Minutes of Meeting

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Local Traffic Committee Meeting

 

Venue

Conference Room, Station Street, Mullumbimby

 

Date

Tuesday, 5 October 2021

 

Time

10.30am

 

 

Committee Members

Penny Sutton – Transport for NSW

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Kehoe  – Police

Cr Basil Cameron

Tamara Smith MP

 

 

 

 

 

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                                                                                      Distributed 28/09/21

 

 


BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL

Local Traffic Committee Meeting Minutes                5 October 2021

 

 

Report of the Local Traffic Committee Meeting held on Tuesday, 5 October 2021

File No: I2021/1521

 

 

Meeting Commenced: 10.30am

 

PRESENT:

Councillor:  Cr Basil Cameron

Transport for NSW: Penny Sutton, John Carey

Police: Acting Inspector Chris Neaves

Siobhan Foley on behalf of Tamara Smith MP

 

Staff:  Andrew Pearce, James Flockton, Michelle Wilcox, Shelley Flower

 

Apologies:

There were no apologies. or

 

Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest raised. or

 

Adoption of Minutes from Previous Meetings

 

Recommendation:

That the minutes of the Local Traffic Committee Meeting held on 17 August 2021 be confirmed.

 

 

Matters Arising

None.

 

Outstanding Issues/Resolutions

None.

 

Regulatory Matters

Report No. 6.1         No Parking Area and No Stopping Requests - Various Locations

File No:                   I2021/1458

 

Report

Council’s compliance team have requested the following:

1.     Two “No Parking Area 1am to 7am” signs at the entrance to Scarabeloti's Lookout on Coolamon Scenic Drive, Coorabell.

 

This is a very popular place for overnight camping with various complaints being attended to by the CEOs.  Having these signs at the entrance would cover the whole lookout area rather than the existing signs which only apply to the tarred area.  Existing signs to be removed to minimise potential misunderstanding for drivers.

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

2.     “No Parking Area 1am to 6am” sign installed at the entrance to the netball courts car park in Mullumbimby.

 

The entrance is off Byron Street.  There have been numerous complaints attended by the CEOs in recent times concerning campers.  This signage will hopefully deter most people whilst assisting the CEOs with enforcement.

 


 

 

3.     Three “No Stopping Tuesdays” signs installed in Hazelwood Close Suffolk Park.

 

There have been numerous complaints from the company that empties the rubbish bins.  Vehicles are parking at the end of the cul-de-sac which prevents the waste truck from being able to collect the bins and manoeuvre.

This signage and approach has been adopted for many cul-de-sacs within Byron Bay and Suffolk Park due to growing parking congestion.

 

 

Committee Comments

<<type text here>>

Management Comments

<<type text here>>

 

Committee Recommendation:

That Council supports the installation of:

1.     “No Parking Area 1am – 7am” sign(s) at the entrance to Scarabeloti's Lookout on Coolamon Scenic Drive, Coorabell.

2.     “No Parking Area 1am to 6am” sign(s) at the entrance to the Byron Street netball courts car park in Mullumbimby.

3.     “No Stopping Tuesdays” sign(s) in the cul-de-sac of Hazelwood Close, Suffolk Park.

 

(Cameron/Neaves)

The recommendation was put to the vote and declared carried.

 

Matters for Traffic Engineering Advice

Report No. 7.1         Tincogan Street Intersection Upgrades and Heavy Vehicle Considerations in Mullumbimby

File No:                   I2021/1478

 

Design Work Completed

Council’s Consultant has developed a draft design to improve the safety for motorists and pedestrians at the Tincogan Street intersections with Stuart and Dalley Streets, Mullumbimby.

These works were initially proposed to be completed in two stages (refer attachment 3):

Stage 1 works included pedestrian refuge installation, lines, signs and landscaping and will be funded by the ECG.  Stage 1 works has previously been supported by the Local Traffic Committee.

Stage 2 works formalise the parking arrangement in line with the Australian On Road Parking Standard.  Stage 2 works are currently unfunded at this stage.

Our Mullumbimby Masterplan

The Our Mullumbimby Masterplan highlights the need to promote active transport instead of car usage in the Mullumbimby Town Centre.  The goal of the Masterplan is to formalise alternative routes for vehicles in order to minimise congestion in the town centre.  These alternative routes are defined as using Station, Fern Streets to connect from the Highway to Federal and using Station and Tincogan Streets to connect the Highway and Main Arm.  Therefore, it can be reasonably expected that traffic volumes in Tincogan Street will increase over time. 

It must be noted that the Our Mullumbimby Masterplan appears to be silent on the movement of heavy vehicles through the town centre. 

Mullumbimby Movement Strategy

In 2018, Council’s Consultant MRCagney completed the Mullumbimby Movement Strategy.  The strategy included a discussion on how to manage the heavy vehicle movements through the town.  The goal of this strategy aligns with the Our Mullumbimby Masterplan which is to activate and pedestrianise Burringbar Street and find alternate routes around the town centre for the heavy vehicles.  The plan identified that the presence of heavy vehicles in the town centre as an issue that warrants further assessment and attention.

Parking Considerations Tincogan Street (between Dalley and Stuart Streets)

Currently an informal parking arrangement exists along Tincogan Street which does not meet current designs standards.  Compliant parking is proposed in Stage 2 of the project to reduce the risk to cars when they are accessing and egressing the carpark space so that they do not enter the oncoming traffic lane and create a collision risk.  In a relatively high traffic environment, it is not recommended from a safety perspective to have vehicles digressing into the opposite traffic lane to access or egress a parking bay. 

Certain offsets from the intersections and pedestrian crossings are also required to minimise the risk of a collision between a vehicle or pedestrian at the intersection and to ensure compliance with the relevant design standards.

By formalising the carpark spaces and achieving compliance with Australian Design Standards for on street parking, the number of available carparking spaces will be significantly reduced from the current informal arrangement of approximately 45 parks to 20 car parks in order to comply with the relevant on Street carparking standard.

Tincogan Street Pedestrian Crossing

At the August Council Planning Meeting Council resolved (Res 21-043) that:-

 1.    Support the installation of a pedestrian (Zebra) crossing in Tincogan Street Mullumbimby between Dalley Street and Stuart Street, Mullumbimby and that:

a)     Staff commence planning and design for the crossing and seek urgent approval from the LTC for the works.

b)     The design and layouts for the mid-block Zebra crossing and associated footpaths be presented to Council’s next available Strategic Planning Workshop.

2.     That the Tincogan Street/Dalley Street intersection pedestrian safety upgrades approved by LTC are implemented as per res 21-043 with the priority change deferred until an approved midblock Zebra Crossing has been installed between Dalley Street and Stuart Street.

To commence addressing the Council Resolution, Council staff have developed two alternative concept plans showing a midblock pedestrian crossing on Tincogan Street between Dalley and Stuart Streets. 

The installation of a mid-block pedestrian crossing on Tincogan Street further reduces the available parking on Tincogan Street from 20 as per the compliant design to 12 carparking spaces for Design Option 1 (refer attachment 1) and 14 spaces for Design Option 2 (refer attachment 2).

Limited consultation has been undertaken in regard to the proposed formalised carparking layout, the proposed pedestrian crossing arrangements and the impact on car park spaces.

Heavy Vehicle Data

A high-level review of heavy vehicle data for Mullumbimby identified that the following % of heavy vehicles per day at the locations shown.

If Tincogan Street was to become the preferred heavy vehicle route then this would result in a greater than 5 fold increase in heavy vehicle traffic i.e. 143 vehicles to 561 vehicle per day based on the data above.  It must be highlighted that the geometric layout of Tincogan/Station Street intersection is significantly undersized to cater for heavy vehicle movements, refer attachment 4 drawing HV-04.  Therefore, without land acquisition and significant upgrade to the Station and Tincogan Streets intersection, the Station and Tincogan Street alternate route for heavy vehicles is not considered feasible from a traffic safety perspective.

If Burringbar Street was to become the preferred heavy vehicle route approximately 231 trips would be added along the road.  This could be considered a big increased in heavy vehicles numbers being diverted down Burringbar Street which may not be well received by the community.  This route essentially opposes the intent of the Mullumbimby Masterplan. 

If Fern and Station Streets were to become the preferred heavy vehicle route then this would result in a greater than 6 fold increase in heavy vehicle traffic i.e. 100 vehicles to 649 vehicle per day based on the data above. 

Fuel Station Access – Dalley and Tincogan Intersection

The fuel truck which services the fuel station at the intersection of Dalley and Tincogan Streets, must also be considered in terms of the Tincogan Street design. The fuel truck is a 19m articulated general use B Double.  According to the fuel station manager, the fuel truck services the station a few times a week via Dalley Street, right turn onto Tincogan Street and then a right turn into the services station, refer attachment 4 drawing HV-15. 

When considering current fuel truck access to the fuel station, it can be seen in drawing HV-15 that the fuel truck will conflict with the proposed garden beds and pedestrian refuge on the eastern leg of the Dalley and Tincogan intersection.  If this truck movement was to be facilitated the pedestrian refuge which has been indicated in the Pedestrian Access and Mobility Plan would be required to be omitted for the Tincogan Street design. 

An alternative option for the fuel truck to service the station would be to turn right onto Stuart Street from Burringbar Street, turn left onto Tincogan Street and then left into the fuel station.  It can be seen in attachment 4 drawing HV-21 in which the Stuart and Burringbar Streets intersection has been “tightened up” due to the Talking Streets Project that there is possible conflict between queuing vehicles on the northern leg of the intersection and the fuel truck turning right on Stuart Street.  It appears that this possible conflict could potentially be avoided by relocating the giveway hold line back to its original position prior to Talking Streets.

The left turn movement from Stuart Street into Tincogan Street (refer attachment 4 drawing HV-12) also represents a conflict point in terms of the proposed pedestrian refuge on the western leg of the intersection.  Modifications to the design would be required to be investigated to determine whether or not the pedestrian refuge could be retained.

The feasibility of the left turn movement for the fuel truck from Tincogan Street into the fuel station (refer attachment 4 drawing HV-15) would best be determined by observing the fuel tanker attempting the manoeuvre.  Any proposed infrastructure footprints would need to be spray painted on the ground in order to identify conflicts in terms of the awing structure, pedestrian blister and retaining wall on the fuel station property.

Council seeks technical advice on the final Tincogan Street design in light of the design work completed to date, the proposed pedestrian crossing locations and heavy vehicle movements through Mullumbimby.  Comment is also sought in regards to suitable locations to rationalise the number of north south crossing points on Tincogan Street for pedestrians.

 

 

Committee Comments

<<type text here>>

Management Comments

<<type text here>>

 

Committee Recommendation:

1.           That the Local Traffic Committee technical advice supports in principle the following:

a.     Tincogan Street Pedestrian crossing Option 2 preferred (E2021/113339).

b.    Heavy vehicle route along Station Street/Fern Street preferred (E2021/114392).

 

(Cameron/Sutton)

The recommendation was put to the vote and declared carried.

 

 

 

Byron Marathon date change from October to November.  Electronic report with a week to comment prior to next LTC.

 

There being no further business the meeting concluded at 11.51am.