The wheels of progress may be moving through Maitland – but the pace is far too slow.
It is no secret that the stretch of the New England Highway that traverses the city is a congested nightmare, particularly the two major roundabouts.
Problems associated with the Maitland hospital and railway station roundabouts were the subject of an
election promise that helped Robyn Parker win the seat of Maitland at the last state election.
The highway and the roundabouts have also been the subject of numerous surveys.
Earlier this week, for example, the highway through Maitland was named in a NRMA survey of 15,000 motorists as one of the top four worst roads in the Hunter.
Now we learn that Roads and Maritime Services will use cameras to monitor traffic movements on the highway.
[Who knows, their cameras may even capture the peak hour traffic that regularly grinds to a halt at these two key locations.]
But wait, there’s more.
The findings from a community consultation meeting in March also have been released this week, with the majority of respondents favouring a flyover as the best way to solve the roundabout woes.
And so, after all these election promises, surveys and community consultation, what now for the residents of Maitland and others who use this stretch of highway every day? More delays.
The so-called “favoured options” from the
community consultation process will not be presented until August.
Fixing the roundabouts will not be solved quickly or cheaply. And it is important that it is done once and done right.
Maitland is not standing still while the various tiers of government procrastinate.
It’s growing, as is the level of frustration within the community.