Bankstown’s Stacey St, Australia’s seventh slowest, could speed up with planned six-lane upgrade
Stacey St, Bankstown, officially the seventh slowest road in Australia, could be upgraded to a six-lane road under new Roads and Maritime Service’s plans.
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Stacey St, Bankstown, is officially not only the slowest road outside Sydney CBD but the seventh slowest in Australia.
But there could be relief for the long suffering motorists using this street with Roads and Maritime Services planning to expand it to a divided six-lane road.
The Austroads Congestion and Reliability Review has identified Stacey St as the slowest road outside the CBD, fourth-slowest road in Sydney overall and the seventh-slowest in Australia, with an average speed of 18 km/h. The news has delighted Canterbury Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour who said: ““So, it’s great, they have finally listened and are at least investigating what can be done.”
Work is due to start on Sunday, June 9, for a potential 2.2km upgrade of Stacey St and the Hume Hwy.
This is in addition to work to widen the section of Stacey St between Stanley St and Macauley Ave and improve surrounding intersections. The first stage to widen the southbound lanes for an extra lane, opened in April.
Roads and Maritime Services Executive Director Sydney John Hardwick confirmed the plans saying there will be upgrades to key intersections along the corridor.
Mr Hardwick said investigation work will be carried out on a proposal to widen Stacey Street, to create a divided six lane road, and upgrade key intersections along the corridor.
“Widening Stacey Street could deliver improved travel times, reliability, safety and efficiency for the thousands of motorists who use this traffic bottleneck every day,” Mr Hardwick said.
“The proposed upgrade would start just north of Rookwood Rd, through the intersection with the Hume Hwy, past Rickard Rd and the railway line before ending at Griffiths Ave.
“The planned project would also improve sections of the Hume Hwy on either side of Stacey St, including at Boronia Rd, and provide new shared pathways.”
Mayor Asfour welcoming the news, said it is a step in the righr direction but it does not go far enough.
“It got so bad, we as a council even went to the trouble of presenting a solution to then Premier Barry O’Farrell, providing concept plans and a visual flythrough, because no action was being taken,” Mayor Asfour said.
He said they have been battling for more than a decade to get something done about Stacey St.
“There need to be more entries to Greenacre from Stacey Street because, at present, there’s only one (Greenacre Rd),” Mayor Asfour said.
“All the others have a no right turn and if RMS doesn’t address it, it will continue to be a nightmare for the thousands of residents who face a choked Greenacre Rd each day.
“I now hope RMS gets on with the job of undertaking and completing a thorough investigation, and not come up with yet another compromise which is a bandaid measure.
“Let’s finally get this done, do the job right, and relieve the stress and pressure off motorists, businesses and our local residents.”
Mr Hardwick said site investigation work will be carried out soon to inform the development of the design.
“Work will include investigating ground conditions, identifying underground utilities and inspecting existing drainage,” Mr Hardwick said.
“As part of the process, the community will have an opportunity to provide feedback during the consultation stage.
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“RMS will keep the community updated as the project progresses.”
Work is expected to finish on August 25, weather permitting.
Stage one of the project to widen the section of Stacey St between Stanley St and Macauley Ave has been completed with an extra southbound lane on Stacey St and extended dual right turn lanes into Macauley Ave.
RMS said this will deliver improved traffic flow and travel reliability, connecting motorists to Sydney’s south, west and CBD more easily.
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