When Martins Creek resident Dianne Steward called for “a little courtesy” from the operators of the nearby Martins Creek Quarry three weeks ago she was almost a lone voice in the community.
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Since then others have come forward to echo Mrs Steward’s concern about the high number of Daracon truck movements through her village and neighbouring towns.
For Mrs Steward the big concerns were dust and noise from the trucks, which start rolling out of the quarry about 6am.
Paterson Progress Association recorded video footage of 100 trucks passing through the town between 5.48am and 7am one day last month.
The drama started when the NSW Environmental Protection Authority granted mining company Daracon approval to quadruple its output from the Martins Creek Quarry to two million tonnes per year.
And it doesn’t take a scientist to work out that means a lot more truck movements on district roads.
Increased truck movements have also been reported in Bolwarra Heights, Lorn, Maitland, East Maitland, Seaham, Raymond Terrace and Paterson, prompting some residents to voice their concerns to their local councils.
This concern sparked Maitland City Council to take action and it announced it would collect and analyse data from Tocal Road.
While the study is not about monitoring movements from the Martins Creek quarry, it does show that council is at least listening to residents and doing something to address their concerns.
The issue may be a political hot potato at the moment but it will, at some stage, need to be addressed when the bills for road repairs start to add up.
