THE community will have a say next week about a draft plan to upgrade a stretch of Ocean Drive.
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It is the first of two community forums to discussed the planned duplication of Ocean Drive between Greenmeadows Drive and Matthew Flinders Drive/Emerald Drive.
Mayor Peter Besseling said Port Macquarie-Hastings Council was seeking community feedback about the draft plans.
"Now is the opportunity for the community to have their say," Cr Besseling said.
Roadnet is preparing a concept design and environmental assessments for the project.
Some of the work includes traffic modelling to determine the intersection upgrade requirements to cater for the next 30 years.
Another component of the design is a pedestrian link between Greenmeadows Drive and the Lighthouse Plaza. Port Macquarie-Hastings Council's infrastructure and asset management director Jeffery Sharp said a significant amount of preliminary work had been undertaken and a draft layout design was nearing completion.
This draft design will form the basis of stakeholder engagement.
Mr Sharp said this month's forum would provide residents with an overview of the planned project and an opportunity to comment on the draft layout plan. The dual lane construction is proposed to be staged with the state government grant funded portion of the works completed by the end of 2015. A $10 million election commitment for the upgrade to address traffic congestion was provided after the Coalition won the state election.
Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams welcomed the community consultation.
"Anyone who drives along there in the morning or in the afternoon at certain times knows this is a project that needs to be done," Mrs Williams said.
It is expected an environmental assessment will recommend measures to control or limit traffic noise and other impacts on the environment will be incorporated into the concept design.
Mr Sharp said the environmental assessment would also take into account the social and economic impacts of the project on the surrounding community. The forum will be staged next Thursday, November 21, from 6.30pm in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council function room in Burrawan Street.
He said part of this assessment would be taken from comments and responses at the community forums and from engagement with individual stakeholders.
The council is in the process of writing to residents, property owners and business proprietors along the route.