Residents of Waverley Parade, Mittagong are unhappy over a proposed road closure that would see their access to Range Road blocked.
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At a council meeting on September 23, Wingecarribee Shire councillors voted to endorse a partial road closure at Waverley Parade adjoining Frensham School.
Jill Swane was notified of the proposed closure following the September 23 meeting.
"A neighbour came over and asked if I had seen the flyer," she said.
"At first I thought it was a council notice before I read it twice.
"The letter said council had endorsed an application for the partial road closure of Waverley Parade, Mittagong adjoining Frensham School.
"This will effectively close Waverley Parade from Stanley Street to Range Road from vehicle and pedestrian traffic permanently."
Ms Swane said it wasn't until October 2 that she and other residents had officially received notification from council in regards to the proposed closure.
"The way they've worded it is really misleading in my opinion," she said.
"I've had a lot of people ask me about the word 'reserve' and I've had to ask council what they mean. They told me reserve means it's a council public road. That threw a lot of people.
"In the letter, they go on to say that council is considering the closure of council public road reserve near your property and upon closure of the road reserve, council intends to transfer the land to the adjoining landowner."
Ms Swane said she had an issue with the diagram council used.
"They only showed in their diagram Waverley parade and Range Road to Stanley Street. Stanley Street is a closed road. That section was closed off years ago and is owned by Frensham," she said.
"I've since had the council diagram amended as of yesterday. I've had great help from the Transport and Traffic department in council. He got on to it straight away and updated the map to show the cross-section of Waverley Parade and Oxford Street because that's the next cross-section."
Ms Swane said she and the other residents feel like a vulnerable minority and that the parents of the pre-school weren't aware of the road closures.
"It comes down to the fact there are three private residences between Range Road and Oxford Street," she said.
"We feel we are in a vulnerable minority. Whoever did the anonymous letterbox did it around the area, so that has given us confidence that people know about it."
"The mums and dads at the preschool were unaware of the proposal because you can't read from across the road the current signs council has put up.
"A lot of them said they use Waverley Parade to link across Range Road all the time.
"It's important to note that the community preschool is in the cross path of Waverley Parade."
Another concern for Ms Swane is the growth of Mittagong and the access of evacuation routes in case of an emergency.
"After December 31 and January 4, they identified Waverley parade as the first place for an ember attack at the community meeting at the RSL," she said.
"Our section of Waverley Parade has enormous Radiata Pines that we have asked council to remove. As you progress up Waverley Parade to Range Road you have heavy timber trees.
"We're in a heavily timbered area, and that is my concern. We could be hemmed in if there's a fire.
"I want to be able to get out if there's a fire."
A council spokesperson said they had already received a number of submissions in relations to concerns regarding emergency service access.
"As part of the road closure proposal, council is required to notify a number of key agencies including the Rural Fire Service and NSW Fire & Rescue," they said.
"Feedback is not guaranteed however council staff are looking at possible alternate access routes for emergency service vehicles.
This will be addressed at the conclusion of the public consultation period when the issue is reported back to council on December 9."
The proposed road closure is currently on public exhibition until November 13.
The proposed partial closure of Waverley Parade is about a proposed acquisition of land on the corner of Colo Street and Range Road, Mittagong.
The land to be acquired from Frensham is required to facilitate the construction of the new Range Road rail bridge and road deviation of Colo Street and a proposed new roundabout at the intersection of Range Road, Railway Parade and Colo Street, Mittagong.
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Vera Demertzis
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
