Roads and Maritime Services has ruled out fears Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison had about a possible closure of the Maitland Park exit on the New England Highway roundabout and traffic lights being installed at the end of Louth Park Road.
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RMS flagged the plans as a possible solution to the roundabout congestion issue in documents that were obtained by Ms Aitchison under Freedom of Information earlier this year.
The Member for Maitland raised the issue in Parliament back in May, speaking about the "unannounced second component" which had been costed at $5 million.
But when asked if this was still an option, a Transport for NSW spokesperson said the current proposal does not involve closing the Walker Street exit or building traffic lights at Louth Park Road.
RMS has installed traffic lights on the eastbound approach to the roundabout and now plans to install another set of lights on the Church Street entry, a plan the Transport spokesperson said was developed using "extensive traffic modelling".
"This upgrade is designed to increase the traffic efficiency of the roundabout and is expected to significantly reduce westbound queues and delays for westbound motorists during the afternoon peak," the spokesperson said.
But the plan has come under fire from a majority of readers who commented on The Mercury's story about the plan. They believe a second flyover is the only real solution and anything else is just a "bandaid" fix.
"Any roundabout that needs traffic lights is an utter failure. We desperately need the westbound flyover. Any other 'solution' is waste of time," Ian Burnley said.
"Keep applying bandaids. Just build a second flyover as should've been done from the start," Troy Margery wrote.
"How many bandaids do we have to go through before they actually just do the surgery?" Michael Amos asked.
But some were optimistic.
"It will [work] - if it is done properly," Ray Fairweather said.