Sydney’s fastest growing suburbs stuck in snail’s-pace commute

Residents in one area of Sydney are averaging just 24km/h on their morning commute as population pressure causes traffic chaos.

Heavy traffic on Norwest Boulevarde in Norwest Business Park off Old Windsor Road.

They live in the fastest growing part of Sydney, but a crippling infrastructure crisis has left residents of Sydney’s northwest battling a snail’s-pace daily commute, averaging a speed of just 24 kilometres per hour along major arterial roads.

With almost 350,000 people set to move into the booming Hills Shire Council area by 2041, there are fears neglected arterial thoroughfares like Windsor and Old Windsor roads will become carparks unless state and federal governments fund urgent road upgrades.

Hills Shire Mayor Michelle Byrne has today demanded 45 roads and intersections get urgent upgrades, to coincide with The Daily Telegraph’s Future West campaign.

One of the biggest choke points is on Old Windsor Road in Kellyville, a road which is struggling to cope with the pace of growth in The Hills Shire, Blacktown, and Hawkesbury.

Kellyville could soon be home to more than 23,000 extra residents, after the state government rezoned one square kilometre of land alongside Old Windsor Road to allow for 11,000 new apartments.

That comes despite current arterial roads already being a constant traffic jam.

During a week testing the commute times between Gables (near Box Hill) and Norwest Business Park during the morning peak, a council worker never got above an average speed of 24km/h — the pace of a casual bicycle ride. It took 45 minute to drive just 18 kilometres.

“Windsor and Old Windsor Roads are already at a standstill during the morning and afternoon peaks and if you think it’s bad now, you haven’t seen anything yet,” Dr Byrne said.

“If it’s like this now — imagine what it will be like in 2041 when the population of our Shire booms by another 71 per cent to 328,600 people,” she said.

“It’s just not realistic to expect hundreds of thousands of people to move to the northwest with no significant investment in its most important road.”

A test showed it took 45 minutes in a morning commute to drive from Red Gables Rd, Gables to 3 Columbia Court, Norwest. Picture: Google maps

Dr Byrne has launched a petition calling for crucial local roads to be widened and for intersections to be upgraded.

Her “Fight for a fairer Hills future” campaign is calling for “urgent” widening and upgrades for roads including Annangrove Road, Showgrounds Road, Windsor and Old Windsor Roads, and Old Northern Road.

Local Scott Haggarty, who lives in Kellyville with wife Melissa and his four young kids, battles a daily commute into the city that can take up to an hour and 40 minutes each way.

“There’s certainly a big build up (of traffic) around the Bella Vista and the North Kellyville area on Windsor Road and Old Windsor Road, and then you get more as you get down further to Baulkham Hills again,” he said.

Future West Dinkus 2025 x x x

“With all this additional development, it’s just going to compound,” he said.

He said that the Northwest Metro connecting Kellyville to the city is “fantastic” for taking people into the CBD, but does not do anything to help traffic on local roads.

“You still need to be able to navigate to your school drop offs, or, as I do, the commute to work, or … weekly activities for the younger kids.”

This article is part of the Future Western Sydney series, which is proudly supported by Clubs NSW, Powerhouse, Transurban, Walker Corp, Western Sydney International Airport and Western Sydney University

Originally published as Sydney’s fastest growing suburbs stuck in snail’s-pace commute