A Lake Cathie resident has voiced her concern over the reclassification of Ocean Drive as a state road rather than a regional road.
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At its February meeting, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council moved a notice of motion from Cr Peter Alley to request that Ocean Drive and Hastings River Drive be reclassified from regional road to state road.
Cr Alley is also the Labor candidate for the state seat of Port Macquarie.
State roads are managed and financed by the NSW Roads and Maritime Services, while regional and local roads are managed and financed by councils.
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has conducted consultation with the community over a proposed design for an Ocean Drive upgrade at Lake Cathie.
Lake Cathie resident Claire Briggs is concerned about the implications for the community and whether previous council consultation will be upheld if Ocean Drive is reclassified as a state road.
"Is Cr Alley trying to wash his hands of a soon to be four lane clearway which will lead to anger amongst residents and generate further distrust of council?," she said.
"Why table this now?"
Claire is calling for more consultation between the community and Port Macquarie-Hastings Council in relation to the proposed Ocean Drive upgrade.
The motion to upgrade the section of Miala Street to Fiona Crescent, as the highest priority construction stage was carried by council at the December meeting.
In September 2018, Claire and other residents launched a petition 'to remove the future duplication to four lanes from the proposed Ocean Drive upgrade design'.
They also wrote submissions and had face to face meetings with the mayor and council staff.
"Our main concern is the safety for road users and pedestrians as the four lane plan will encourage speeding and reckless driving through the village," Claire said.
“We asked for the future four lanes aspect to be removed from the plan, as this is of no benefit to our local community.
"The one concession gained from our petition and numerous submissions is that the road lanes will now remain centred through the road corridor, rather than pushed to the outside edges as per the previous concept.
"But what legislation is there to prevent council from making Ocean Drive Lake Cathie a four lane clearway?"
Cr Alley said in the past the game of 'pin the tail of the donkey' has been played to determine the classification of roads.
He gave reference to The Lakes Way, south of Forster which in parts is classified as a state road.
“My logic is that Ocean Drive is just as significant as The Lakes Way and should also be classified as a state road,” he said.
Cr Alley said residents do not need to be concerned about the change of classification.
Residents have been consulting with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council over the future upgrade of Ocean Drive in Lake Cathie.
“At the moment it is a regional road and council will continue to operate, manage and put together those plans,” he said.
Cr Alley said in the future if the road is reclassified as a state road, council will negotiate to determine exactly what that would mean moving forward into the future.
Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams said she has raised the issue of transferring the Ocean Drive and Hastings River Drive corridor to state control.
On Monday, February 25 Mrs Williams welcomed Deputy Premier John Barilaro's announcement that $1 billion will be allocated to fix local roads, repair NSW’s iconic timber bridges and reclaim up to 15,000 kilometres of council roads.
Mrs Williams said she will continue to advocate for the benefits of making changes to road classifications.
"Quite clearly Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has a huge maintenance backlog that looks to be increasing so I will continue to do anything I can if at the end of the day the community benefits," she said.
Mrs Williams said there are many local roads that are in urgent need of maintenance and they will be prioritised.
“Significant sections of Ocean Drive needs fixing, as does parts of Hastings River Drive, Harrington Road, Lansdowne Road, and Upper Lansdowne Road just to name a few," she said.
“This funding will take a big load off our local ratepayers and councils."
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