Collinsvale residents express fire, storm fears over weight and width limits on their street

Residents’ fears over the state of their road and how they would be protected in the case of a major storm or bushfire have been eased after council moved to speed up repair work.

THE Glenorchy City Council has come to the aid of residents who complained about the safety of dirt road at Collinsvale.

Residents of Fairy Glen Rd said the condition of the road deteriorated after a garbage truck ran off it last October.

Acting Glenorchy mayor Bec Thomas said $63,000 has been included in the capital works program for the coming financial year to repair the road damage.

“Council is currently sourcing an engineering design for the repair and is aiming to have the repair job completed before the summer bushfire season,” Alderman Thomas said.

“The residents were notified of the council decision in terms of funding the road repair last week following the special council meeting which saw the budget approved.

“A few residents responded and most of them are happy with the outcome.”

Resident Suzanne Egan said she was pleased the repairs would be done before the bushfire season because there were fears fire trucks would not be able to use the narrow road.

“This is an improvement on the previous timeline we had been told, which was sometime in early 2022,” Ms Egan said.

Residents’ fire, storm fears over street limits

RESIDENTS say a narrow dirt road at Collinsvale is unsafe and negatively affecting their lives every day.

Suzanne and Andrew Egan have lived on Fairy Glen Rd for four years and say it has deteriorated since a garbage truck ran off the road last October.

Ms Egan said in the process of removing the truck, substantial damage was caused to the edge of the road surface and safety posts installed by the Glenorchy City Council had considerably narrowed the road.

A garbage truck ran off Fairy Glen Rd, in Collinsvale, in October last year.

A five-tonne limit was imposed on the road this month and all residents must now take their garbage to the start of the road.

“We, the residents, want our road fixed so that we aren’t limited in what we can do,” Ms Egan said.

“My husband is a blacksmith, and now cannot receive deliveries of steel for any of his creations, nor can we ship any large items out of the workshop.

“We also have no idea what will happen if we lose electricity during a storm, which has happened at least once a year since we moved in.

“There are a couple of other residents that run businesses from their homes that will also be impacted, one has invested quite a lot of money in a whisky brewing operation and would be looking at cellar door sales in the future, which will be problematic with the road in its current state.

“We have to apply for permits to get any large loads of soil, gravel or firewood delivered.

“At this point I am unaware of anyone who has applied for a permit, so we have no idea how long the GCC will take to approve these permits.”

The Egans are also concerned that in the fire season, fire trucks will be unable to access the road.

Acting Glenorchy mayor Bec Thomas said funding to repair the area where the accident happened would be considered in tonight’s special council meeting.

“It would cost over $1m to upgrade and widen the whole road but this funding will ensure safety and make it more stable,” Alderman Thomas said.

Ms Egan said a permanent solution was needed to the problems with the road.

“I have had friends who have now refused to come and visit because of the state of the road,” she said.

“We know we could be impacted significantly if we lose power as TasNetworks have stated their trucks will not be able to get through the damaged part of the road.”

Labor member for Elwick Josh Willie wrote to the state government about the residents’ concerns and Energy Minister Guy Barnett responded that the maintenance of the road was a matter for the Glenorchy City Council.

Mr Barnett said TasNetworks would not use the road unless it was safe because “safety was paramount”.