Queens Park teeming with traffic troubles

Waverley Council is preparing a report on suitable traffic measures to be implemented in Queens Park.

The Waverley Traffic Committee will consider advice on maximum load limits and restrictions applied to vehicles entering the area, aimed at quelling harm for local residents concerned about heavy vehicle use in the crowded area. Greens Councillor for Lawson Ward, Mora Main submitted a motion on September 4, outlining the need to evaluate the accessibility of the notoriously narrow Lynch Ave.

“The [Lynch Ave] storage facility was approved many years ago primarily for domestic storage purposes, with deliveries and pickups using small vans and cars,” she said. “Increasing commercial activity at the storage units has resulted in large trucks and other commercial vehicles arriving in the lane around the clock.”

Ms Main said the increasing number of commercial vehicles were a safety hazard for local residents, causing damage to private property, Council’s kerbs and pedestrian footpaths. Additionally, parking is limited on Lynch Ave with over-sized trucks resorting to unloading goods in the lane.

The commercial activity blocks residential access and causes further traffic congestion in the area. According to the motion put forward, Council’s solution would limit “the size of vehicles permitted to use this lane,” helping to ensure greater levels of compliance with storage regulations and limit encroachment on local roads and property.

Eka Tatanashvili, a music teacher at St Margaret Mary’s Catholic School, said Lynch Ave was only one aspect of the problem in Queens Park. Despite Council’s efforts, Ms Tatanashvili said much more needed to be done to address the issues of parking and pedestrian safety in the suburb.

“You’re trying to tell me that they’re doing something about parking and traffic here? Have a look at Pine Street and tell me that’s not a problem,” she said. “It’s ridiculous. You go there on a weekend and the street’s packed all day. You can’t find any parking, and it just gets really busy and congested.”

Local resident Natasha Belaeva echoed these sentiments, arguing Pine St is as significant as Lynch Ave in the impact it has on the community.

“I drive past it all the time and no one follows the speed limit,” Ms Belaeva said. “There’s so many incidents and near-crashes and … it really should be a one-way street. When are the Council finally going to wake up and do something about Pine Street?”

Council’s report will focus on curbing traffic problems within Queens Park. But it remains to be seen if the issue of Pine Street will be addressed by the report.

By Daniel Paperny