While the new Labor Government says it's "committed" to prioritising traffic congestion and safety issues across the region, the community will need to keep waiting for a fix.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison separately met Port Macquarie-Hastings Council and Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams on Friday, June 9.
The visit by the newly appointed minister was for her to inspect a number of local roads and traffic concerns.
One of these concerns is the Oxley Highway and Lake Rd roundabout.
"We need to look at the whole corridor to look at the best way going forward," Minister Aitchison said.
"We'll be looking at long-term solutions as well as short-term solutions."
While the minister didn't confirm what these solutions will be, she said there has been modelling undertaken on this project.
"We know that not everything can be done at once," she said. "At the moment we want to look at what needs to be done and we want to look at what the community needs."
Mrs Williams said the intersection is one the "community is focused on" and that it's "absolutely an issue."
Minister Aitchison and Mrs Williams was also due to meet members of the Bonny Hills Progress Association discuss the Houston Mitchell Drive and Pacific Highway intersection.
The intersection was recently the scene of a fatal accident where 82-year-old local man Ian Parker was killed after two vehicles collided.
"[Members of the community] are now looking at gathering signatures for a petition," Minister Aitchison said.
"[I am] committed to looking to prioritise those intersections where there are significant safety concerns."
Minister Aitchison said while the State Government is looking at how to make the intersection safer, it also won't be a quick fix.
"Again, it has to be a staged approach and what we'll have to look at is what we can do in the short-term and then longer-term treatments," she said.
"I'm going to be meeting with members of the community later today and we will be talking to them about what their ideas are."
Regional Director of TfNSW Anna Zycki said there have been traffic counts conducted at the Houston Mitchell Drive intersection and Lake Road.
"We're pulling that information together so we better understand what is happening at both intersections," she said.
Minister Aitchison said there is a "significant backlog" of road infrastructure across the state.
"We have a fast growing community and the pace of infrastructure growth is not keeping up," she said.
IN OTHER NEWS:
