Token Consultation

LOCAL shop owners felt hopeful yesterday afternoon when the Roads and Maritime Services and the local Council agreed to meet with them today to hear their concerns about parking issues near their businesses, but were left sceptical that the RMS was open to anything.

Alan Fletcher, director of infrastructure services at Council, Ken Saxby, RMS representative with local business owners Michelle Pryor and Caitlin Reichert.

“They seemed more interested in arguing their position than listening and trying to find a solution with us,” said Caitlin Reichert, owner of Pure Hair and Beauty.

It seems a pattern of the RMS in the Upper Hunter area, with Council recently airing their frustrations with the organisation: Council Frustrated by RMS.

The local police and Upper Hunter Shire Council confirmed the RMS representatives had never raised their plans regarding the no stopping area at the traffic management committee which they all regularly attend.

The RMS also issued a statement saying they had conducted a site investigation of the New England Highway at the McAdam Street intersection in October, which was also never tabled at the traffic management committee.

“The RMS said they didn’t have to because it was a state road and nothing to do with Council or the police, they didn’t seem to care that it is also a road within our town,” said Ms Reichert.

“They laughed when we said there should be some better pedestrian access to cross the road and said we’d lose even more parking area then,” she said.

The shoulder of road described by the RMS as sealed and suitable for vehicles to use

In a statement issued by the RMS they said “As a result of the review, Roads and Maritime Services carried out signage improvements in November….these changes allow through motorists to safely travel along the sealed shoulder and pass vehicles turning right into McAdam Street.”

The section of road referred to does not appear to be a sealed shoulder designed for overtaking.

“While we were standing out the front we saw several people stop in the no stopping area and others use it as an inside overtaking lane, but the RMS seemed to ignore the clear confusion and say the local drivers needed to read the signs,” said Caitlin Reichert.

Michelle Pryor, owner of Chocolattea Cafe, still hopes the RMS will see reason and create a couple of parks at the northern end of the no stopping area.

“If they have extended the no stopping down to the intersection, then they could put half of the no stopping at the northern end back into a couple of car parks,” said Ms Pryor.

“The Council were helpful in terms of offering to put up parking signs to make things clearer for people, but I wouldn’t park all day in front of the toilets, because that really is designed for travellers to use,” said Michelle Pryor.

Cailtin agrees that although they can technically park in front of the visitor toilets all day it was not a fair solution to visitors wanting to use the park.

“We know the parks are there for tourists and travellers to be able to stop and use the toilets, not for our staff to park there all day while they are at work or while our customers have their hair done for two hours,” said Ms Reichert.

“There may be lots of room where the caravans and mobile homes park, but sometimes there are four or five of them there at once and so parking a car in the middle of them is less than ideal for everyone,” she said.

“At one point the RMS said we must be thankful that no trucks could park there, which I didn’t understand, because they need to pull up and grab food like anyone else, but they said that’s what Rixis Creek was for, which is over an hour away.

“They just seemed to be set on their idea and not open to anything in the community and they kept comparing it to where they lived in Newcastle,” Caitlin Reichert said.

The RMS said in their statement that “parking is available….along Abercairney Terrace,” which was found to be a dirt road that is now part of an area for mobile homes and caravans to camp in.

Caitlin pointed out that was the problem with people making decisions by looking on a map and not understanding the local area.

Council also confirmed there is a development application for a service station to go in on the corner of McAdam Street and the New England Highway, which will further complicate traffic and parking in the area.

scone.com.au has asked the RMS for a response as to why they were not more collaborative with the local traffic management committee on such issues.