Roses in bloom

Do you have a garden of which you are proud? Would you like to make contact with like-minded gardeners? Ever thought about ‘showing’ your garden?

If so, there are a number zealous gardeners who would like to ‘hook-up’ with others.

To make contact, send an email to cwwpanews@gmail.com and I will pass your details on to the gardeners.

Have you been in Victoria Avenue opposite The Concourse near dusk? Wondered who is making the racket? Many people think the noise is coming from Noisy Minors. The truth is that the majority of the birds in the trees are Rainbow Lorikeets.

What a wonderful place we live in !

The 255 bus route provides a service between Colwell Crescent and Chatswood Station. It is of particular value to less mobile residents and very young children attending Chatswood Public school, but it is endangered by traffic problems, leading to low patronage.

There are two problems: parking that obstructs the smooth passage of buses, and traffic that slows the crossing of the highway in a reasonable time.

The parking problems are particularly noticeable in Carr and Lone Pine Sts, but occur along the entire route. Tradesmen are often guilty of parking thoughtlessly and completely blocking a bus, disrupting the timetable for hours afterwards. Possible solutions lie in better enforcement of parking rules, particularly near intersections, and selective removal of parking rights in some spots eg in Eddy Rd near the intersection with Lone Pine.

The congestion problem is harder to solve. In the morning peak, it is common for a bus to endure 4 or 5 traffic light cycles at the top of Centennial Av before it can emerge onto the highway, where further delays await at Victoria Av. Removal of parking rights on the north side of Centennial above the pedestrian crossing would help greatly, but would be be unpopular with school parents.
The problems need imaginative solutions before someone at Sydney Buses decides to abolish the service

Tunnelling for the North West Rail Link commenced in June 2013; and the contract for the
viaducts west of Bella Vista was awarded in December 2013. When completed, the rail
service would be the first Australian fully automated rail system linking Sydney’s north-west (Cudgegong Road west of Rouse Hill) to the Sydney CBD. The existing rail from Epping to Chatswood will be upgraded to accommodate the new rapid transit service. Extension of the rapid transit system to new Sydney CBD stations in the future would be via a second Harbour crossing, which would also be linked to the Bankstown to Hurstville and Illawarra
lines.

The North West Rail Link Project consists of three (3) major contracts:

1. Tunnels and Station Civil Works, which involves the building of 15km of twin-tunnels from Bella Vista and Epping.

2. Surface and Viaduct Civil Works, which involves the construction of elevated tracks and a bridge between Bella Vista and Cudgegong Road.

3. Operations, Trains and Systems, which involves the building of stations and associated car parks, supplying the trains, installing the tracks and upgrading the Epping to Chatswood rail link to accommodate the new rapid transit system.

The proposed rapid transit system will be integrated with the existing Suburban Rail Network and the InterCity Regional Network. When completed, the rapid transit system will deliver driverless trains at 5 minute intervals (during peak times). There will be 8 new railway stations between Cudgegong Road and Epping; and 4,000 commuter car parking spaces at these new stations. Travel time from Cudgegong Road to Chatswood (which would operate as a rail interchange) is expected to be 37 minutes; and from Cudgegong Road to Wynyard 57 minutes.

Detailed information about the project may be accessed from the website:
www.northwestrail.com.au .

Here is the response that residents received from Council regarding concerns bout traffic conditions in these streets:

Re: Traffic in local streets

INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES DIVISION
9 October 2014
I refer to your recent petition to Council regarding traffic on local streets between Pacific Highway and Fullers Road.

Traffic speed and volume counts were recently undertaken in Dulwich Road, Peckham Road, Anglo Street and Tessa Street. The counts showed that in Dulwich Road the 85th percentile speed, (the speed at which 85% of vehicles travel at or below) was 53km/h, which is slightly above the speed limit for the street. This is considered acceptable for local roads, and it should be noted that the count was taken near the bottom of a dip in the street, where cars would be more likely to drive at higher speeds. The 85th percentile speed for the other roads was found to be below the 50km/h speed limit, indicating that speeding is not a problem in these streets.
The traffic counts did show a noticeable increase in traffic travelling towards Fullers Road between 7am and 9am. However this still numbered less than 100 vehicles per hour, which is considered to be a fairly low figure, and well within the environmental capacity of these streets.
Given the results of the traffic counts, the introduction of traffic calming measures in these streets could not be justified. Due to space constraints, it would be unlikely that a 2nd right turn lane from Pacific Highway into Fullers Road could be constructed. It should also be noted that the Pacific Highway lies under the care and control of the RMS, and accordingly it would be the RMS who would decide whether such a project would proceed.

Should you have any comments or questions relating to the matter please contact Council’s Group Leader Traffic & Transport, James Brocklebank on 9777 7750.

Yours faithfully
Paul Collings A/Director Infrastructure Services
Willoughby City Council I 31 Victor Street, Chatswood NSW 2067 I P (02) 9777 1000 PO Box 57, Chatswood NSW 2057 I F (02) 9777 1038 I E email©willoughby.nsw.gov.au http://www.willoughby.nsw.gov.au I ABN 47 974 826 099

NSW Treasurer Andrew Constance reckons we only need five Councils to run Sydney (Telegraph 23 October). It sounds like he is prepared to forcibly amalgamate Councils to achieve that goal.

He claims that the Federation is broken. The Federal Government is tearing up many National Agreements. NSW (under Constance’s watch) will lose tens of millions of dollars.

Westfield has changes to its carpark. The proposed works involve:

Ground floor / Level 1
a) Closure of the existing Albert Ave entry (at Anderson Street intersection) and replace
with pedestrian access and associated additional landscaping
b) New entry with slip lane from Albert Ave and associated modifications to Albert Ave
line marking/lanes
c) Extension of ground floor slab towards Albert Ave to accommodate additional car
spaces, and minor changes to footpath
d) Additional entry point to existing Victor Street entry

Level 2
a) Extension (south side) to accommodate additional car spaces
b) New boom gate and entry point at Devonshire Street ramp

Level 3

a) Extension (south side) to accommodate additional car spaces

Level 4
a) Relocation of boom gates on speed ramp from Albert Ave
b) Removal of ramp up (from Level 4 to 5 near boom gates) for a new circulation aisle
c) Extension (south side) to accommodate additional car spaces

Level 5
a) Infill ramp up (from Level 4 to 5 near boom gates) to accommodate additional car
spaces

Others works
b) Reconfiguration of car spaces and aisles on all levels as necessary for additional car
spaces and general improvements to circulation aisles
c) Removal of trees affected by proposed car park extension (south side/Currey Park)
d) Minor alterations to moulding at the rear of existing water features and associated works

The proposed development is necessary to address the need for additional car parking with
respect to Deferred Commencement Development Consent DA2013/557 recently issued by
the Joint Regional Planning Panel (Sydney East) for the Re-development and refurbishment
of the existing shopping complex (Westfield Shopping Centre Chatswood). Based on the
assessment above, the proposed works are considered to have acceptable impacts to the
environment, and adjoining properties, including Council’s Currey Park subject to the
recommended conditions of consent. The proposal will also result in general upgrade of the
existing Albert Ave Carpark, which is a Council owned public asset servicing the retail
precinct of the Chatswood CBD, and is recommended for support by Council.

Council Officers have recommended that s94 contributions be waived on the basis that the improvements are beneficial to the public.

Dear Valued Customers,

We’re making some changes to postal services in the Chatswood community.

The Chatswood and West Chatswood Post Offices will be amalgamated into a brand new postal superstore on the concourse leve! of Chatswood lnterchange.

All existing PO Boxes will also relocate to the new superstore.

The Chatswood Post Office will cease trading at 5pm on Friday 7 November 2014 in preparation for the opening of our new superstore on Monday 10 November 2014..

This means that the Chatswood Post Office will not be open on Saturday 8 November 2014
For your convenience, alternative Post Offices in the Chatswood area include: Willoughby North; Roseville: Artarmon and Willoughby.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these changes, and we look forward to welcoming you at our new superstore.

lf you have any queries, please come in and see a member of the team.

At the last Council meeting, Mayor Giles-Gidney successfully brought down a Mayor Minute that, on behalf of Council, she would officially initiate talks with neighbouring Councils and the Department of Local Government.

From press reports, it is obvious that any Council who ignores the Department’s call for voluntary amalgamation or other modes of cooperation that ensure the financial sustainability of Council may eventually be forcibly amalgamated.

The Mayor is to be congratulated in taking this monumental step forward in Council that has traditionally resisted calls to be proactive with regard to amalgamation.

Long serving Willoughby Council employee Nick Tobin has resigned (for personal reasons). Nick started with Council in the role of Director of Corporate Services working with then General Manager John Owen.Together, they took the ‘Civic Place’ project to success at a referendum. After John retired from Council, Nick was fortunate in being appointed as General Manager.

Under Nick’s stewardship, The Concourse emerged as a project achieved on time and under budget. Subsequently, the project has met its financial goals under Nick’s sound financial management skills.

Nick will be missed by his employees, Councillors and many in the community.