The Battle For 27 New Town Houses Was.... And In Futre Will Be....

So, as we see 27 new town houses being built and coming to  near completion in the corner of Hythe Street, Carlisle Avenue and Methven Streets sold for over $360-400k, there was previous speculation that the investment property owners were looking at seeking Council approval  for 4-5 storey units (which supports and is reflected in the 'Blacktown Local Environmental Plan:BLEP).

Before I had recently move into this area of Mount Druitt (from another area), the local residents banded together against this proposal as it didn't fit into this area of Mount Druitt and it was  probably too quick, too soon. It may have made this area of Mount Druitt look overcrowded.

Personally, even though that although Council knocked back this proposal now, because of BLEP, proposals like this will be approve in the future. The difference of  providing 2 storey town houses to 3-5 level units  could've have mean that we now accommodate for a less population of between 400-500 people. That means people that could have lived here will have to find somewhere else to live. Whilst we applaud the current  increase in population, we are not assisting the country to allow people to enter or vast land and major population hubs. Population increases result in economic and social benefits, as we grow as an expanding community!

Richard - North Mount Druitt Community Member With Community Improvements And Feedback!

Well just when you think that you are the only voice in a new area (after moving from Whalan),  a North Mount Druitt community member, Richard has sent myself communications of improvements and suggestions to make the area better. Not only that but he follows up with letters and calls!

Reminds myself of someone that does the same but doesn't use letters!

Here are Richards suggestions for improvement and updates: 

Luxford Road really needs sealing on the other side. I could never really understand why they didn’t do it when they sealed the Westfield side of it. I did ask Mayor Bali about that but never ended up hearing back from him. I also asked him about moving the pedestrian lights at the Westfield entrance on Luxford Road, towards the east, or installing another pedestrian crossing there, as people generally seem too lazy to walk to the western side of the intersection. It just makes  sense, safety wise to either move them or put in a new crossing, but he said he had referred that to the NSW Roads & Maritime Services. I haven’t heard back there either.

Another thing that is a big problem for my particular area, is that there is no safe access for all the traffic in and out of the block of housing bounded by Luxford, Carlisle, Duke and Woodstock. Hythe Street for example, can only exit onto Luxford, where right hand turns are dangerous due to the amount of traffic, or it has to go via Earl and Methven, to empty out onto Carlisle, just below the hill, which again is dangerous due to the speed of vehicles driving south towards the Westfield. There are only two other exits, O’Brien St and Morehead Avenue, both these streets have the issue of being quite narrow and due to cars parking opposite each other, there is seldom room for cars to pass without having to stop and give way. It’s a terrible situation given the increase in population to that particular area. It’s even worse that there are no sets of lights to allow all the people (which must be a population well over 5000, or close to it), to allow them safe and easy access in and out of their area. Again, I suggested a set of lights at either Methven and Carlisle, or Hythe and Luxford, but have yet to hear anything back.

Click here on previous blog on Westfield/Luxford Road Eastern Phaseway 


There’s also the issue of the bottle necks getting into and out of Mount Druitt. There are an inadequate amount of entry and exit points from Mount Druitt itself. Carlisle Avenue is often a gridlock nightmare and Woodstock Avenue during the school runs (due to the Islamic School) on the corner of Duke Street is just horrendous. Something needs to be done to investigate another rail crossing to alleviate the pressure on the population. 

There is one other thing though, I might add. I noticed your blog post about the steps at the train station. On Platform 2, the steps leading up, I notice sometimes that I’ve tripped on the top step when walking up. I think the steps are uneven in height, causing a trip hazard. I haven’t personally measured it, and I suppose I should some day, but it strikes me a very poorly designed and built staircase.

I have an update for you on the phase crossing at Westfield. I spoke to James at Network and Safety of the  NSW Roads & Maritime Services. Now he said that because of the election, there was a whole host of changes that came through. Initially they couldn’t put in the extra crossing because it didn’t meet a cost NSW Roads & Maritime Services.

Since the election, more funds for projects have been made available, so the crossing is back on. They will be starting the project soon and with any luck, we’ll have our eastbound pedestrian crossing. Brilliant news huh?

I also brought up traffic lights for either Methven and Carlisle or Hythe and Luxford. Now, James said there have been no accidents reported at Methven/Carlisle, so there’s no way a set of lights would be approved. However, he said that Hythe and Luxford has historical problems but because these roads are council, council has to come up with a plan and then send it through to NSW Roads & Maritime Services for the work to go ahead. He recommended a “boneabout” that covers the Zoe Place roundabout and the entrance to Hythe Street. It’s basically a roundabout shaped like a bone that covers two intersections.

Today I reported to council the pot holes on Luxford Road, eastbound across from Mount Street, REF:15-111-083. The sunken road surface on Duke St, opposite Blenheim Avenue, REF15-111-084 and the diverts left by trucks on the right hand turn from Roper Rd to the M4 East. This has been reported to Neil Forrest, the Assets Manager of the NSW Roads & Maritime Services for Sydney.

I have sent an email through to Stephen Bali as the council have a meeting tonight and he said that he would raise the matter of installing a roundabout for Zoe Place/Hythe Street, or re-engineering the intersections for safer and easier access.