Decision details

Moved by Councillor Ellsmore, seconded by Councillor Thompson –

It is resolved that:

(A)      Council note:

(i)         Councillors have received significant feedback from concerned community members objecting to the proposal to develop a new road between Macdonald Street, Mitchell Road and Maddox Street in Erskineville;

(ii)        residents are concerned that traffic changes may increase traffic on existing quiet local streets, and reduce pedestrian safety;

(iii)      at a recent event celebrating the 40^th anniversary of the Erskineville ‘Road Wars’ and local Green Bans - where the community successfully fought to pedestrianise and green local Erskineville streets - a campaign was launched calling for Council to review current plans for Macdonald Street;

(iv)      Councillors have received over 500 submissions from residents concerned about the potential impact of this development on local traffic, as well as noise and air pollution; and

(v)       that the Lord Mayor has written to the petition organiser responding to the issues raised and is also preparing responses to others who have made submissions through the petition;

(B)      Council further note:

(i)         the plan for the road was first established in the 2013 planning proposal for the precinct and forms part of the redevelopment plans of the Ashmore Precinct including 155 Mitchell Road in Erskineville;

(ii)        the Local Planning Panel approved the development application for the redevelopment (D/2023/962) on 5 February 2025; and

(iii)      staff have advised that:

(a)       the planned new section of Macdonald Street will have 2 travel lanes (one in each direction) and some on-street parking on each side of the street, interspersed with in-road street tree planting and low level greenery, a two-way cycleway along the northern side and footpaths on each side; and

(a)       the extension has been designed to allow people who need to access the Ashmore precinct by car to do so, particularly residents who live in the area, and includes traffic calming measures, such as raised pedestrian crossings and a low traffic speed environment, to discourage through traffic from using this route (rat running);

(iv)      a traffic and transport study underpinning the planning proposal for the precinct modelled the traffic impact west of the railway line (the established areas of Erskineville) when the development is complete in 2027 and found there would be ‘minimal impact’ on traffic;

(v)       the planning application (D/2023/962) for the redevelopment was notified in 2023 and renotified in 2024 to 3,303 properties; Submissions indicated a range of views about Macdonald Street, with one submission suggesting vehicles should be restricted from entering the street and others calling for more on-street parking; and

(vi)      City staff are planning to meet with Friends of Erskineville and other concerned community members early next year so they can answer questions and provide further information about the new street; and

(C)      the Chief Executive Officer be requested to update the City’s webpage about the Ashmore precinct with relevant information for the community about the Macdonald Street extension, including traffic calming design and function to access the precinct.

Carried unanimously, as part of an in globo motion.

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