“This bypass would be the best thing that’s ever happened to Forbes,” a Parkes business owner said at last week’s Newell Highway bypass meeting with businesses.
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His words echoed the feelings of a number of other business people who attended the meeting last Wednesday night at the Parkes Services Club, hosted by the Parkes Business Chamber of Commerce.
Parkes businesses have growing fears the proposed bypass will have significant impacts on bringing people into town and that drivers would be more inclined to stop in Forbes since it is only 20 minutes away and will still have highway traffic passing through.
A large number of businesses turned out for the special information session, filling one of the club’s meeting rooms.
Road and Maritime Services staff led the meeting that lasted for almost an hour and a half.
Also present were representatives from WSP Australia Pty Limited, who have been engaged to conduct the socio-economic impact assessment, as part of the Review of Environmental Factors of the proposed bypass.
RMS Director of the Western Region Phil Standen was the first to address the meeting, telling businesses the bypass would improve freight productivity and efficiency, and driver safety.
He also said the bypass would result in cheaper freight costs, establish an easier and safer access into Parkes and would link to the National Logistics Hub, complimenting the Inland Rail.
“There’s a few pinch points [on the Newell Highway] and one of those is Parkes,” Mr Standen said.
He said it was freight trucks such as B-doubles and AB-triple road trains that couldn’t get through Parkes in Bogan Street and Hartigan Avenue.
“We’re looking at the economic impact of Parkes, that’s why we’ve come back to speak with you today,” Mr Standen said.
“We’ve spoken to you numerous times and that theme continually comes back to it.”
Mr Standen said they were also focusing on constructing good access points into town and how they could maximise the number of motorists into town.
“We’re looking at different intersection configurations, how much is this going to cost – there’s a lot of work for us still to do...we’re defining those details [and are] expecting a proposal in early 2018.”
RMS Project manager Doug Moore told the meeting there was a demand from truck companies for a bigger service station at Parkes.
“If that happened they said they’d instruct their company drivers to fill up there,” he said.
Business owners also raised concerns over safety for drivers trying to access Parkes should the Condobolin Road access point go ahead and voiced their preferences for the bypass to be designed specifically as a heavy vehicle route and not part of the Newell Highway.
“In the years I’ve been here I don’t ever recall a truck accident on that highway,” the male business owner told RMS staff.
“I still don’t get your economical safety statement.
“It’s much easier to tackle a truck at 60km/h than at 110km/h.
“To drive from Melbourne to Brisbane and not pass through a country town is just ridiculous. It would kill inland NSW.”
John Pizarro told the RMS “don’t beat us around the bush”.
“I came along here thinking I was going to see something,” he said.
Parkes Business Chamber of Commerce president Geoff Rice told his fellow business owners that the meeting was another information night.
“These are passionate issues but let’s get into the plan and focus on still getting more information,” he said.
Mr Moore said the RMS team were saving as much information as they can and that they will continue to work with Parkes Shire Council and the business chamber during the planning process.
“Generally the impacts [of a bypass] have been positive,” he said.
“We’re focusing more on the northern end rather than the southern end. We are trying to set up the Condobolin Road intersection.
“We’ve pushed hard to have that third intersection, it’s quite hard to have this many intersections.
“We’ve got to balance the benefits against the cost...We needed to address [the intersections in Parkes], we couldn’t address those on the current highway.”
One woman – who owns a business across the rail line in Parkes’ south – asked why the road couldn’t stay as the Newell Highway, telling RMS staff it was the “best solution” and to instead construct a heavy vehicle bypass like the one in Orange.
She suggested to have the trucks drive around Parkes but keep the cars coming through town.
“I lost 30 per cent of our trade when the highway was closed during last year’s floods,” the woman said.
“It was a big impact, no one came over that rail line because they were diverted.
“That’s exactly what’s going to happen, you’re closing the highway on me.”
A fellow business owner across the rail line agreed.
“We sell a lot of caravans because of our location...that location is going to go,” he said.
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