence and Friends of Mona Vale Road has done what we can to put pressure on the Government and RMS. The Government has done the bare minimum to address concerns about Mona Vale Road as is evidenced by a lack of real impetus in progressing the work on Mona Vale Road over other Sydney road projects which they regard as a higher priority. Residents of the Northern Beaches have waited literally decades for some real action, back to the 1960s at least. Successive State Governments have made promises but have not delivered.
There is also no evidence of any real support from either the former Pittwater Council or the new Northern Beaches Council for acceleration of the Mona Vale Road upgrade. Our fear is that the project will remain in limbo unless we can force the issue. We were told that the former Minister for Roads, Duncan Gay, was very hesitant to allocate funds or give any priority. One way of putting pressure on the current Government would be if the Opposition actually took up the baton and ran with it.
Note a recent video which our group has produced which explains our concerns and the reason we are so passionate about exposing the issues of the Mona Vale Road upgrade entitled Mona Vale Road Madness at the following link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4DEaC2FQT8
Regards
Friends of Mona Vale Road