Shire changes plan for Torquay North roadblocks

THE Surf Coast Shire council has changed its plans for the temporary roadblocks in Torquay North, and will remove one of them within two weeks.

The shire introduced the highly contentious barriers on July 13 to close Glengarry, Inshore, Marine and Centreside drives to vehicle traffic at the junction of The Quay and Quay 2 estates to temporarily re-create traffic conditions for residents in the original Quay development in place before the Quay 2 development started.

The decision sparked instant backlash in the community, including a change.org petition with about 700 signatures calling for the roadblocks’ immediate removal.

At least one of the roadblocks has been moved aside at least once without the council’s permission. The Marine Drive roadblock was opened on Thursday morning last week, but it is not known who did so.

The shire originally planned to leave the roadblocks in place until the traffic lights at the new intersection of Surf Coast Highway, Coombes Road and Rosser Boulevard were completed, which was not expected to happen until late 2021.

However, this afternoon, the shire’s acting chief executive officer Anne Howard said new information on traffic data in Torquay North had led the shire to undertake a new, three-step approach.

In Step 1, the roadblocks on Centreside Drive will be removed in the week starting October 19.

Step 2 will see the roadblock on Inshore Drive removed when half of residences within Stages 14, 15 and 16 of Quay 2 are constructed.

The roadblocks on Marine and Glengarry drives will be removed, in Step 3, when 75 per cent of residences within Stages 14, 15 and 16 of the Quay 2 development are constructed.

 “Council had already heard different concerns from various stakeholders and was seeking to balance a range of issues. We understand that we have not pleased everybody and have committed to measure, monitor and share what we see happening in this part of the road network,” Ms Howard said.

“Traffic counter data along Merrijig Drive and the streets exiting Quay 2 during August and September has given us a greater understanding about the current traffic volumes moving along Merrijig Drive and coming and going from the new estate. As we committed, this information is available and can be found on Council’s website.

“Many things have changed since the original traffic planning was done in 2012, and even since Council made its decision to install the temporary closures. The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on reducing traffic flow is material and we need to consider what changes to restrictions may mean for the road network as we plan next steps.”

The shire considers Rosser Boulevard and Merrijig Drive, as collector roads, to be the most suitable roads to support access into Quay 2 while construction traffic volumes are high and while the Rosser Boulevard/Surf Coast Highway intersection planning and construction works are under way.

“We understand not everyone is happy with this approach and we have had some interference with the barriers and even private property damaged,” Ms Howard said. “We will continue to promptly address these issues when they are brought to our attention.”

The Quay and Quay 2 developer Intrapac Property slammed the roadblocks as “completely unnecessary” when they were installed, according to Intrapac chief operating officer Max Shiftman.

Mr Shifman said Intrapac maintained that position today despite the shire’s announcement.

“The traffic volumes from construction traffic are within the normal bounds. We invite the Surf Coast council to release the traffic data they have relied upon to make the decisions, and find it interesting that their monitoring is only after the fact.

“Nonetheless, something is better than nothing so we are happy to see some improvements to this situation. We are continuing work on completing the intersection at Surf Coast Highway as soon as possible, and expect to start works before the end of the year as long as Regional Roads Victoria provide their final approval.

“All Intrapac works are complete on Stages 14, 15 and 16, and that the timing to meet the proposed thresholds will depend on how quickly our new residents build their new homes.”

An Intrapac spokesperson said Stages 14, 15 and 16 had been titled, with Stages 14 and 16 settled and settlement for Stage 15 starting “imminently”.

For more information and details on the results of the traffic counts measuring vehicles per day, head to surfcoast.vic.gov.au/QuayTraffic.