Residents of a south Goulburn street are calling on the council to overturn a decision to allow "a potential death trap."
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Hollis Avenue and surrounding householders have lodged a 36-signature petition, asking for a rethink on the egress for the Salvation Army's 33-lot residential subdivision. Councillors approved the development last December on land surrounding the Army's Gill Waminda aged care facility.
While not without dissent, the approval allowed owners of six lots to access the subdivision via a cul-de-sac to be designed off Hollis Avenue.
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Resident Rob Greenlees said this would open on to the "extremely narrow and curvy Hollis Avenue." With bends on either side of the egress, he argued it created a "very dangerous intersection."
"(It) should be reviewed and overturned for the safety of everyone in the neighbourhood and community," he said.
He and wife, Jill, have lived in the street for 50 years. Mrs Greenlees said she'd observed several drivers over that time losing control on the street's bend and landing in the paddock opposite, where the subdivision was going.
"Backing out of our driveways is also dangerous and you need to have eyes in the back of your head," she said.
"...The council needs to listen to people who actually live in the street because we see what happens. If there is an accident, who will be accountable?"
They are not opposed to the subdivision itself.
The Greenlees live opposite where the location will be located. When garbage trucks are thrown into the mix, they and neighbour Philip Fowler say it's a recipe for disaster on the seven-metre wide street.
Mr Fowler and wife, Judy, have also lived in Hollis Avenue for 50 years.
"Some young people treat it like Mount Panorama," he said.
"I've given way numerous times to let them go because they were travelling almost on the other side of the road. Otherwise it would have been a head-on every time."
Now residents are asking that the access be moved to the 10-metre wide Hovell Street, which borders one side of the subdivision. If this is not possible, they want Hollis Avenue to be widened from Lisgar Street to "at least the second bend."
They told The Post that despite lodging objections to the DA late last year, they had not been adequately consulted and no one from the council spoke to them about their concerns.
The matter was heavily debated at the December 15 meeting. Steve Ruddell, speaking on behalf of his parents who live in the street, told open forum that the cul-de-sac access would create "a very tight" design. He highlighted the number of elderly people living in Hollis Avenue.
Deputy Mayor Peter Walker also objected to the layout on the basis of safety. He unsuccessfully called for the matter to be deferred to allow the Salvation Army (SA) to reconsider. He also criticised the level of communication with residents.
But the majority of councillors voted in favour. Environment and planning director Scott Martin said the SA had originally designed a Hovell Street access but then rejected it as "problematic." It would have also resulted in house fences, rather than frontages backing on to Hollis Avenue.
Mr Martin told The Post it also produced a poorer outcome in terms of a stormwater solution. Under the terms of a voluntary planning agreement, the SA will pay $90,000, plus annual maintenance costs, for a stormwater detention basin in nearby Ardgowan Park. Placing the system within the subdivision would have resulted in two less lots, the report stated.
Residents are also dissatisfied with this solution.
"Any fool can see that the hill where the development is proposed has the ability to generate high volumes of water during a severe storm," Mr Greenlees said.
"This will then immediately affect the dwellings on the lower side of the street. How large is the drainage trap for this, if a storm does hit, and it will at some stage, who will be responsible for the damage caused?"
Finally, they have asked for soil testing of a landfill that has been moved to the subdivision area from near the existing aged care facility. Mr Greenlees said it had been shifted several times in the past 40 years from the SA's former Gill Memorial Boys Home nearby. He feared it could contain asbestos, given the Boys Home was constructed at a time when the material was used.
"My question is, has all this soil been tested, who has the results, and if not, why hasn't it? The concern is now what protection do close by residents have if this soil is again disturbed," he said.
The Post has requested comment from the SA on the residents' concerns.
Meantime, Cr Peter Walker said community members had approached him about the subdivision access, given that he originally spoke against its approval.
"I will listen to their concerns to see if we can look at an alternative and whether the SA will revisit the matter," he said.
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Louise Thrower
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
