49 North Rocks Road North Rocks NSW 2151

Myra & William Gurney
40 Speers Road
North Rocks NSW 2151
M: 0409 306 825
H: 9630 2521
7th March 2018

City of Parramatta Council
PO Box 32
Parramatta NSW 2150

Dear Parramatta Council
DA/158/2017
49 & 51 North Rocks Road & 2 Speers Road (Lots 12 & 13 DP 22931, Lot 118 DP 23173)
Applicant - Angsana Range Pty Ltd
Thank you for advising us of the revised DA for the above site about which we submitted a letter outlining our objections. Unfortunately, the revised plans do not address the major concerns that were raised in our letter of 4 April 2017. The reasons are as follows:
Issue:
Our major objection related to the traffic and congestion impact caused by the numbers of vehicles dropping off and picking up children at the child care centre at peak times during the morning and afternoon. While you advise that the number of children to be accommodated has been reduced from 120 to 99, the available car parking spaces is grossly insufficient to allow parents to park on site during these periods. This will mean that parents will be required to park on the street.
Comment:
o Speers Road is a 'no through road' with only one entrance and exit onto the busy North Rocks Road. It is already heavily congested during peak hours and residents have difficulty exiting onto North Rocks Road during these periods.
o Whether parents park on Speers Road, in Jean Street or on North Rocks Road itself, the availability of curb-side spaces is insufficient.
o The entrance to the proposed centre is opposite #1 Speers Road is close to the North Rocks/Speers Road intersection. During peak hour, there is already a considerable bank up of traffic for residents attempting to exit onto North Rocks Road, especially if they are turning right.
o The entrance to the centre is also adjacent to a steep and winding part of Speers Road near #4. Cars parked on either side will reduce the road to one lane for cars travelling up and down the street. This already happens near the BUPA Aged Care Facility opposite #32 as staff and visitors park on both sides of the road, on and around the blind corners.
o Opposite #4 on the intersection with Jean Street, there is a steep and blind corner. Again, this would make parking and navigating the exit to Speers Road past the Child Care Centre entrance additionally hazardous.
o As has been the case with the traffic issues around the BUPA facility, visitors park on blind corners, across driveways and double park when they are in a hurry creating problems for residents and those driving up and down the street.
Issue:
Proposed 'seagull intersection' on corner of North Rocks Road and Speers Road to alleviate problem of traffic bank up as cars turn right into Speers Road.
Comment:
o The volume of traffic travelling both up and down North Rocks Road is constantly increasing during peak times. This has already been exacerbated by the large multi-storey developments on the old United Dairy site, the exit to which is on to North Rocks Road.
o Even in non-peak times, cars speed up and down North Rocks Road, making entering and exiting hazardous. This will only be exacerbated by additional, non-local traffic (that is, users of the child care facility who are unfamiliar with the area and the conditions).
o An additional element of traffic caused by cars entering and leaving Speers Road will only exacerbate this problem.
o Drivers already people park too close to the corner of Speers Road and North Rocks Road impeding the visibility when turning left and right. Traffic signs are not policed by Council or the police and so people continue to park with impunity. Limited or restricted parking on site and in Speers Road will mean that people with small children will most likely park on North Rocks Road near the entrance to Speers Road, increasing the likelihood of reduced visibility for those exiting and the potential for serious accidents.
Conclusion:
Our major concerns with both the original and amended DA for this proposal relate to the likely traffic hazards which will result from this development. Speers Road is already a narrow, congested and winding street with a number of existing traffic hazards. The proposed amendments do not address these issues at all.
Yours sincerely

Myra and William Gurney
# 40 Speers Road

Chris & Kate Costin
76 Speers Road
North Rocks NSW 2151
M: 0431 586 772
9th March 2018

As noted in the comments from Myra & William Gurney, I have serious concerns about the negative impact this is going to have to both safety and traffic congestion.

The intersection of North Rocks Rd and Speers Rd is hazardous enough as it is without the additional high volume of traffic at drop off and pick up times that this development will bring.

It is very common to have limited visibility courtesy of cars parked on North Rocks Rd too close to the intersection, and as North Rocks Rd itself is often very busy, it means that you have to attempt to turn onto this road with cars moving at speed from both directions.

Furthermore, Speers Rd as a whole suffers from having cars parked on both sides the whole length of the road, effectively turning it into a single lane road. This is hazardous when going over the hills or taking the blind corners, and is particularly bad around the aged care facility due to the higher influx of visitors who park on the road. Considering the proposed application, I would expect this type of issue to be exacerbated at the location of the Childcare Centre, which would add another layer of hazard and traffic congestion to the Speers Rd/North Rocks Rd intersection.

Regards,

Chris Costin
76 Speers Rd

11 March 2018
Dear Parramatta Council
DA/158/2017
49 & 51 North Rocks Road & 2 Speers Road (Lots 12 & 13 DP 22931, Lot 118 DP 23173)
Applicant - Angsana Range Pty Ltd
We are aware of the revised DA for the above site. Many of our neighbours have raised similar concerns to ours regarding the impact on both the safety and navigability of Speers and North Rocks Rds for pedestrians, cars and cyclists alike, if this development goes ahead as proposed. In addition to those concerns, which I will address further in this letter, the proposed development introduces a building height previously not permitted on Speers Rd.
The proposed 9m building (+ the slope of the land/retaining wall 2m?), places it well above the current tree line and obscures all essential light from existing trees and foliage for a minimum of 6 hours/day - in fact, all day in the winter months. Residents immediately south of the proposed structure will lose established trees and vegetation and have their quality of living severely impacted, as will all residents of the surrounding area. Speers Rd is in the midst of the proposed DARLING MILLS WILDLIFE PROTECTION AREA - presumably trees play a vital role in providing animal habitat and maintaining green space. Also, the trees pictured in the proposal include mature trees (Jacaranda and ornamental varieties), which will take more than a decade to grow and will never exceed the height of the building. I submit, that these trees will, in fact, never be planted and that any on-site trees will be removed during construction, due to the potential root damage they will cause to the basement parking construction.
Which brings me back to the traffic and parking problems caused by the development. At present there is an increased volume of traffic using North Rocks Rd due to the colossal multi-storey developments down the hill, only HALF of which are presently completed/occupied. Traffic volume can therefore be expected to increase, by more than the 2% predicted in the traffic survey attached to the proposal, once these 1000+ residents move in during the coming year.
As an experienced peak-hour driver, in the past 12 months I have noticed the difference when pulling out to turn right onto the road each morning due to the increased volume exacerbated by the unrestricted parking on North Rocks Rd, both north and south of the entrance to Speers Rd. While signs designed to restrict parking exist, if they are not enforced, they do not actually restrict the parking along the road. Due to decreased visibility, I feel I am taking my life in my hands every day. To compensate, I am forced to pull my car out beyond the end of the road, into what is actually the bike lane, essentially breaking the law, and am still unable to attain a modicum of safety. The view is still not unobstructed at this point, to where one can merge in total safety.
In addition, that ‘parking’ space which houses parked cars, trailers and boats, is actually meant to be for the use of cyclists to travel safely, allowing cars to give them the mandatory passing space when overtaking. Cyclists are forced to drive in the car lane, cars are forced to wait behind the cyclists until there is no oncoming traffic - which doesn't happen often between 7 and 9 am- thus banking traffic up and causing more congestion problems.
To all of this, the proposal adds another 100 peak-hour cars making a right or left turn into Speers Rd, to park in 11 on-site spaces, (still less then PCC requires), which means another 100 cars trying to pull back out onto North Rocks Rd. Each one will need to make the same perilous crossing I make each morning, however, there will be a difference. As there are less than 100 houses on Speers Rd in total, not all of which have residents driving around at peak hours, I am usually in a queue of no more than 2 or 3 cars trying to get out. If drivers are in a queue of 6-8 cars, they are statistically more likely to become impatient and take greater risks. Some of those 100, indeed many, will opt to park on North Rocks Rd, especially those heading south, to unpack their babies and toddlers to run onto the road along with the frustrated drivers suffering from low visibility.
This development is out of character for the neighbourhood and a disaster waiting to happen. If day care is a need in the community (brought about no doubt by the unfettered development at the bottom of the hill), then it needs to be positioned elsewhere (inside the development?!). Somewhere with better access for users and less likely to lead to injuries and fatalities.
Sincerely, J. DelValle
Speers Rd Resident