The economic growth of Norwest Business Park is being hindered by crippling congestion and Hills Shire Mayor Dr Michelle Byrne has urged NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay to urgently fast-track any investigation or potential solution for the state road.
Various pinch points on Norwest Boulevarde are becoming increasingly congested during morning and afternoon peak periods due to the fact that all intersections are regulated by roundabouts.
Mayor Byrne said the roundabout at the intersection of Norwest Boulevarde and Lexington Drive was of particular concern.
“Workers, residents and motorists won’t be surprised to hear me outlining that there is a major traffic issue on Norwest Boulevarde as they’ve lived with it for quite some time,” Mayor Byrne said.
“But the situation is worsening each year and the economic growth of Norwest Business Park is under threat from this serious congestion.”
“Norwest Business Park is only at 60 per cent capacity. Any further delays in addressing this serious infrastructure bottleneck will put an estimated $1 billion worth of business investment and 8,000 new jobs at risk.”
“The roundabout at the intersection of Lexington Drive and Norwest Boulevarde is critically congested, leading to traffic delays on Norwest Boulevarde and Lexington Drive that are bordering on intolerable.”
Mayor Byrne said that while the Sydney Metro Northwest would help to ease congestion in the Business Park with two stations under construction at Bella Vista and Norwest, many workers would still rely on motor vehicles to get in and out of the Business Park.
“The problems can really be narrowed down to the fact that all major intersections on Norwest Boulevarde are currently managed by roundabouts. The ideal solution is permanent traffic lights.”
“We are realistic. We know they can’t be replaced all at once and that the first to be replaced will be the intersection with Brookhollow Avenue near Norwest Station. But we must look at some options for Lexington Drive sooner rather than later.”
Mayor Byrne said that Council had set aside $5 million worth of Section 94 contributions for the project.
“While we appreciate that the NSW Government doesn’t have a pot of gold with which to solve all of the State’s infrastructure problems, we would argue that this particular issue is critical to Norwest Business Park’s short-to-medium term future.”
“Norwest is one of Sydney’s major employment centres and we need to get it moving to ensure that the 1 million additional residents expected in Sydney over the next 25 years have plenty of local employment options.”
Mayor Byrne said that a whole of Government approach was needed.
“Council’s engineers and technical officers will work with RMS to find the most affordable and effective solution.”
