Peninsula is bad location for population increase
May I take issue with Peter Shortland ("Roundabout upgrade not likely to relieve congestion", PN623) when he says that, in his view, the Memorial Ave-Gallipoli Ave junction "was never a (traffic) problem".
I use this intersection fairly frequently, and it is a very awkward junction that can well use an upgrade, to improve safety for those turning from Gallipoli Ave right into Memorial Ave.
The present sightline is poor, and the two-way traffic on Memorial Ave leaves few gaps for turning traffic, so a simple adjustment would be welcome.
That said, I can agree with him that it is difficult to see much long-term, large-scale benefit from the footling intersection improvements proposed for the length of Blackwall Rd-Memorial Ave.
The whole scheme is nothing but a band-aid approach to future needs, putting off the hard decisions for somebody else to solve later.
Given that the Council is "planning" for a 60 per cent increase in housing units on the Peninsula over a mere 10 years, one would have thought that such a dramatic transformation would require commensurate consideration for all the subsidiary requirements of the area.
It is, accordingly, bizarre in the extreme to have Cr Wright assuring us that the Council is "not projecting significant population growth in the area" ("Significant population growth not projected, says Cr Wright", PN623).
From the reports of proposed developments, it appears that the general trend is for existing small houses to be replaced by three-bedroom and four-bedroom units, so that it would seem far more likely that population will increase by more than 60 per cent and that traffic volumes will increase to match.
The idea that these trivial intersection improvements will make the road "fit for the future", as Liesl Tesch would have us believe ("Road upgrade 'fit for future' increase in population", PN623), flies in the face of all common sense and all traffic-engineering experience.
The Peninsula is one of the worst locations possible for large-scale population increase.
It is a low-lying alluvial flat with chronic drainage problems and is probably the area of Central Coast most vulnerable to any sea-level rise.
Many existing streets have narrow, potholed pavements, and there is a dearth of footpaths, so that children already have no choice but to walk on the road, in constant danger from passing traffic which can only get worse.
The tree canopy is disappearing rapidly, and a 60 per cent increase in building coverage can only mean that it will shrink further, creating more heat spots.
Julian Bowker is absolutely correct ("Population increase of 60 per cent lacks planning, say residents", PN623) to criticize the Council's failure to adjust planning provisions and provide detailed guidance for the massive changes that are envisioned.
When even the Local Planning Panel can see how inadequate Council's efforts are and is calling for a review of standards and processes, we must know we are in deep trouble.
The Council can't even get such a relatively simple exercise as the Woy Woy Waterfront Upgrade right ("Woy Woy waterfront cost blows out", PN623), so what can we expect of it, when it has to manage a complex and difficult development exercise over the whole Peninsula.
Magic numbers from Cr Wright are not a useful contribution to the debate that we should be having.
SOURCE:
Email, 19 Jul 2025
Bruce Hyland, Woy Woy