TRANSPORT for NSW IGNORES SAFETY CONCERNS IN SUBMISSIONS A letter from a Mona Vale Resident. Identity with held for privacy reasons. Considerable concerns are raised of safety of the community and commuters of the B-Line bus project in Mona Vale. The proposal in my opinion will expose the community and commuters to far greater risk of injury from vehicles, personal attack and assault than is current. There are 2 parts of the proposal, the new Bus Stop in Village Park and B-Line car park in Beeby Reserve. Relocation of Mona Vale Main Bus Stop Transport for NSW proposes to relocate the “Mona Vale Main” bus stop for northbound buses from the intersection of Pittwater Road and Waratah Street, to be 200 metres further north in a location basically in the middle of nowhere in Village Park. This in my opinion is a terrible mistake and must be referred to and seek comment from the NSW Police Force. Mere Development Applications to the local Council for instance, The Barefoot Kitchen café in Mona Vale had to be referred to the Police Force for extensive comment relating to impacts of noise, customer safety at night, employee safety at night and on closing and potential crime of attack or for vandalism associated with the restaurant which were concerns that had to be commented on by the Police Force before the DA was approved. I do not understand why Transport for NSW has not referred this major proposal to the NSW Police Force for comment. It raises serious concerns in this regard as it is a major project within the Mona Vale community. I raised this matter in my submission to TfNSW but they have ignored it. Concerns are in the following: - 1) The current Mona Vale Main bus stop has shops and businesses right at the stop. Commuters step off the bus and they have shop awnings for all weather cover to be able to walk from the stop to within the CBD of Mona Vale. Personal safety is also addressed as passive interaction with other pedestrians provides a high level of surveillance and safety to reduce any crime or assault. 2) The closure of the Mona Vale Main bus stop and relocation 200 metres further north is to a location basically in the middle of nowhere. It is an isolated area with no shops or other pedestrian interaction of passive surveillance for over 100 metres in any direction. 3) Commuters will be far more open and subjected to personal attack especially in the dark hours of the night. 4) The proposed location in Village Park has very little lighting and is very poor in this isolated area. 5) The Mona Vale Hotel is only 60 metres from the proposed bus stop further exacerbating the risk of vandalism and opportunity for assaults. 6) The many young school children that get off the buses in Mona Vale have complete safety at the current bus stop but will be far more exposed and at far greater risk in the new Village Park bus stop because of it’s isolated location but also the busy streets and vehicular intersections that will now have to be negotiated by young children. 7) The elderly will be at far greater risk of attack and assault, especially at night but furthermore if they have a medical episode will not be able to raise alarm for assistance or if they collapse will not be noticed, as the park is very isolated from all pedestrian activity and surveillance from the distant shops. 8) The disabled commuters safety is at far greater risk of incident and it’s certainly far more inconvenient to get back to the shops from this location. Currently getting off at the Mona Vale Main bus stop is a 30 second walk crossing no streets back to the Post Office. The new bus stop will be around 6 minutes and the need to cross 4 roads 2 of which are not signalised. This has been timed with Transport for NSW representatives and recorded in a video. This is an appalling outcome if inconvenience for such a basic requirement of visiting the local Post Office. And this is walking, what about people in wheelchairs, it is far worse for them. Why is this B-Line bus proposal going backwards in every aspect when modern planning should be to improve situations not make them worse. 9) Women of all ages are far more vulnerable to predators for personal attack and sexual assault with this proposal with the Mona Vale Main bus stop in Village Park. 10) Commuters wishing to go past Mona Vale to Newport, Avalon etc will have to get off the B-Line bus and wait for a transfer bus to continue their travel. This is not the case now. Commuters will be far more exposed and greater risk to their safety than is current. 11) Cars cannot stop in a bus zone, therefore there is no allocated drop off or pick up location anywhere near the proposed Mona Vale Main bus stop for a vehicle to stop to drop off or pick up a commuter or parents to pick up their school children. This is a very poor outcome and extremely ill thought through by the B-Line project designers. Currently the Mona Vale Main provides very well for this. 12) The bus stop on Pittwater Road just south of the BP Service Station will remain. Currently it is 300 metres from this stop to the existing bus stop near Waratah Street. The deletion of the current Mona Vale Main - Waratah St stop and relocation to Village Park adds another 200 metres between the stops. I consider this is an extremely poor outcome and a safety issue in those resultant 500 metres between bus stops in a major shopping area precinct like Mona Vale is appalling and a very poor outcome. 13) The other proposed bus stop near the telephone exchange building on Pittwater Road is also in an isolated location. Commuters safety will be at risk at this bus stop but also at risk are commuters at night that will depart the B-Line bus at the new stop in Village Park and then have to walk or wheelchair 200 metres back to the new bus stop on Pittwater Rd to meet up with the bus service going to Bayview, Church point and beyond. They will have to cross 3 busy roads / intersections to do this with no cover at all for rain. Currently this is not the case as commuters stay on the Bayview buses and do not have to change at all. 14) Why hasn’t TfNSW provided data on safety of pedestrians and what the accident history is in crossing these 3 roads / intersections at the junction of Pittwater Rd and Barrenjoey Rd. This should have been a mandatory requirement. 15) Why hasn’t TfNSW provided data on any assault history in Mona Vale, which could put commuters and the public at greater risk with the changes they are making? Any assault history could be worsened by the B-Line proposal and this is an important consideration that has been overlooked. 16) The Mona Vale Main current stop provides easy access to the Post Office, Gateway Medical Centre, Gymnasiums, Restaurants and many more shops and businesses. The proposed Village Park location is 200 metres north in the middle of nowhere, no covered footpaths, no connectivity with the shopping centre, no lighting and is a major inconvenience & safety issue & extremely poor outcome compared to what we have now. 17) Alternatives have been provided by resident groups in Mona Vale to upgrade the existing bus stop near Waratah St and for it to remain the Mona Vale Main stop. Transport for NSW doesn’t want to know about it, doesn’t want to listen, have their own agenda and are just pushing ahead regardless. THE GOVERNMENT DIDN'T LISTEN TO THE COMMUNITY THAT ASSAULTS WOULD HAPPENManly Daily 21 March 2020 A man, 19, who was involved in an assault where a boy scout was punched in the face, kicked while he was on the ground and then had his speaker stolen on New Year's Eve was arrested at a home in Violet St at 7.30am on Thursday. The 16-year-old boy was with a group of boy scouts, aged between 14 and 16 years, who got off a bus just before 10pm on December 31, near Village Park, on Pittwater Rd, Mona Vale. They were approached by two men, who had also been on the bus. One of the men hit the 16 year old in the head, causing him to fall over. He was then kicked while on the ground. When the boy and his friends ran off, the men allegedly took a speaker which had fallen from the boy's backpack. The man will be back in Manly Local Court on May 14. Provision of Car Parking for B-Line Commuters The second issue is the existing car park which has 74 car spaces in Beeby Reserve constructed in 2013 by then Pittwater Council at a cost of slightly less than $500,000 will be purchased by B-Line Transport for NSW for 2.4 million dollars paid to Northern Beaches Council. This will then become the B-Line commuter car park. The following issues are of concern: - 18) It was built for use of car parking associated within the adjacent sports fields in Kitchener Park, not commuter parking. 19) It is an easy fix for TfNSW in buying this car park when it is not designed to function as a commuter car park and will take casual parking away from the community and parking for the sports fields. 20) It is in an isolated location and not safe especially at night when in the dark hours commuters will get off a B-Line bus and walk / wheelchair across 6 lanes busy Barrenjoey Rd to reach their vehicle. 21) The carpark is open to the elements, no roof, no covered walkway access in wet weather and B-Line / Transport for NSW have not taken any of these issues into consideration. 22) There is no lighting in this car park and other safety and access issues are of concern as it is not wheelchair friendly or wheelchair accessible. 23) This car park provides more than enough opportunity for perpetrators to commit personal attack and assaults on commuters returning to their vehicles from the new Village Park bus stop at night or dark of early morning going to work. If commuters escape an attack or assault in Village Park after getting off the B-Line bus at night, escape being run over on the 6 lanes busy Barrenjoey Rd they could be assaulted in the isolated Beeby Reserve carpark commandeered by Transport for NSW to be the B-Line bus commuter carpark. 24) The car park is dark and not safe for disabled users due to its isolated location and after dark issues. 25) Gradients are all wrong and dangerous for wheelchairs and roller walkers and again safety is a concern. 26) There is no passing pedestrian traffic, no circulation of people and it is grossly isolated in terms of personal safety and connectivity as it is well hidden from the street. 27) Passive surveillance by people in the car park is Nil and again if an elderly person has a medical episode in this car park or collapses especially at night there will be not possibility of raising the alarm in this isolated area. 28) Why hasn’t TfNSW provided data on safety of pedestrians and what the accident history is in crossing the 6 lanes of the very busy major arterial Barrenjoey Road? This should have been a mandatory requirement. I know of at least 2 fatalities at different times where pedestrians have been killed while using the signalised crossing at this intersection of Barrenjoey Road and Park St / Golf Ave. Conclusion I consider little or no thought by Transport for NSW has been put into the issues I raise. It is a major project and a significant community upheaval moving this Mona Vale Main Bus Stop and I consider paramount that all issues of community safety and convenience is thoroughly investigated and the project should be halted until this occurs. Transport for NSW may suggest the installation of CCTV cameras will address some of the safety issues. No they won’t. It must be noted these cameras record the violence, the attacks, the vandalism, they do not stop an assault or rape in progress, and they merely record the event during and after the incident has occurred which is no comfort to the victim (s). More thought should have been given to the B-Line bus proposal, as it not even needed in Mona Vale. The bus number issues are from Dee Why on to the City, not out here in Mona Vale. The whole issue of B-Line in Mona Vale needs to be scrapped, it’s not needed. Images Follow The bus stop identified in this submission as outside 1719 Pittwater Road (just south of BP petrol station) that will remain is shown here. The distance from this stop to the current stop corner with Waratah Street is 300 metres. This distance will be increased to 500 metres with the relocation of “Mona Vale Main” to Village Park. Businesses will suffer with this increased access distance between the 2 stops as will elderly and disabled commuters and mother’s with prams. Relocation of the Waratah Street Bus Stop to Village Park will negatively impact over 120 shops and businesses shown by the purple shaded area. It will remove all passing trade by bus commuters especially along Pittwater Road and both sides of Waratah Street. Access to Mona Vale Public School and the Gateway Medical Centre will be far more difficult in terms of distance and safety. Instead of a short 50 metre walk to the Post Office from the bus stop it will be 5 times that distance at 250 metres across Waratah Street and busy Pittwater Road intersections. This is a very poor outcome for school children, mothers with prams, the elderly and disabled. Proposed new location of “Mona Vale Main” indicated in Yellow, middle of nowhere in Village Park. Best option is to retain the existing 2 bus stops shown “Orange” for Waratah St stop and “Green” for south of Harkeith St stop. The Harkeith St Bus Stops (both north and south bound) will be deleted all together. This is a very poor outcome. Transport for NSW seems to think everyone will be capable of handling the extra distance and extra inconvenience of their proposal. Not everyone is a fit and able-bodied person. Many bus commuters have mobility issues, some are elderly others are disabled. Their current proposal is a huge step backwards for community amenity and access to public transport and shops in Mona Vale.
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