Libs and Greens unite on Bondi Road clearway

Calls for Bondi Road’s summer clearway to be abolished have intensified after an Upper House motion calling for its removal was passed. The clearway has operated between 3 and 7pm on weekends and holidays from December to March since 2008.

Introduced to improve bus running times and traffic flow to and from the beach, the clearway has been controversial since its inception. Decrease in trade for local shops as well as inconvenience to residents were cited as justification for the motion.

On November 25 Liberal MP Don Harwin called on the Keneally government to scrap the clearway and find other ways to aid traffic flow and improve public transport. Greens MP David Shoebridge supported the motion, saying the clearway didn’t resolve the area’s traffic challenges.

“Instead of sitting and enjoying two lanes of gridlock heading to and from the beach on a summer afternoon, motorists are faced with four lanes of gridlock,” Mr Shoebridge said.

But Labor MP Jenny Sharpe said the improvements to bus schedules as a result of the clearway were vital.

“Buses move more people to Bondi Beach than all other modes of travel combined. A single bus can replace up to 40 private vehicles on the road network. That is why the New South Wales Government acted,” she said.

Longtime opponent of the clearway Max Siano, of the Bondi Chamber of Commerce, said businesses were hurting and there were better ways to improve local traffic.

“I’ve gone through bad periods of business each time the clearways were in effect and the area’s businesses lose at least $1.5 million each period. With better signage on Old South Head Road and a bus connecting Rose Bay Wharf to Bondi Beach you could reduce traffic by 20 per cent.”

Mr Siano said change will come to Bondi Road, regardless of the government’s decision: “Come next election the government will change and so will this policy.”

An April 2009 RTA report following the clearway trial found that 61 per cent of businesses had reduced trade compared with the same period the year before and that the clearway could have been the cause because vehicles could not stop to shop.

Reports from the State Transit Authority in favour of the clearway showed that bus services in the area improved during the trial, with some services running five minutes ahead of schedule and up to 20 minutes faster than in previous years.