Maitland residents have called for flyovers to replace the city’s two major roundabouts, as the RMS revealed one million vehicles pass through each roundabout every month at a public meeting last night.
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The 70 people who attended the meeting to discuss solutions to the safety and gridlock problems at the roundabouts near Maitland Railway Station and Maitland Hospital applauded the idea which was raised by a community member.
Parent Greg Mutton, whose son Tim Grant suffered a brain injury after a car crash between the roundabouts at Maitland Railway Station and Maitland Hospital in 2006, lashed out at the RMS saying the four options they had presented were nothing more than money spenders.
“All the RMS has done is figure out how to spend $45 million which will do nothing,” he said “It won’t fix the problem.
“The highway needs to be the priority, not Cessnock Road. I didn’t think Cessnock Road was the centre of the universe. Let’s get something that works no matter what the cost is.”
Residents also called for consistency in speed limits between East Maitland and the Maitland Hospital roundabout and wanted reassurance the Hunter Expressway would remove as much traffic from the New England Highway as RMS statistics stated.
Their message was strong. They do not want the roundabouts.
RMS road safety and traffic manager Kevin Webster said the RMS did not have a preferred option to solve the issues and would consider a flyover option.
“We want comment and discussion from the community and we acknowledge the history of traffic cues and crashes at and near the two roundabouts,” he said.
The RMS presented two options for both roundabouts.
