It makes little sense for a growing city like Goulburn not to have a southern highway access from its northern end, a resident argues.
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Julia Laybutt says forward thinking is needed to correct an oversight when the bypass was built in 1992.
The Reynolds Street resident presented her solution for the access at Goulburn Mulwaree Council's meeting on Tuesday night.
"It is no longer feasible for heavy traffic from the northern end of town to travel the whole length of Goulburn, no matter which route they take, to be able to travel in a southerly direction," Mrs Laybutt said.
She was responding to the council's plan to rezone about 60 hectares of land in the Common Street area from B6 enterprise corridor to IN1 general industrial. Mrs Laybutt's was one of four community submissions during public exhibition of the Planning Proposal.
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The Proposal emerged from a council-commissioned Employment Lands Strategy which recommended more industrial land be developed in the area. In late 2018, the council secured a $7.15 million state government grant to build road and utility infrastructure in the precinct to support the push.
With the Woodlands Ridge Poultry applying to the State for an $83m processing plant in Sinclair Street, Mrs Laybutt said the need to create a southern access from north Goulburn was even greater. The developer wanted trucks to come through town but the council has urged him to find alternatives.
She also lodged a submission on that project as well.
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On Tuesday, she unveiled her idea for a ring road from Ross Street, Bradfordville, across flood plain to Common Street, to Long Street, which runs behind Rocky Hill, emerging on Rifle Range Road, and over to the Hume freeway.
"All you would have to do is an entry and exit," she said.
"It shouldn't need too much land acquisition."
Mrs Laybutt said the area around Windellama Road was previously flagged for industrial development and a southern access only required some "forward thinking."
The daughter of former Goulburn City alderman of the 1950s, Nigel Lamrock, told The Post she was speaking up as a community-minded person who had thought about the issue. She and her husband also did milk runs and ran a distribution business in their working life.
"There is no use having industry at north Goulburn if you can't go both ways," she said.
'Longer term plan'
Environment and planning director Scott Martin said the area would generate a large volume of trucks, particularly from the poultry plant, if approved.
"We take on board Julia's comments but we have already factored in additional highway connections to provide for north Goulburn businesses so they don't have to come through town," he said.
The council has also pushed the idea of a southern highway interchange around Windellama Road through the Regional Southeast Tablelands Plan and the Regional Economic Plan. Additionally, it has been raised through the South East Australian Transport Strategy committee.
Mr Martin said this exposure would bolster any funding push.
"Whether that's for fixing the northern interchange or doing one at Windellama Road, we're making sure that at least the message is embedded," he said.
"We've taken it one step further and tried to build in discussion about creating a southern interchange at Marulan."
There is no use having industry at north Goulburn if you can't go both ways.
- Julia Laybutt
Operations director Matt O'Rourke said Mrs Laybutt's idea would involve "huge cost" and wouldn't work across the floodplain and rail line around Bradfordville. However, an extension from Common Street over to Rifle Range Road to the freeway was a consideration.
"It's something we've thought about but it's not imminent," he said.
Intersection improvements
Meantime, the council is planning to upgrade the Common Street/Sydney Road intersection to provide for the industrial area. Mr O'Rourke said it preferred a roundabout to traffic lights to avoid traffic queueing. But the roundabout was a "non-standard" design based on the one at Hume Street/Ducks Lane and required Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) approval.
"It involves less land acquisition (than a larger one) and I think it's a better solution for traffic access and for vehicles moving in and out of McDonald's," he said.
The RMS must sign off on a traffic plan before the Planning Proposal is sent to the State Government for endorsement or otherwise.
On Tuesday, councillors also heard that the industrial zoning was not necessary to progress the poultry plant's development application. This was because it was a state significant development and could be assessed without full compliance to the zoning.
Mr Martin said its proposed site was "relatively" unaffected by flooding issues. Council planners undertook extensive flood work in response to Office of Environment and Heritage and Water NSW requests. This identified watercourses and channels and where inundation was likely to occur in an extreme rainfall event.
"The concerns were valid and (as a result) of the work, we're now in a better position to understand what areas are suitable and unsuitable for development," he said.
In response to another submission from John Charles questioning whether so much rezoned land was needed, councillors agreed to review the area following the rezoning and infrastructure provision.
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Louise Thrower
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
