Council proceeds with Railway St refuge

Gosford Council has adopted signage and line marking plan for a pedestrian refuge in Railway St, Woy Woy, north of Rawson Rd, in spite of resident opposition to the refuge.

However the meeting was told that the RMS had claimed that the submitted plan of works did not appear to meet Australian Standards and that work had started before the matter had been properly considered.

A report to the council showed that the issue stretched back to March 2007, when the council resolved to provide a pedestrian crossing facility on Railway St north of Rawson Rd, together with a footpath link from Rawson Rd to the proposed pedestrian refuge, following a recommendation from the local traffic committee in February 2007.

The need for the Railway St pedestrian crossing was first identified as part of the Rawson Road Level Crossing Removal Project, with the refuge being located adjacent to the egress point of the pedestrian underpass on the Railway St side.

Residents have been advised of the proposal.

Residents directly adjacent to the refuge opposed the installation based on: loss of parking at the front of their premises; difficulties in accessing their premises; no demand for the refuge; and reduced safety in the process of accessing their premises.

The refuge was shortened to allow access from both the north and south in response to the residents' concerns.

A response was prepared and signed by the CEO acknowledging residents' concerns while stating that the refuge was to improve the safety of all pedestrians and would not result in an increased risk to residents entering their properties.

Investigations have also been undertaken to identify alternate sites however no other suitable sites were found.

Gosford Council agenda TR.16.14, 10 May 2016