Rural road used as rat-run to be upgraded following increase in its use
ONE of the northern beaches’ last rural roads is going to be sealed after becoming a rat-run for motorists trying to escape traffic — but there are fears for the wildlife that live on the sides of the road.
Manly
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- Timetable changes to the northern beaches
- Peak hour traffic relief coming for Frenchs Forest motorists
ONE of the northern beaches’ last rural roads is going to be sealed after becoming a rat run for motorists trying to escape traffic.
Oxford Falls Rd West, which becomes Morgan Rd in Oxford Falls will be upgraded from a gravel track to a sealed surface at the cost of almost $500,000.
The number of cars using the route has risen from 2400 a day to 3000 since partial closure of Frenchs Forest Rd and gridlock caused by construction of the Northern Beaches Hospital.
Northern Beaches Mayor Michael Regan said the council was “damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t” seal the road.
So many people were using the route it was costing $250,000 a year to maintain the gravel surface.
“Traffic is diabolical in Frenchs Forest at the moment due to Roads and Maritime Services road works and that has forced council’s hand on what is supposed to be a semi-rural access road for residents and not a main thoroughfare,” he said.
“Maintenance costs are now significantly higher and locals say there has also been an increase in roadkill numbers.
“If we do nothing it will continue to cost ratepayers almost quarter of a million dollars a year to maintain in its current state. But by investing $490,000 we can upgrade to a sealed road with only minor maintenance needed.”
The council will investigate traffic calming measures and other features to slow down traffic and protect wildlife.
It will ask the RMS for funding.
Residents and wildlife experts fear the number of animals killed by traffic in what is a wildlife haven will increase.
They also fear motorists could be injured if they hit an animal head-on.
Ecologist Jacqui Marlow, of Narrabeen, who works with wildlife groups and keeps roadkill figures for the northern beaches, is planning to lobby the council for fencing along parts of Morgan Rd to keep animals away.
She said as well as impacting the future of species such as already-threatened eastern pygmy possum and powerful owl they could also be a hazard for drivers.
“On the Wakehurst Parkway we had 266 wallabies killed over a five-year period from Narrabeen to the hospital site — and these are the ones we know of,” Ms Marlow said.
“My biggest worry is someone’s going to have a head-on with an animal and they’ll become a statistic too.”
Former Warringah councillor Connie Harris, who lives in Morgan Rd, said she feared the road would become a main route if sealed.
“It’s a lovely road. I have tried to heritage list it as a typical rural road,” she said.
“We have heaps of wallabies, we have possums, monitors, goannas — you get a huge variety. It’s very special to have these.
“It is used by horse riders, pedestrians, bike riders. A road is there for everybody to travel along. By hard sealing it I feel the other users of the road are even more pushed away.”
Cr Rory Amon said it was about time the 600m stretch was upgraded from a “dirt track.”