Property owners, residents and business operators within the orbital road investigation corridor are absorbing the latest development after Port Macquarie-Hastings Council opened community consultation about the orbital road proposal.

Kyla Crescent resident Greg Skimmings said the council was 15 years too late with its orbital road proposal as it should have happened before the subdivision went ahead in the area of St Columba Anglican School.

“Something needs to be done but it’s just way too late,” he said.

Mr Skimmings would like to see Lake Road widened, traffic lights at the Lake Road/Oxley Highway roundabout and traffic lights at the Wrights Road/Oxley Highway intersection.

Meanwhile, another resident raised concerns about why the council didn’t act on the road link early before developments took place.

The impact of the proposed orbital road on about 470 properties within the investigation corridor is unknown at this stage but could range from increased traffic to noise, property acquisition or benefits due to proximity to the proposed new road link.

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 has produced a fact sheet about the proposal.

The fact sheet said the need for an east-west road corridor was first identified in the 1980s as part of the planning for urban growth at Lighthouse Beach and the Innes Peninsula.

The concept of an outer link was formally recognised in 2002 as part of the Hastings Roads and Traffic Study.

The proposed orbital road was examined in 2008 and reintroduced in May 2015.

An engineering feasibility study in 2016 examined constraints, costs and infrastructure built in the past 10 years. 

“The outcome of the feasibility study was the determination of the investigation corridor that we are currently talking about,” the fact sheet said.

Another resident, who lives near St Columba Anglican School, said she loved living there, and if she was to move, it would be because of the school traffic.

Proposed orbital road investigation corridor:

Port Macquarie business Australian and European Automotive is within the investigation corridor.

Mark and Maryanne Maetzig swapped western Sydney for the Hastings 18 months ago to take up the business opportunity.

They were attracted to Australian and European Automotive’s location with many clients coming from the surrounding subdivisions.

Mrs Maetzig is not concerned about the immediate future of the business at the John Oxley Drive site but is unsure of the long-term future there given the orbital road proposal.

She said they would want to remain in the Innes Lake area to serve their customer base.

People can have their say about the orbital road proposal at the council’s community consultation website before the full engagement program begins in early February.

The project is in the early stages of development and the final route is yet to be determined.

The community’s feedback will influence the council’s decision on the final route option.

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