Alternate Access Road – Mackas Sand Pty. Ltd.
Update, Newcastle Herald Dec 1 2012 ‘Mine Could run Day And Night’ HERE
This proposal is just not safe!
(Submissions Close by 5pm Wed 21 November. Currently on exhibition by the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure (Examiner Page 16 – 8.11.12 – Click HERE)
Related Articles in PS Examiner 13 Nov HERE and HERE
A Location Map is available HERE
TRRA have lodged a formal Submission on this application HERE. This will be sent to the Director General of the Department, all relevant Ministers and the Local Member.
TRRA seeks your support to lodge objections to this application as it will have a catastrophic effect on commuters along Nelson Bay Road, particularly at peak times, and raises serious safety issues.
Trucks hauling sand from Mackas Sand Pty. Ltd. Quarry, located at Lot 218 will, if this application is approved, enter Nelson Bay Road from a new Haul Road located 2.5 kms east of the Salt Ash Roundabout (Paul’s corner) and 3.5 kms west of the Williamtown (RAAF) Roundabout. This new Haul road is the subject of this modification application. MAP
Mackas Sand Pty. Ltd. also operates a quarry located at Lot 220. Trucks from this quarry enter Nelson Bay Road at the Lemon Tree Passage Roundabout. The Salt Ash Roundabout is critical to truck movements from both quarries.
The Salt Ash Roundabout is a major intersection for traffic from Nelson Bay going to the Pacific Highway, the New England Highway and Newcastle. All vehicles travelling to or from Nelson Bay have to pass through Salt Ash Roundabout. There is no way to by-pass this. A slip road from the roundabout also services Salt Ash Public School and Paul’s corner shopping complex. The Roundabout will become a U turn for trucks.
Mackas Sand Pty. Ltd. has approval to extract sand from these quarries at a rate of 500,000 tonnes a year. There is no limit on the daily or weekly extraction rate. The vast majority of the trucks hauling this sand will pass through Salt Ash Roundabout.
During peak periods a Mackas Sand Pty. Ltd. truck could enter this roundabout between 2 ½ to 7 ½ minutes intervals depending on the quarry extraction rate. Cars travelling along Nelson Bay Road would have to cross this flow of trucks. During peak periods a car travels along Nelson Bay Road every 5 seconds. The potential conflict at Salt Ash Roundabout raises serious concerns about the safety of all road users.
It would be helpful to include in your objection any personal “near misses” you have had at this roundabout already; potential additional travelling time to work and back; the damage to the road pavement and who pays; and, naturally concerns you have about safety generally with increased truck volumes on such an important link from Nelson Bay to anywhere.
(Note that the access application to go via Stockton Bight Road to Lavis Lane, which is on the DPI link, has been withdrawn and the alternate route is the only one out for exhibition and comment.)
Once you read this, please feel free to copy the LINK to this page into an email and forward it on to anyone you know who may well be affected, particularly those people who use Nelson Bay Road on a daily basis and encourage them to also submit comment/objection.
There is a simple online form to fill in. Click HERE. And scroll down to ‘Make your submission’
You can either make an objection in the section provided or prepare a pdf document and attach it to your objection. Please quote (08_0412 MOD1). If you wish, you can use the option to not have your name available to the Proponent or public authorities, or to be placed on the Department’s website.
Port Stephens Council is not is not the approving authority on this matter, however they have now made a public submission on it HERE.
Your voice needs to be heard loud and clear by the NSW Government. This proposal is just not safe.
For More Detailed Information:
Below are links to three NSW GOVT. Planning And Infrastructure Web pages.
The first one is the Determination of the original application for the Sand mine
The second one is the first modification to the access, around the Towers property, on the Stockton Bight Track to Lavis Lane It has now been Withdrawn
The third one is the second application for a modification to the access through the Padmos property to Nelson Bay at ‘Cowsh-t Corner’ and it is the one that is now on Exhibition
The blogs on the article in the Newcastle Herald make for an amusing read! For the doubters on the effect on Pauls Corner roundabout, sit yourself behind the drivers wheel and imagine this…..With Salt Ash roundabout to be used as a U turn for empty trucks, that’s a huge safety issue on its own. Imagine yourself approaching the roundabout from Nelson Bay direction, notice a truck travellling in the left lane (as they would need to) coming from Newcastle direction. All of a sudden it’s not going straight ahead as one would expect, it’s going to turn right in front of you and take over the roundabout. What happens next would be a screech of brakes and who knows what else? At peak times….. yes traffic jams! The Salt Ash Avenue slip road to the school and shopping centre just adds to the dangerous mix from any direction. If this proposal gets approved by any government authority, I hope they have to attend as the police or ambulance officer. All this, on the only way in and out of Nelson Bay – a blocked road we don’t need.
There is a safer way….. but that requires negotiation on the part of the MacKenzie family. Why should the rest of us suffer?
Passed copies of your submission to the Traffic engineer, RMS officer and police office this morning and inspected the site of the proposed sand mine intersection.
Regards
Geoff Dingle
Check on Page 2 of submission to Minister (Click above) The current approval does get a mention, and there are several scenarios in the attachment which will give Ministers in all the government departments involved in this approval process something to think about. Public safety is at risk here in a big big way. Unfortunately public apathy, as usual, will reign supreme and those who didn’t put in an objection will be the first to whinge when they witness or are involved in truck accidents or are held up in a traffic jam at Pauls Corner. Let’s hope it doesn’t get that far.
Why is no one raising the point that access has already been approved from lot 218, to bring sand out the same as for lot 220 currently? Problem Macka has, is that he doesn’t want to pay the Towers Family $1m-$2m per year to cross their land and bring the trucks out via Lavis Lane into the existing round-about.
The only reason this is on, is that Macka can’t meet his obligations to the Towers, and Council can’t get permission from the Minister to rescind the land resumption to allow the trucks to go out onto Lavis lane.
Are they all forgetting Nelson Bay Road is the only way in, or out of Tomaree in an emergency other than swimming!
The closing statement by TPK & Associates that the sand mining activity will not have adverse impact on the road network – what world do they live in?
The deal all in the pipeline prior to our local elections – so those who voted for Macka and Sally who gave him her preferences should be thinking twice about their decision, unfortunately the rest of the community and tourists will have to just put up with more deterioration of Nelson Bay Road, more congestion and the possibility of serious accidents particularly inrelation to the P Plater drivers.
I agree with the above comments.
A clear conflict of interest.
Why the hell have other councillors supported this proposal ?
Makes you seriously question their intergrity!
Totally agree that all our Councillors are elected to serve the local community and not to line their own pockets. The increased traffic of heavy vehicles on the roads is not in the interest and safety of the community. Being that Macca has a conflict of interest he should resign from Mayor, however this he will never do, as he needs his power with and on the Council to pursue his own agenda. Shame on Sally Dover for passing over her votes to him.
It would seem that Macka’s sand seems to have a mandate to do whatever he wishes.
I feel that Mr McKensie should be considered to have a conflicting interest regarding all developments involving Macka’s enterprises and his position on Port Stephen’s Council.
E.J.Armstrong