The council’s update headline is “Wingecarribee Shire Council is proposing to improve traffic flow within and through Bowral”. The title could not be more misleading and ignores the intended destruction of amenity and environment within this project. The update tells us that “a clear direction will be provided by council, and resolutions made at this meeting will be shared with the community shortly thereafter”. This itself indicates yet another closed council determination of a major controversial project, no further community consultation on the report, and a determination by some councillors to thrust an unwelcome, unnecessary and destructive road project into the prized heartland of the Southern Highlands. The announcement bears a graphic that indicates improvements in many aspects of our environment and amenity, none of which stand scrutiny in the context of the facts of the project:

- Improve parking: by removing over 100 all day unrestricted parking spaces next to the railway station with no replacement parking? Kirkham Road parking spaces already exist, council can’t claim by paving them that they are replacement spaces.

- Improve streetscape: by destroying an avenue of trees along Station Street so the new road can weave in and out on a new alignment?

- Increase safety: by forcing pedestrians to negotiate the dangerous intersection on the west end of the Wingecarribee Street bridge to get to the station and town?

- New pedestrian access: where, and to what?

- Improve intersections: A new large roundabout at Bundaroo Street to replace traffic lights, a new set of traffic lights at Boolwey Street to replace a roundabout. Is this to replicate the “success” of the traffic lights at Merrigang Street that even the mayor himself has complained about?

- Increase road capacity and reduce gridlock: by building a four-lane road that has to reduce to two lanes at each end? Moving the congestion along the road, not solving the somewhat exaggerated problem?

What is also overlooked in this update is the community’s expressed angst against the project, loss of convenient safe parking, loss of Bowral’s streetscape and the unquantified cost of the works. Yes, $7.5 million may be available from the State Government, but there are admitted uncosted components of the project, contingencies and escalation costs that have not been disclosed.

The end cost to ratepayers is unknown and council expects the community to accept this risk and cost. Not good enough. This project does nothing to address the really necessary issue of more parking in Bowral, rather, it takes away over 100 parking spaces which will result in more congested traffic within Bowral as drivers circulate to find a parking space. 

The government’s funds should be better spent on more parking, or building the Links Road to Bowral Street section of the Bowral Bypass Distributor Road as per the council’s 2012 Parking Traffic and Transport Strategy.

The Station Street Upgrade project needs to be stopped before it wreaks destruction on Bowral’s environment and commits ratepayers to untold future expenditure.