Fix Ferry Road

Short queues at long weekend

Well it has been pretty quiet this Queen’s Birthday Weekend.  No signs of any major traffic problems on the Ferry Road side of the Channel.

This could be due to the efforts of DIER  who recently advised Ferry Road residents via an information sheet that new traffic arrangements would be trialled  during the weekend.

Or it could possibly be due to the series of substantial “KEEP CLEAR” signs that have been painted along various parts of the east bound lane.

One of a series of markings by DIER - June 2010

The new signage hasn’t done much to enhance the quiet charm or aesthetic appearance of our village but at least there were no instances of driveways being blocked. The keen observer may notice  in the example pictured above the word “CLEAR”doesn’t actually fit on its own side of the road.  Could this be an indication that the road is perhaps not quite wide enough?

In any event let’s hope that DIER are not put off by the lack of response (by way of hordes of motorists) to their traffic management trial.  It was much better to iron out the kinks in the dead of winter when traffic volumes are low rather than to test them out in the heat of the Christmas holiday gridlock.

Snap! – Libs promise $8 mill too

Today Will Hodgman announced the Liberals commitment to matching Labor’s $8 million promise to fix Ferry Road.  The Libs have gone one better than Labor and have committed to year by year funding, a firm timetable and a more explicit outline of  the scope of works to be carried out.  You can read more about the announcement and view some extended ABC footage here (follow the link on the right hand side of the page to watch the video of most of Will’s announcement).

Will Hodgman, Jacquie Petrusma and Jillian Law being quizzed by the media scrum on the Liberals commitment to Fix Ferry Road

WIN, SCTV and the ABC all covered the story to varying degrees (mostly fairly scant) on their evening news programs.

The full text of the Liberal’s media release is available here.

According to a report in the Mercury the Libs are also considering providing additional ferry capacity to ease the queuing  problems at peak times;  read more here.

Liberals campaign poster in Ferry Road says it all (thanks to Photoshop)

A major unaddressed problem

According to an article in the Kingborough Chronicle of  18 December 2009:

The leader of the opposition, Will Hodgman,  this week named Ferry Road in Kettering as one of the major unaddressed problems in Kingborough.

Liberal candidate, Jacquie Petrusma visited Kettering during the week and sought a briefing on the state of the Precinct Plan recommendations.  Jacquie was accompanied by Kingborough Councillor Roger McGinniss who has shown a strong interest and support for our campaign.

Jacquie Pretrusma and Roger McGinniss showing a keen interest in the challenges of Ferry Road

Does all this mean that the Libs are gearing up for an election promise to finally do something about Ferry Road?

Hope springs eternal . . .

Surveyors sighted in Ferry Road

A team of surveyors were seen in Ferry Road earlier this week.  It appears they had been commissioned by some engineers who had been commissioned by DIER to do something.  The number of degrees of separation between DIER and the surveyors meant they didn’t know exactly why they had been asked to check that some old survey documents were still accurate.  But they were looking at how the driveways on the southern side of the road joined the road.

Is this a positive sign?  Who knows.  We can only hope that it heralds some signs of  possible progress.  But then again, surveyors have been regular visitors to Ferry Road over the past decade.

KOCRES supports Precinct Plan action

In a submission to Kingborough Council, the Kettering and Oyster Cove Residents Group (KOCRES) has expressed support for action to fix Ferry Road.  The submissions opens with:

KOCRES welcomes the publication of the draft Ferry Road-Little Oyster Cove Precinct Plan and urges Council and the State Government to proceed as soon as practical with steps to fund and implement the recommendations of the Plan.

. . . and goes on to conclude . . .

KOCRES strongly supports implementation of the Precinct Plan and will monitor progress with considerable interest.  There is widespread support for action that, we believe, is long overdue.  KOCRES looks forward to being involved in future consultations and will vigorously press for the allocation of funds and the timely completion of the project.

The submission specifically highlights the lack of safe pedestrian access and calls upon Council for early resolution of that problem.

. . .we would urge Council to consider what can be done (consistent with the overall scheme) to provide safe pedestrian travel in the area.  If this issue could be resolved before the next tourist season – even if only on an interim basis – it would be regarded as a significant achievement . . .

Now what?  The November Council meeting (at which the Precinct Plan will be considered for endorsement) seems like a long, long way away.