The hottest topic currently facing Port Macquarie-Council isn't even on Wednesday night’s agenda: the orbital road.
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However, it is likely that community action groups representing the Fernhill Road, Sanctuary Springs, Lake Innes and Lighthouse areas will conduct a silent protest.
You can expect placards.
A least one of the groups' spokespeople could possibly address the public forum which generally kicks off a council meeting.
A lack of transparency and providing answers to questions have dominated concerns raised by all members of the action groups.
The orbital road is proposed as an east-west link (Ocean Drive to Oxley Highway), a north-south link (Oxley Highway to Boundary Street) and a flood-free route to the Port Macquarie Airport.
The council opened community consultation about the orbital road on November 22 with teams providing preliminary information to residents within the investigation corridor.
An orbital road page has been launched on the council’s Have Your Say website.
Lake Innes Orbital Road Action Group spokesperson Ellen Brown says she plans to attend the December 12 council meeting to support the other groups.
"Members of our group will go along to the meeting and support the Greenmeadows group that is, apparently, going to address the public forum," she said.
"We are asking as many people as possible to attend too.
"There is a bit of a call out for people to bring placards and undertake a silent protest.
"We have concerns about a lack of information and detail about council's plans for this orbital road."
Ms Brown said she had approached council to get some estimates for a scale of how much room is required for a four lane road.
"We held an informal meeting on Sunday morning and, using council's measurements, we decided to get some physical sense of what this road could look like," she said.
"You could see clearly what impacts (on houses) this would have."
Some of the concerns raised by members of the action groups include, that the orbital road would do little to alleviate traffic congestion at existing critical points, that a corridor for the proposal road should have been planned as housing developments were approved by council and that council has not provided any alternatives.
There appears to be no Plan B.
Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams has also weighed into the discussion.
She says a number of residents have contacted her office with their concerns over the proposed link road.
"In recent weeks many local residents have contacted my electorate office to express their views relating to the impact of the proposed orbital road on current residential properties," Mrs Williams said.
"I have taken the opportunity to meet on site with a number of affected residents and have heard first hand their concerns, frustrations and related anxieties to the identification by Port Macquarie-Hastings Council as the most viable route.
"I met with mayor Peta Pinson to convey the residents’ concerns and express appreciation of her consideration of their views as future decisions are made.
"The Port Macquarie-Hastings is one of the fastest growing areas in NSW and it is therefore prudent that the council considers ways to improve our road network to ensure it is able to cope with increasing traffic volumes into the future."
Mrs Williams also said that significant planning work has been undertaken for the duplication of Ocean Drive between Matthew Flinders Drive and Greenmeadows Drive supported by $10 million in funding from the NSW government and believes this shovel-ready project should be completed as a matter of priority.
Consideration should also be given to improving other modes of transport including footpaths, cycleways and public transport.
- Leslie Williams, MP
"Consideration should also be given to improving other modes of transport including footpaths, cycleways and public transport,” she added.
Both the proposed orbital road and the Ocean Drive duplication are the responsibility of Port Macquarie-Hastings Council as are any decisions relating to their construction or improvement, Mrs Williams said.
Some of the issues on Wednesday night’s council agenda include, the future of the Tastings on Hastings event.
A report to be tabled says that community engagement has been undertaken to seek community views on the future of the event.
Council will also discuss the draft Mrs York's Garden Master Plan. If the recommendation is approved that draft plan will go on public exhibition for 42 days from December 14, 2018.
Cr Turner has a notice of motion regarding the traffic congestion crisis on the Oxley Highway.
That notice requests the general manager write to the minister for roads and Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams "seeking an urgent response to the impending traffic congestion crisis on the Oxley Highway in Port Macquarie".
The council meeting starts at 5.30pm.
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