Milton Ulladulla bypass debate continues

However, what that best result will be is sure to create some interesting debate.

The Tabourie Lake Ratepayers and Residents Association, Burrill Lake Community Association, Ulladulla and Districts Community Forum and Milton Districts Community Forum recently combined their lobbying efforts.

Their end game is to get the community the best possible option for the Milton Ulladulla Bypass.

However, some are strongly opposed to the preferred option, as announced last year by Transport NSW, but others just as strongly support it.

The groups have linked with the Milton Ulladulla Bypass NOW Committee which started in September 2019 as a joint committee of the Milton Districts Community Forum and the Ulladulla and Districts Community Forum to cooperatively lobby the state and federal government about bypass funding issues and to liaise with Transport NSW about the project as it developed.

The Burrill Lake Community Association and the Tabourie Lake Ratepayers and Residents Association have now joined with the Milton Forum and the Ulladulla Forum on the Bypass Committee under the banner of the Better Bypass Committee.

The Milton Ulladulla Times recently spoke to some of the key bypass spokespeople to get an update on the issue.

Better Bypass Committee Better Bypass Committee Chairperson Grant Schultz is looking forward to working with the other groups.

"The four community organisations have decided to work with each other as cooperatively as we can," he said.

"That does not mean that there is a common view across the four community organisations about every aspect of funding, or route, or other details related to the eventual building of the bypass.

"Each of our communities rightly has its own special interest and perspective on the bypass.

"We will work cooperatively together whenever and wherever we can, while always recognising that as community organisations we each represent our membership.

"We will work to keep our memberships informed, and to connect them with opportunities to consult with the State Government and Transport for NSW," he concluded.

Tabourie Lake Ratepayers and Residents Association

The four groups already had a meeting with Transport NSW officials.

Tabourie Lake Ratepayers and Residents Association chairperson David Swarts said in his opinion, it was a reasonable one.

All four associations got to have their say at the meeting in December.

Mr Swarts said the collaboration was about making sure a united voice was put forward on the bypass issue.

He added as a member of the Tabourie association he can't speak for other associations.

Mr Swarts, however, said the way his community had rallied to stop the unwanted bypass proposal was "beautiful".

The Tabourie association is heading towards getting 500 signatures from local residents on its petition against the Canberra Crescent option - the preferred Transport NSW option.

"That is 90 percent of the local adult community," Mr Swarts explained.

"The community support has been wonderful."

He thinks the meeting, rallies and petitions will work towards getting communities like Lake Tabourie and Burrill Lake the bypass option they want.

Mr Swarts said if there was no chance of getting Transport NSW to switch its preferred option then theirs would be a pointless fight.

However, he does not think theirs is a futile battle.

He maintains doing nothing could lead to the destruction of villages like Tabourie and Burrill Lake.

Milton Districts Community Forum

Secretary of the Milton Districts Community Forum Phil Bradshaw said his group and the residents they support are in favour of the preferred option announced last year by Transport NSW that will see traffic come out in the Canberra Crescent area.

The Milton association member says they do not want to see anything that could cause the bypass being delayed, costs doubled, or funding for the bypass taken away and spent on other projects in NSW.

Mr Bradshaw said the huge traffic flow that comes through Milton on a regular basis, not just in peak holiday season, is having a negative impact on the village.

"The place comes to a stop," he said.

The business sector was one of the areas he mentioned that is affected by the traffic.

"There is a pressure on parking and if you can't get a park they [potential customers] will go elsewhere," he said.

He added that business people, like tradesmen, who regularly use the highway lose valuable time from doing actual work when they are caught in traffic.

The Milton association sees the Berry bypass as the model to follow.

"It [the Berry bypass] is a wonderful piece of engineering," Mr Bradshaw said.

He said the strength of the Berry bypass was that it's not too far away from the village and nor is it too close.

Mr Bradshaw knows the Milton Forum's views goes against what has been mentioned by the other groups.

However, the Milton forum members do not want the project to be delayed any further - they believe the community has waited long enough.

If the preferred option goes ahead and does end up creating issues further south, then the Milton Forum would work with other groups to work on ways to alleviate the problems.

Burrill Lake Community Association

The Burrill Lake Community Association has been one of the major groups speaking out against the preferred option, as shown by the major community rally it held late last year.

Group president Ian Carroll maintains west is best option, particularly given the region's expected growth.

"We don't want a road for today, we want a road for the next 20 years," Mr Carroll said.

He is encouraging residents to now write letters to the politicians to get the preferred bypass option.

Residents of Burrill Lake/ Dolphin Point have expressed to Mr Carroll their total rejection of the Canberra Crescent option.

Reasons for resident's objections are:

1. The Shoalhaven Local Environmental Plan is outdated and does not take into account development and expansion of the local area over the preceding 20 plus years since its proposal.

2. Traffic congestion will be reduced in Milton Ulladulla but not in Burrill Lake. The chosen route must benefit the whole of the local community.

3. The new bridge across Burrill Lake completed in 2018 is only two lanes which suggest the bypass as shown on the SLEP will only be two lanes (with overtaking lanes).

4. There will be an additional roundabout or intersection on the Princes Highway at Canberra Crescent handling large amounts of traffic which will hamper traffic flow. What residents don't want is a situation similar to the one existing at South Nowra which is a complete failure in regards to traffic congestion at peak times.

5. There is no proposal to provide a side road from the bypass directly into Ulladulla.

6. Cost should not be the determining factor in providing a long term solution.

7. The accepted long term solution has and always will be an external bypass to the west of Burrill Lake with an internal bypass around the Ulladulla CBD.

Following a call from the community for more time to read and respond to the 80-page Transport for NSW Preferred Strategic Corridor Report the consultation period was extended to February 14, 2021.

"We encourage everyone who has a viewpoint on the bypass and possible routes to make a submission to Transport for NSW at princeshighway@transport.nsw.gov.au. It can be a sentence, a page, or a major submission. Just make sure your voice is heard," Mr Schultz said.