Tuesday 24 May 2011
VOL 4. No 21
www.bellarinetimes.com.au
Bellarine Times
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BRIDGE DIVIDE CfB chairman Graeme Smith at the site of council’s proposed bridge.
Residents call on council to rethink controversial bridge construction
BY ELEANOR WOODS THE DEBATE on whether or not a double lane traffic and pedestrian bridge should be included in the development of land in Drysdale-Clifton Springs continues. City of Greater Geelong has proposed the bridge over Griggs Creek, at the end of Bay Shore Avenue, be constructed as one of the Jetty Road Urban Development’s access ways. But residents in Bay Shore Road are dismayed – pleading councillors to rethink the move. Committee for Bellarine chairman, Graeme Smith, said residents in Bay Shore Avenue, a peaceful deadend cul-de-sac overlooking the bay, are concerned
S u r f Forecast
that the bridge will transform their quiet street into a busy thoroughfare. “The fear is that if this big bridge goes up, Bay Shore Avenue will become a very busy road. The influx of both residential and construction vehicles using this area will skyrocket,” Smith said. “There is also the risk that people will use this road as a shortcut from Portarlington to Geelong to bypass Drysdale town centre.” The Jetty Road Urban Growth Plan was first adopted by council in 2007. According to Smith, community consultation in 2006 revealed that residents in Bay Shore Avenue did not want any bridge at the end of their road. “244 residents vehemently opposed to the bridge,”
Smith said. “Since then, residents believed the issue was over until they found out about this plan,” Smith said. Key elements of council’s growth plan outline that Bay Shore Avenue should not become a major through road; construction traffic must not access the area via Bay Shore Avenue; and pedestrian and bicycle access should be encouraged by people in the area. “Council has said the bridge should allow for local traffic and discourage through traffic but there is a concern that a large, double lane bridge will attract heavy use,” Smith said. “Bay Shore Avenue is not wide enough to sustain heavy traffic.” Several developments are already under way in the
Jetty Road Urban Development; which will be home to 1,200 new houses, as well as a community and commercial hub. Close to 40 residents met with council to discuss their concerns earlier this month, voicing disapproval of the lack of consultation about the bridge. “There is a high level of objection to this bridge. If it must go ahead, it should be one lane,” Smith said. CoGG councillor, Rod Macdonald, said the issue is currently being evaluated. “City of Greater Geelong representatives are now assessing what the community and stakeholders think and a final masterplan will be drafted,” he said. “I wouldn’t have thought a single lane bridge would be enough to sustain the level of use.”
WED 2-4ft+ easing SW 13° THU 2-3ft+ average SW 14° FRI 2-3ft building SW 13° SAT 3-4ft+ best early N 14°
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