Mallabula residents rate Tanilba Road a contender for 'worse in Port Stephens'
Mallabula residents have rated Tanilba Road as a serious contender for 'the worst road in Port Stephens'.
The roadway, a continuation of Fairlands Road, is the main thoroughfare for Mallabula residents and the only road in and out of the small village.
Longtime residents Alan Jones and Garry Sullivan say they represent the majority of Mallabula residents in calling for an urgent overhaul of the road surface by Port Stephens Council due to road safety concerns.
"There are so many things wrong with the road it has come to the point that it requires a complete rebuild. We want this road fixed now and we want the council to be upfront with us."
A council spokesperson agreed the roadway was in poor condition and that "we understood the residents’ frustration".
"Unfortunately, it deteriorated quickly and the lack of piped drainage meant that a basic fix wasn’t possible. Instead, it requires a full reconstruction and installation of a piped drainage system," the spokesperson said.
"Due to the extensive survey, design and community consultation for this upgrade, the project has been earmarked for construction in the 2020/2021 financial year. Survey and design is due to commence late this year.
"The work includes pavement reconstruction, road widening and construction of kerb and gutter from Bay Street to Mallabula Road. This is estimated to cost $1.3 million and is not dependent on the proposed rate rise."
The spokesperson said that while no traffic data had been collected on Tanilba Road, relative traffic data had been collected on Fairlands Road.
"The data shows an average daily traffic count of 1027 vehicles, with 85 per cent of those vehicles travelling at 49 km/hr," the spokesperson said.
"Five per cent are classified as heavy vehicles which includes buses, delivery trucks etc. This is well within tolerances for this type of area, particularly as the street is a school route."
Mr Jones, a retired postman, rated Tanilba Road as being in far worse condition than some of the bush tracks he travelled along during his time as a postie on the Central Coast.
"As the main road in and out of Mallabula, it gets plenty of traffic, particularly during peak times and when you have buses or trucks driving through it becomes very dangerous for any cyclists or pedestrians walking along the footpaths.
"The roadway is very narrow and it is even more dangerous when it rains because there is nowhere for the water to run-off."
Mr Sullivan said that the traffic often increased during peak times, and during the summer season with families using the swim pool and in the winter with crowds of people descending on Mallabula Oval.
"Many of the residents here have serious safety concerns for motorists and pedestrians and the council seems reluctant to do anything," Mr Sullivan said.
"The council seems to be quite happy to spend ratepayers' funds on moving a perfectly good toilet block, with all the piping and infrastructure, about 30m from one side of Creswell Park [in Mallabula] to the other, but can't find the money to repair a dangerous roadway. It doesn't make sense."
Both residents said there had been a number of accidents in recent years, including with buses and at least one motorist hitting a tree, but were unsure if they had been reported.
In response, the council spokesperson said "there had been no reported crashes on Tanilba Road for the past five years".