PlanningAlerts

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1. Ryde Community Alliance welcomes the opportunity to make a submission on this proposed development.

   There is no strategic plan which has been made public which supports multi-storey development on the southern side of Epping Road. The proposal for up to 10 storey development at this location, adjacent to one of the busiest intersections on Epping Road, not very far from the most congested intersections at Delhi Road, and Pittwater Road, is beyond belief.
   Ryde Council has delivered the people of Ryde LGA into the hands of the JRPP or whatever new name has been given to the people designated to sign away the amenity of the people who live and work in the immediate area. The Council finds it easier to deflect decisions which the councillors know are wrong headed to State appointed officials.
   What consideration is given to the people who will be adversely impacted by 10 storey development on this site? None.
   All a developer has to do in NSW is acquire an option and the State Govt will approve any development, anywhere.
   None of the decision makers ever read these submissions. That task is delegated to a consultant team who look at a few "examples" and ditch the rest. This is not a proper consideration of submissions.

   In the future the Alliance looks forward to a better planning system than the current despotic one that approves sub-standard snorkel units without direct light and fresh air, and utility rooms with no natural light or air which will house a child or student. No agency will ever monitor the use of these spaces which belong in a concentration camp, not in NSW!

   This development should be refused as it is not in the public interest and is not supported by a strategic plan. Ryde Council has not completed any studies that support the redevelopment of the land south of Epping Road for higher density, high rise housing.

2. Traffic generated by this development will be able to turn northbound onto Lane Cove Road, but any traffic heading south, east or west will be forced to use the existing narrow suburban local roads. The cumulative impact of the traffic from this development and the traffic generated by the Whiteside development (corner Epping and Whiteside Rds, currently under construction) will overload local roads and intersections, particularly Parklands Road, Pine St/Baringa St and the intersections of Epping/Napier, Epping/Paul and Epping/Kent Roads.

   I urge the Panel to be very vigilant when assessing the traffic impacts of this proposal.

   The wider concern is that sites on the south side of Epping Road in North Ryde/Macquarie Park are being re-zoned from low-density residential for higher densities in an ad-hoc and unmanaged way (e.g. Whiteside, Allengrove, this proposal), without any strategic plan for zoning in this area, which means there is no-one in government considering the cumulative impacts that continued ad-hoc project-by-project rezoning will have on amenity and traffic generation. Zoning decisions are being developer-led rather than part of any government strategic plan. The Panel must urge the State Government to make a strategic plan for the area south of Epping Road; until then no further developer-led ad-hoc re-zonings should be permitted.

3. On a map from a city office it is understandable that there appears to be no problem with high rise residential towers and an enlarged medical centre on this site. However, the problem with this particular site is access and egress and a long standing traffic problem affecting traffic on a section of Lane Cove Road from De Burghs bridge to beyond Paul Street. The traffic study done in January two years ago did not identify that the level of service at the intersection of Lane Cove Road and Epping Road is Level of Service F at peak times of the day. At the traffic lights at the off ramp from Epping Road westbound turning right northbound onto Lane Cove Road priority is given over Lane Cove Road northbound so that traffic does not back up onto Epping Road itself. This off ramp priority causes traffic to back up along Lane Cove Road from Epping Road/Lane Cove Road intersection immediately adjacent to this proposed development in the afternoon peak. Traffic is unable to proceed northbound in the afternoon peak in front of and beside this development even though the traffic lights are green, because the Waterloo Road/Lane Cove Road lights are red. As traffic moves past the Waterloo Road/Lane Cove Road intersection or peels off eastbound at Waterloo Road, the space created fills up with traffic from the Epping Road exit ramp again. This situation has been going on for over ten years and despite numerous green light phases, motorists behind the lights at Epping Road/Lane Cove Road intersecton are unable to proceed in any numbers if at all. This repeats causing long delays 20 (twenty) minutes usually in the afternoon peak period for northbound traffic.
   The rezoning application can't proceed when its supporting traffic study is two years old or more. The traffic study was prepared two years ago in January for the applicant and was inadequate as it did not identify the then, as now delays at this nearest intersection right in front of the medical centre. In January there are 25% less cars on all of Sydney's roads due to school holidays and, Macquarie University is closed until late February. Thirty thousand (30,000) people attend Macquarie University, so a traffic study done after March 2017 is recommended by an independent unbiased company and that would show the true state of the traffic situation in this portion of Lane Cove Road. At present in Ryde each applicant provides their own traffic study to support each application. This may be a reasonable situation on paper but the omission of traffic data that would cause an applicant's rezoning and development application to fail is not going to be forthcoming in a traffic study paid for by the applicant. There are existing traffic delays on Lane Cove Road when travelling southbound in the morning peak of 20 (twenty) minutes for five days Monday to Friday. This morning peak delay extends back from Waterloo Road/Lane Cove Road past Yanco Road, West Pymble and along Lane Cove Road to Gordon West. Additional right turns into the on ramp to Epping Road to access an enlarged medical centre in the morning peak while not desirable, is not as big a problem as afternoon peak situation. In the afternoon peak northbound on Lane Cove Road there are existing delays of 20 (twenty) minutes on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday as traffic backs up from the Waterloo Road intersection with Lane Cove Road past this site for one kilometre. There needs to be an overpass built at Waterloo Road/Lane Cove Road and this was identified many years ago by the then RTA (Roads and Traffic Authority). Since then a railway line has been built underneath the Waterloo Road intersection with Lane Cove Road and two Macquarie Park Station entrances on two corners. It appears that an overpass or underpass can never be built and the existing traffic gridlock will continue. In the morning residents trying to exit via Paul Street from a honeycomb of cul-de-sacs have to wait for an opportunity to turn (left only) into the near lane.These residents have no traffic lights so there are delays given the volume of traffic on Lane Cove Road. The idea that vehicles leaving Paul Street could cross three lanes laterally in front of a set of lights to turn right to go east via the Epping Road on ramp is a dangerous suggestion. Also having traffic turn into a new access from Lane Cove Road as proposed for this site is dangerous and risks following cars shunting slowing down vehicles. It would be safer for vehicles to enter this site via the Epping Road on ramp eastbound as at present. This Arena site is not suitable for the amount of development proposed due to the constraints of the access and egress safely for future residents and future patients/ Existing residents in the adjacent cul-de-sacs do not need to compete for egress at Paul Street with all the residents that this site is expected to house.to get out onto the road network. The rezoning of this site to a traffic generating development with both a high rise medical centre and multiple high rise residential buildings beside an intersection which has Level of Service F in the afternoon peak and beside a constrained road network that has poor levels of service for northbound and southbound traffic is not good planning.
   We need an independently commissioned complex traffic study which would reveal the true state of the road network constraints and would only allow modest development on this site such as a six storey medical centre with general practitioners and a pharmacy,, xray scanning and some specialists all in one building with car parking underneath and the rest of the site no more than two storey villas. Anything more would amount to an overdevelopment of a site with access and egress constraints. However the one tall building housing the medical centre should preferably not be on the corner closest to Lane Cove Road and the Epping Road on ramp but set back as that land may be needed for a future bike path up to Epping Road for access to an Eastwood County Road future bike path, also a wider on ramp to Epping Road and for an extra lane for the widening of Lane Cove Road in the future.
   Rhonda Ware
   Macquarie Park Residents Group

4. I am not sure why Epping road becomes an artificial barrier to medium to high density proposals. Seriously in a city that is severely & chronically lacking housing, a place that's within 10 minutes walking to a train station, many buses routes and a technology park that employs more than 10000 people should not just house 5-6 people per 1000 square meters.
   It's not a question whether an area so conveniently located will have medium to high density housing. The question is when.
   Housing more people will potentially increase the local traffic. But so will the increase in employment population at Macquarie park. The right solution is to find a way to improve local traffic and parking situation, not blocking more development in the area. The alternative is to house the increasing population in areas far away from employment centres which will not only increase the time spent on travelling and energy consumption but it's not an efficient way to alleviated traffic problem in the area because if the work place is within 15 minute work, people will likely choose to walk, but if the workplace is some 20km away, then they have to take public transport or drive.

5. Thank you for consideration of all comments. I agree with the previous writers that no thought has been given to increased congestion in this area, both during and after the works are complete. How will occupiers/owners of properties north of 128 Epping Road( and before Paul street) be able to access / leave their properties, if traffic along any of the three sides of this development is congested / detoured? The problem intensifies once finished as vehicles leaving and entering the high rise development will be stalled (not ideal for a medical centre) and these intersections will become even more chaotic. Please conduct an up to date study (as previously suggested) on this area now that university and businesses are back in full swing. Yes, North Ryde will require higher density developments, but only once traffic and congestion issues are thoroughly considered and planned.

6. People talk about traffic and congestion, please be reasonable in supporting these developments which encourage people to walk to work, cycle or use public transport. This development is perfectly located, and if anything an under development. No use housing people 20kms away from business parks, public transport etc. we need all of epping road refined to higher density and the only reason it is happening on an nachos manner is that council are too afraid of repurcussions of doing that, which had created bad planning. No use protecting the southern side of epping road from improved developments like this and others that have been approved. Sick of looking at all the dilapidated, asbestos ridden homes.

7. > No use protecting the southern side of epping road from improved developments like this and others that have been approved. Sick of looking at all the dilapidated, asbestos ridden homes.

   They are at lest better than the towering infernos with flammable cladding that are going up!!! I reckon they are still using that stuff despite the Grenfield tragedy

   The asbestos thing is so overblown. As long as you don't break it or smash it, it's fine!

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