Residents of Karilla Avenue, Parklands Avenue, Kurri Street, Kyong Street and Landers Road in Lane Cove North have long complained that their streets are being used as a rat run. The streets are regularly used by motorists to bypass traffic on the major roads at peak times.
The Arguments Against the Rat Run
At the August Lane Cove Council meeting, several Lane Cove North residents expressed concerns about the Lane Cove Council’s management of this issue.
“The residents of Karilla Ave are being unfairly affected by council inaction over several years,” resident Jon Johannsen of Karilla Ave said at the Lane Cove August Council Meeting.
Lane Cove North Residents’ Association has worked hard to bring this matter to the attention of the Lane Cove Council. They have consistently stated the rat run is making it very dangerous for residents to enter and exit their driveways. ITC has had reports from affected residents about vehicles speeding along the streets and parked cars being sideswiped or mirrors damaged.
The Argument for the Rat Run
Of course, there are two sides to every story and other Lane Cove North/Willoughby residents oppose changes to these roads to stop rat running. They argue that it will add another 10 minutes to their travel time if there are road restrictions. They don’t believe traffic restrictions should be implemented just because residents are concerned about increased traffic.
Lane Cove Council Traffic Advisory Committee Recommendations
The rat run issue was discussed at the July meeting of the Lane Cove Council Traffic Advisory Committee. The committee agreed to the following:
Theft of Traffic Survey Counters
This week the North Shore Local Area Command reported the theft of two traffic survey counters that were installed by Lane Cove Council on Killara Avenue, Lane Cove North. The devices were scheduled to conduct a traffic survey on the street for a period of two weeks, however, a resident in the area contacted Lane Cove Council to advise that the devices had been stolen.
Police ask that if anyone has information pertaining to the removal of these devices could they contact Chatswood Police (9414 8499).
Traffic survey counters are regularly installed in Lane Cove streets. It seems suspicious that the counters were stolen from an area where certain residents are opposed to traffic restrictions. It could be a coincidence. However, traffic survey counters are not items your regular household needs. This also could be a very counter-productive move. Lane Cove Council regularly relies on traffic survey counter data to show that traffic movements are not as bad as residents perceive. They use the data to show that traffic volume is within the RMS guidelines and to refuse to install traffic restrictions.
So is it just a coincidence that the traffic counting devices were removed from a disputed area? You be the judge.
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