Residential Street Improvement Program
Sternberg Crescent, Wanniassa
Stage 1 community consultation results
1.0 Consultation overview
Road users and residents in Wanniassa have written to various Ministers and Roads ACT regarding traffic volumes, speeding and other road safety aspects on Sternberg Crescent and other Wanniassa roads.
The ACT Government is undertaking a study on the traffic conditions on Sternberg Crescent and surrounding streets in Wanniassa.
There will be three stages of community consultation in this study. The first has sought broad feedback, and will be followed by a stage where people will be asked for their views/preferences on proposed options. The last stage will inform the community of the final scheme for improvement, priorities for implementation and likely implementation timelines.
The first stage of the consultation period ran from 26 August to 11 October 2013. During this time, community members and key stakeholders were encouraged to submit feedback on their traffic concerns, and were given opportunities to speak to the project team and representatives from ACT Government.
Newsletters about the study and a survey inviting feedback were sent to all residents in Wanniassa (2,538 households) and to stakeholders (e.g. ACTION, Pedal Power, NRMA, Tuggeranong Community Council, schools in the area).
A combined total of 639 people participated in this project (this figure may reflect those that engaged multiple times but it is assumed that there were few individuals that would have).
Following the public consultation period it was clear that there were contrasting opinions about traffic improvements (just under two thirds of respondents believed there were traffic issues) but there were also concerns from people about the scope and extent of these changes. There was support and general suggestions from most participants on a range of measures (aside from speed humps and chicanes) that might improve traffic conditions in the area.
2.0 Objectives
The objective of the overall project is to identify traffic issues, and determine the most appropriate traffic calming measures along Sternberg Crescent and the surrounding streets. Feedback from the community consultation will be incorporated into the final traffic management master plan.
The objectives of the communications and consultation strategy for the Sternberg Crescent residential improvement program are to:
- Provide an opportunity for residents and commuters using the area to give feedback about their concerns.
- Maintain good relations with people in the district.
- Provide an open, accountable and transparent communications and consultation process which can demonstrate how community and stakeholder inputs have been considered within the development of the master plan.
- Provide a range of accessible opportunities for stakeholders, interested groups and the wider community to be sufficiently informed about the project and contribute informed feedback.
- Provide two-way communication channels enabling timely resolution of issues raised by the community and stakeholders.
- Facilitate a positive reputation outcome for the project that supports future development, builds on existing relationships and results in constructive working relationships with the community and stakeholders.
- Determine the extent to which traffic calming measures may be required on Sternberg Crescent and surrounding streets.
3.0 Feedback
Feedback received included 439 completed surveys, 1 email submission, contact with 12 stakeholders and 19 comments on RiotACT (across both this study and a concurrent study in Kaleen). 168 people also attended the information session. By combining the feedback mechanisms, a total of 639 people participated in the consultation (although it is likely to be a few less as it is unclear whether those attending the information sessions or commenting on RiotACT may have also filled in surveys, or sent submissions).
Several themes emerged regarding the consultation feedback. Feedback has been grouped into themes for each feedback mechanism and outlined in the following tables.
3.1 Information Session Feedback
168 people attended the 4 sessions held on 5th, 7th, 11th and 14th of September. 78.7% of the people that attended the sessions think there are issues that need to be addressed and 11.4% say there are no issues. Table 1 highlights numbers of those that actively asked questions and wanted to be briefed at the sessions.
Table 1: Stage 1 information sessions and attendance
Date of information session / Number of people who attended5 September 2013 / 95
7 September 2013 / 31
11 September 2013 (info session) / 13
14 September 2013 / 29
Total / 168
A summary of feedback received from the session is outlined in Table 2.
Table 2: Stage 1 information session feedback
Theme / Community Issues Identified /Intersections / · Overall there appear to be a few complex intersections within a short space which concern people near the Erindale shopping centre precinct
· Comrie Street and Sternberg Crescent (bus congestion, pedestrian access issues and peak hours – a few requests for lights)
· Ashley Dr and Sternberg Crescent (backs up for people accessing Erindale Drive in peak hours)
· Service station on Ashley Drive entry and exit combined with intersection
· McBryde Crescent and Ashley Drive (currently give way sign – people seem to want a stop sign and issues identified due to 1 lane each way + traffic coming in and off the road)
· Langdon Street and Sternberg Crescent (difficult to turn right out of this onto Sternberg)
· Maltby Crescent and Sternberg Crescent (there seems to be a visibility issue with some trees – might be as simple as tree removal)
· McWhae Circuit onto Sternberg Crescent (intersection is narrow and is often accessed from Comrie Street which requires having to quickly cross over multiple lanes to turn left into McWhae Circuit)
Speeding / · Speeding along Wheeler Crescent – appears to be consistent complaints across the whole street
· Fincham Street being used as a shortcut to Athllon Drive – speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour not obeyed. There were a few complaints about people speeding through the roundabout at Wheeler/Fincham
· Confusion over speed limits on McBryde Crescent
· Concerns over speeding through the Erindale centre shopping precinct and requests to reduce the speed limit, or make the speed limits more visible and enforce them
· Buses speeding along Longmore Street
· Speeding along Sternberg Crescent outside Wanniassa junior school
· Langdon Avenue with people not slowing down at roundabouts
Pedestrian crossings/underpasses / · Underpasses to cross Sternberg – there are a few reports of floods and being muddy and badly lit – especially an issue for elderly and prams
· There is a railing near an underpass to cross Sternberg Crescent (near Comrie Street) that blocks people’s traffic view
· Fincham Street/Sternberg – appears to be a safety issue with children getting off buses near a hill Crescent
· Requests for pedestrian crossings at Wanniassa junior school and Trinity Christian school
· Crossing requested a few times near Langdon Avenue to get to Erindale shops. Requests also for traffic lights at Comrie Street which will improve pedestrian safety
3.2 Survey feedback
439 completed surveys were received. Feedback received from the surveys is outlined in Table 3.
Table 3: Stage 1 survey feedback
Question / Community feedback /What street and suburb do you live in? / The top streets where respondents lived were in order Maltby (4%), Sternberg (3%), Ashley (3%), McWhae (3%). The top suburbs were Wanniassa (84.8%) and Monash (2%).
How often do you travel on Sternberg Crescent? / Daily (76.3%), Weekly (20.6%), Monthly (2.1%), Never (0.9%).
Do you believe that there are traffic and/or pedestrian issues along Sternberg Crescent cent that need to be addressed? / Yes (77.8%), No (13.1%), Unsure (9.2%).
What types of traffic issues do you encounter on Sternberg Crescent and/or on other surrounding streets in the area? (Please choose all that apply) / The most common concern was dangerous intersections (74.1%), closely followed by speeding vehicles (72.2%), poor visibility for drivers (44.3%) and dangerous pedestrian crossing points (42.0%). Other results can be seen in the chart above.
Have you encountered any other local traffic issues not specified above? / 209 people responded to this question. The main concerns were speeding through roundabouts, intersection congestion, pedestrian safety, speeding near schools, lack of visibility, poor conditions of underpasses. In addition, many individuals noted that they did not support traffic calming measures. The quotes below have been chosen to highlight common areas of concern in the feedback.
“Constant burnouts and speeding by hotted-up vehicles on Sternberg Crescent.”
“Too many drivers drive from roundabout on Erindale Drive along Ashley Drive to Sternberg Crescent over the limit. Too many drivers do not give way on T Junction of McBryde Crescent and Ashley Drive. The McBryde Crescent "Give way" sign should have a "Stop" sign. Too many accidents there. There are not enough "crossings" outside schools.”
“Lack of designated pedestrian crossing at Junction of Sternberg / Comrie”
“Wanniassa primary school has inadequate safety crossing for children at peak school times. Parking on both sides of the road outside school at 2:45am – 3:30pm is a issue.”
“Underpass provided near church is not safe for elderly & often floods during wet weather causing elderly from aged housing to cross street on walking frames etc with many near misses & recent deadly results.”
“Traffic rarely goes below 60 kilometres per hour... speed limit should be dropped to 50 and traffic calming measures introduced. Also in general the speed limit around Erindale (Particularly McBryde Crescent) should be dropped to 40k like they have done in larger centres. The current speed limit of 60 is just plain dangerous”.
“I live in McWhae Circuit off Sternberg. To come from Erindale on Comrie Street we have to cross all 4 lanes off Sternberg and turn into McWhae Circuit it is extremely difficult. It can take 5mins of waiting for a gap (often an unsafe gap) to get across the intersection. There are at least 3-4 crashes a year here for the last 25 years. I would say this should be the number one intersection to be fired. Speeding is another concern I think there should be a fixed speed camera here this intersection has needed fixed for over 25 years maybe traffic lights?”
“The dual carriageway of Sternberg and the amount of traffic makes it difficult to turn right from Comrie onto Sternberg, which leads to people pulling into traffic to try and use a gap when it is unsafe. There have been a few collisions at this intersection that I am aware of, including previous neighbours. This is also an issue with dodging traffic trying to turn right from Wynne Street (Erindale College) to cross all four lanes to turn left onto Langdon”.
“Strongly concerned that this consultation is being used to implement speed humps along Sternberg, which would greatly impede traffic flow and increase the risk of car damage due to constant start-stops and damage to suspension”
Of the issues you have indicated above, which ones do you believe require immediate attention? / Problem:
Priority 1 Speeding Vehicles (37.6%), Priority 2 Dangerous Intersections (26.2%) and Priority 3 Poor Visibility for Drivers (25.0%).
Street:
Priority 1 Sternberg Crescent (67.7%), Priority 2 Langdon Avenue (13.8%), Priority 3 McBryde Crescent (10.3% ).
Please provide any further comments on your issues of concern (or reasons why you are not concerned). / 229 people responded to this question. The main concerns were very similar to those in the earlier question “Have you encountered any other local traffic issues not specified above?”
“The stop intersection at the corner of Fincham and Sternberg is of concern as cars appear from nowhere up Sternberg. Bus stop need to be widened as the hold up traffic and reduce visibility particularly for passengers who disembark and cross Stenberg”
“Because there are many elderly residents in the area around Erindale Centre, it is a problem that there is nowhere for them to cross Sternberg Crescent to get to the shops. Cars do speed in that area.”
“I am strongly apposed to the installation of any "traffic calming measures" such as speed humps and chicanes. These measures increase vehicle noise and impair the efficient flow of traffic.”
“The pedestrian danger on McBryde Cr discourages people from using the large carpark to the North of it in order to access the shops to the south of it, thus leading to congestion and even complete madness of an evening. Ricardo Street, Gartside Street, McBryde Cr need to be completely redesigned as one-way streets to improve safety and reduce congestion. Aside that, the intersection of Sternberg and Fincham is on a blind Crescent. This really needs to be fixed somehow - every time I use it, I get the feeling I am playing Russian roulette with Westbound traffic on Sternberg.”
Are you satisfied with this opportunity to provide feedback on the traffic conditions on Sternberg Crescent? / Satisfied (42.0%), Very Satisfied (35.8%), Neither Satisfied or Dissatisfied (20.3%), Very Dissatisfied (1.4%), Dissatisfied (1.2%).
What is your gender? / Female (50.5%), Male (49.5%).
What is your age group? / 55 and over (50.3%), 35-54 (37.0%), 18-34 (12.8%), Under 18 (0.0%)
Do you speak a language other than English at home? / No (89.7%), Yes (10.3%).
Do you identify as a person with a disability? / No (93.4%), Yes (6.6%).
Do you identify as an Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander? / No (100%), Yes (0.0%).
3.3 Direct Contact Submissions
There was one email received during the consultation period. These is summarised in Table 5.
Table 5: Stage 1 direct contact submissions
Theme / Community feedback /Speeding / “I live on Rylah Crescent in Wanniassa and frequently have concerns with the speed at which vehicles (including large trucks that in my opinion should not be travelling out the residential side of Rylah Crescent).
There are often young teenagers riding down the middle of the road in groups, and if these cars came around the street at the same time there would be no hope of stopping in time.
Several times when out mowing the front lawn I've been nearly hit by cars fish-tailing around the corner as though it's a racetrack. There's a large 4wd that frequently comes around the corner at speed and on the wrong side of the road.
I'd like someone to investigate the possibility of installing a series of speed bumps and/or chicanes to force drivers to reduce their speed. It's only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed. Already one of the local P platers has lost control and gone over two people's property before crashing into the Synergy Pathology centre's fence, causing damage to one or more of their transport vehicles”
3.4 RiotACT Comments
There were 19 responses on RiotACT to the media release. Most comments were not directly relevant to the study but those that are of relevance are noted in Table 4.