Parliamentary Speeches
CEAN SHORES ROAD NOISE & EWINGSDALE SPEED CAMERA ( 29/11/2007)
Mr DONALD PAGE (Ballina) [4.52 p.m.]: I bring to the attention of the House two ongoing problems relating to the Pacific Highway that constituents in the Ballina electorate are facing. I have previously referred in this place to the road noise created by the Brunswick Heads to Yelgun section of the Pacific Highway and also to the Ewingsdale speed camera but, as yet, I have not received a satisfactory response from the Minister for Roads. Since the opening on 11 July this year of the Brunswick Heads to Yelgun section of the upgraded Pacific Highway residents of Ocean Shores have been living with increased noise levels and are suffering from sleep deprivation and stress. Many of the residents are retirees who went to Ocean Shores for the peaceful lifestyle that it offered.
Of particular concern to Ocean Shores residents is the placement of ripple strips on the upgraded highway, and the noise generated by trucks and cars running on those ripple strips, especially at night. The noise coming from those ripple strips has caused the greatest concern. I have written to the Minister for Roads on three occasions requesting a meeting with residents in Ocean Shores or, alternatively, a delegation to meet with the Minister in Sydney to discuss the issues. Those letters were sent on 16 and 29 August and 3 September this year, but to date I have not received a response to my requests. In the meantime the people of Ocean Shores continue to deal with noise on a nightly basis.
Residents have become so frustrated with the lack of action by the Minister for Roads and the Roads and Traffic Authority that they commissioned their own independent noise assessment by Greg Alderson and Associates Pty Ltd, chartered professional engineers and scientists. The results of those tests showed that the peak noise level was 113.9 decibels and the average reading was 83.8 decibels. The results included the following noise levels: a single car, 85 decibels; a single truck, 95 decibels; a single car on a ripple strip, 95 decibels; and a single truck on a ripple strip, 105 decibels. Those readings clearly indicate that a vehicle driving on a ripple strip increases the noise level by 10 decibels.
Under the Environment Protection Authority guidelines outlined in the environmental impact statement for this project the Roads and Traffic Authority has an obligation to deliver no increase in noise levels above 60 decibels. On the information provided to me all the noise levels detected by the independent testing exceeded those levels. Prima facie this indicates that Ocean Shores residents are experiencing excessive noise levels. The Minister must urgently address this matter. One way is to take away the ripple strips and to build noise mitigation walls in appropriate places. I received a letter from the Minister dated 2 November 2007 and, although it did not address the concerns I raised in my letter to him or my request for a meeting, it stated:
The RTA will be undertaking monitoring of surveys of operational noise levels and traffic volumes in mid October.
Since these tests were done prior to the Minister's letter to me, I ask the Minister urgently to inform the community and me of these test results. I am more than happy to provide the Minister with a copy of the report commissioned by Ocean Shores residents, who are suffering nightly. I believe that the Government has an obligation to address urgently this important issue and to reduce the sleep deprivation residents are suffering. Referring to the ongoing issue of the Ewingsdale speed camera, yesterday I received answers from the Minister for Roads to questions I tabled in the House regarding the dramatic increase in the average number of infringements between 28 March and mid-July this year, and evidence provided by constituents that indicates there was a fault with the camera.
I also requested a three-month moratorium on the collection and issuing of any more infringement notices for the period in question. The Minister's answers in no way address the concerns that I raised about the statistics that I obtained under freedom of information. The Minister's continual refusal to acknowledge the concerns of my constituents is causing much anger and frustration in the community towards this State Labor Government. People have also seen reports in the newspapers that reveal that the Ewingsdale speed camera is one of the top revenue earners in the State. Motorists know that that is at their expense and they are not impressed.
I believe my constituents. I do not believe that 581 of them are lying when they stated in writing to me that they believe the camera to be incorrect during that period or that they were not speeding. I have spoken to an independent consultant who believes that the Ewingsdale camera does not conform to the guidelines of the Roads and Traffic Authority. He made that assertion based on the camera being located at the bottom of a hill, which is the case. The criterion involves a gradient test: whether the car will gather speed without throttle. Many constituents who received fines are planning to fight their penalties in court, as the Minister does not appear to be interested in getting to the truth. I call on the Minister to address these two issues and to provide my constituents with some sort of satisfactory response along the lines that I have requested.
