PETITION FOR CLASSIFICATION OF BULGA & COLLING ROADS FROM LOCAL TO REGIONAL

Help Secure the Money to Make Our Roads Safe 

The  Facts

•  Greater Taree City Council (GTCC) has no funds to ensure our roads are safe and appropriately maintained.

• GTCC’s backlog of infrastructure works is $200 million (as at Sept 2011) and is expected to increase by $20 million per year.

•  Unless we can secure additional funds for our roads they will continue to deteriorate and become increasingly unsafe for use by our families and friends, the school bus, the business community and local, interstate and international tourists.

• The only solution is to secure financial support from the State and Federal government.

• The State government gives annual funding to local councils to maintain roads classified as “Regional” because of their significance.

 How you can help!

Sign the petition today calling for the classification of Bulga and Colling Roads, along Tourist Drive 8, from Local to Regional Roads. Tourist Drive 8 is a heavily promoted tourist drive that provides access to the Legendary Ellenborough Falls and connects the Manning and Hastings Valleys yet much of it is classified as “Local” road and therefore receives no assistance from the State.

For signatures to be valid you have to write your name, address and signature. Please send the completed sheets to Sandra Kwa, c/o Elands Post Office, Elands 2429 by Tuesday 31st January 2012.

For a copy of the petition or for further information please contact us via the email td8actiongroup@gmail.com or post a comment on this site.

COMMUNITY MEETING - WEDNESDAY 7TH DECEMBER 2011 BULGA HALL

As you are all aware a community meeting was held on 27th November 2011.  Given the diverse responses and the need to further discuss the matter it was suggested that a follow up meeting be held on Wednesday 7th  December 2011 at the Bulga Hall.  The outcome is detailed below:

1. Assessment of what's required to make the Road safe

• Use the engineering and road building knowledge within our community to prepare a document that outlines clearly the work required on the Upper Bulga Road to make it safe and specifies a maintenance program to keep it this way
• This document would look at factors such as the piping for water management and road design
• The aim of this document is to quantify the work required so we have facts and figures to support our request
• Damon, Greg and Kerry to work on this project together and have offered to make any information they put together available to individuals to use for an assessment of their own road
• Marie offered to share the drainage points information provided by GTCC when they built their property

2. See the reinstatement of Upper Bulga Road's classification as a Regional Road

• A petition requesting the reinstatement of Upper Bulga Road and Colling Road as a regional road is currently in circulation
• We would aim to get as many signatures on this petition over the peak holiday time
• Some key points identified to include in the submission for the reclassification:
• Ellenborough Falls will soon be a National Park
• The potential impact of the War Veterans' Remembrance Drive initiative
• The potential negative environmental impact of the road washing away
• Ensuring access for emergency vehicles
• Safety concerns for locals and tourists
• If the School bus could no longer travel down the road, the Dept of Transport would have to pay parents to take their children to school
• It was suggested that we approach GTCC and ask them to put a counter at the Falls to determine the number of cars using the road

3. Lobby Council

•  Seek to get the support from GTCC to lodge a joint submission with Port Macquarie Hastings Council for the reclassification of the road
• Maybe get Councillors to come up and see the road
• Encourage locals to make videos to post to YouTube to generate support for our cause
• Put a draft letter and the key contacts at GTCC on www.elandsonline.info so people can easily lobby GTCC
• Encourage locals to register all accidents that occur on the road - Greg to provide contact details of who to report the accident to and this information will be posted to www.elandsonline.info

4. Engage the support of Tourists

• Ask them to sign the petition
• Give them an extra piece of paper that encourages them to also write to the Council or to post comments to our website.