TRRA Liaison Committee member Colin Howard has requested that Council seriously consider the traffic impact on our community of the movement of the sand from Salamander Shopping Centre site to the proposed relocation at Diemars Quarry. He was partly able to convey his concerns to the Councillors when given public access on 11.6.13 relating to the new subdivision now approved behind Homestead Village at the Council meeting.
Colin has drawn attention to the many issues which were not clearly conveyed in the Development Application which had been presented for public exhibition in November 2012. Diemars Quarry, as presented to Councillors and in the DA application, was shown as an open sandy area, whereas it is now full of water.
Colin had done calculations on potential truck movements if all the sand goes to Diemars Quarry as originally proposed.
Moving the 130,000m3 sand left over from cut and fill and which would need to be taken off site could involve daily truck movements of 128 over a 40 week period for 8 hrs per day along Salamander Way and through Wanda Beach Shopping Centre to Diemars Road. The Construction Certificate still to be issued could provide an opportunity for stricter consent conditions to minimise impact on the public.
It is understood that separate expressions of interest are being received to remove the sand and this could also result in the sand being transported in various directions at lower cost. This makes no difference to the number of truck movements in and out of Salamander Shopping Centre precinct over several months.
Concerns have been expressed about public safety for school children and in particular the effect on the Wanda Beach Shopping Centre. There is potential for a 2-way system via Homestead Street as trucks would have difficulty negotiating the roundabout at Wanda Beach shops.
Councillor Geoff Dingle, a member of the Traffic Committee, requested that a traffic management plan be drawn up. This will not be enough.
Note that Colin, along with Nigel Waters, had been denied public access by the Mayor on 23.4.13 (see separate article Our Side of the Story HERE)
