Lake Macquarie City Council opposes Hillsborough basketball stadium access option on Waratah Avenue

Newcastle Basketball lodged plans for the new stadium at Hillsborough last year, which initially included access via an existing left-in only turn from the Newcastle Inner City Bypass southbound on-ramp off Hillsborough Road. Vehicles would also exit at this location, but only in a southern direction. A second exit onto Waratah Avenue via a driveway in Hillsborough Public School was also proposed.

But a traffic impact report indicated access from the Inner City Bypass on-ramp would result in conflicting traffic movements and increased queues on Hillsborough Road in afternoon peak hours. Transport for NSW said it preferred no access via the bypass on-ramp and requested all traffic enter and exit via Waratah Avenue.

In a motion approved at Monday's council meeting, councillors Brian Adamthwaite and Barney Langford asked council to oppose to access being only via Waratah Avenue. They said they supported the project, but it "should not be developed at the expense of the community".

Related: Basketball: Council sign off on land for new stadium

"If the complex is successful, the possibility of thousands of vehicles in the area will make travelling through parts of Charlestown and Hillsborough very slow and difficult as well as greatly disadvantaging the local community," the motion said.

"Recent modelling of traffic flows in the area should take in to account the cost to the community of the various options as well as the logistical issues for the state road network."

Council previously stated support for dual access from Waratah Avenue and the bypass (with bypass access restricted during the peak period) to "allow vehicle distribution on the road network rather than concentrating it on Waratah Avenue".

Cr Adamthwaite said the Waratah Avenue only option "is going to be detrimental to the community".

"Whilst the basketball stadium is not so much the issue in this case, it's the way in which people get in and out of the basketball stadium which still has some considerable discussion with the state government and planning organisations," he said.

Cr Langford said council "needed the state government to step up to the plate and ensure that as much as possible, traffic is not directed onto a suburban street".

The $19.9 million project will be decided by the Hunter and Central Coast Joint Regional Planning Panel . In March, the panel said the next tentative meeting about the project would be set for June/July.

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