Councils united on proposal to widen New Line Rd

As Hills Shire Council consider a massive redevelopment in Dural, the fight to widen New Line Rd continues.

Locals are furious at the amount of traffic on New Line Road, Dural.

HORNSBY council and their Hills Shire counterparts are ‘on the same team’ in the fight against congestion on New Line Rd — as developers propose to turn 20 hectares into new housing and businesses.

In the proposal on Old Northern Rd developers want the zoning changed from rural.

A Hornsby Council said they would talk to Hills about the impact on New Lind Rd which funnels traffic out of the rural area.

“Both councils are equal stakeholders in ensuring that each development on Old Northern Rd takes the infrastructure constraints of the area into consideration. Hornsby Shire Council is certain that Hills Shire Council has done this.

“We’re on the same team in trying to address the traffic issues on both Old Northern Rd and New Line Rd and are co-operating as we search for solutions.”

The proposal comes just weeks after Hornsby Mayor Steve Russell cornered Roads Minister Ducan Gay and grilled him on the issue.

“The RMS has agreed parts of it are near capacity and now it’s a matter of finding the funding.”

A Roads and Maritime Services spokesman said a recently completed corridor review found peak hour traffic volumes near Purchase Rd could increase within the next 10 years.

“Any proposed development including the aged care facility proposed for Dural need to include safe access and have minimal impact on the surrounding road network as part of standard council planning approval processes,” the spokesman said.