Church Point: last minute changes made to proposed McCarrs Creek Rd speed humps
Last minute changes made to the proposed speed humps in Church Point have been met with fire by residents who’ve spent six years lobbying for measures to stop hoons from speeding along McCarrs Creek Rd.
Manly
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Eleventh-hour changes have been made to the proposed speed humps at Church Point after cyclists flagged safety concerns because the original designs could have “killed” them.
The humps are set to be placed along a section of McCarrs Creek Rd between Church Point and the boundary to Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park to stop speeding hoons.
Works by Transport for NSW and Northern Beaches Council were expected to commence this month but installation has been put off until July after design modficiations were made to the original plans.
The council confirmed the new proposal includes 19 flat top speed humps which would be 100mm high and have the same traffic calming impact as the original design but provide a higher level of safety for cyclists.
These speed humps will be higher, steeper and shorter than those currently used at the nearby marina.
Mayor Michael Regan said residents will have the opportunity to provide feedback.
“This has been a long fight for the residents who rightly don’t want their local area to be a racetrack and I’m pleased we have finally been able to support their call for action,” Cr Regan said.
“The proposed designs for the speed bumps have been slightly modified for the safety of cyclists. We look forward to residents having their say on the amended proposal.”
Cr Sarah Grattan said while residents aren’t happy about the change of plans, they didn’t want to put cyclists at risk.
“The cyclists felt the speed humps were going to cause serious injury because they were too steep so we don’t want to be killing cyclists,” Cr Grattan said.
Meanwhile Cr Kylie Ferguson said it was hard task for the council to please both parties.
“McCarrs Creek Rd has been an issue for many years but it’s how you address the issue because we have cyclists too,” Cr Ferguson said.
“We want cyclists to be able to navigate over them so they don’t come off their bike. Hopefully this will work, but it’s not a one-stop shop.”
Residents have criticised the council after six years lobbying for action after drivers caused loud noise, crashes and fatalities.
Michelle Rogers said residents have concerns the speed humps won’t be effective.
“This weekend the hoons were unstoppable, they went until 1.30am on Saturday morning, 2.45am on Sunday morning and 2am this morning,” Ms Rogers said.
“Residents have a two to three hour window to sleep. There were two careflight helicopters and accidents in the last couple of weeks. There was a motorcyclist recorded driving at 230 km/h in a 50km/h zone.
“What was agreed to by everybody has now been changed.”
She added residents wanted to work with cyclists because they are a “community”.
Another resident Trae Thomas said residents were feeling “frustrated”.
“After all these years of lobbying, all of a sudden we’re not getting what we asked for. Are cyclists more important than people who live on the road?
“Residents will be extremely upset that tax dollars are being spent on speed humps that don’t work.”
Despite calling for a different outcome, two groups of cyclists also said they are on the “same side” as residents because they too have been victims on the dangerous road.
“The original plans included two flat top humps and then a number of speed humps after that. We were just concerned about the speed humps,” Manly Warringah Cycling Club treasurer Richard Saunders said.
“The biggest problem with speed humps is when they’re wet, they’re slippery. So people have the potential of coming off on the road, onto a car so it could be over red rover.
“About 18 months ago there was a cyclist killed there on the corner.”
Warringah Triathlon Club Vice President Deanna Waters said her cycling group were happy with the outcome.
“They had the flat speed humps but also rounded speed humps so we got them swapped so there’s just the flat speed humps,” Ms Waters said.
“If they put in the rounded speed humps every cyclist would have complained, they would have made enemies.”
Residents will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the new speed hump designs over a two-week period.
Transport for NSW is providing $160,000 in grant funding to the council for delivery of the project.