Manly Daily 2 Dec 2010 by Carleen Frost
A NEW State Government report confirms what everyone on the northern beaches already knows – driving into the city during the morning peak is a nightmare.
The trip along Pittwater Rd, Military Rd and the F1 is the most congested in Sydney, topping a list of seven major arterial roads into the CBD.
With cars travelling at average speeds of 25km/h, the passage is slower than the M2, M4, Princes Highway, Pacific Highway and Victoria Rd.
And it’s only set to get worse, with the report finding that traffic had gradually slowed over the past four years.
The bus trip isn’t much better, with some services from Pittwater taking more than two hours to travel into the city.
Manly State Liberal MP Mike Baird said the Opposition would address the issue of transport as a ‘‘burning priority’’ if it wins power at the March State Election.
He could not offer an exact date, but said he would aim to establish a Bus Rapid Transit System as a matter of urgency.
The plan would allow the implementation of median bus lanes from Mona Vale into the city, and has already been backed by the peninsula’s four councils.
‘‘The one way to fix this problem is to have dedicated public transport in the corridor that’s regular, reliable, attractive and affordable,’’ he said. ‘‘We need action in the short term.’’ The Auditor-General’s report found that the return trip to the peninsula was slightly less congested, with traffic moving at about 34km/h in the afternoon.
The only trip home that was slower than the journey to the northern beaches was via the Princes Highway to Sutherland.
A spokesman for Roads Minister David Borger said the State Government had already committed $48 million for upgrades along the Spit-Military roads transport corridor in the last term.
The works, some of which are already under way, include removing parking on sections of Military Rd and reducing Spit Bridge opening times on weekdays.
‘‘There is also a major focus on public transport and clearing of crashes and breakdowns quickly,” he said.
View the transport proposals put forward in the Shaping Our Future strategy including the implementation of a Bus Rapid Transit system to link Dee Why, Chatswood, Ryde and the CBD, and to link Mona Vale to the city.
Show your support for better hospitals, roads and rapid transit buses.
