Transport – Pennant Hills District Civic Trust

Improving Pennant Hills CBD

Pennant Hills CBD – Proposed 40km/h High Pedestrian Activity Area (HPAA) and Public Domain Improvements

Council, in partnership with Transport for NSW, has identified Pennant Hills CBD as a location that requires traffic improvements to ensure the safety of pedestrians. These works will also incorporate tree plantings which will provide the benefits of cooler places and improved street appeal.

The proposed treatment is aimed at improving pedestrian amenity by providing a self-enforcing low speed environment consisting of the following devices:

40km/h High Pedestrian Activity Area in parts of Yarrara Road, Shields Lane, Ramsay Road, Hillcrest Road, Fisher Avenue and Railway Parade
Raised Threshold Entries with landscaped blister islands in Yarrara Road, Ramsay Road, Hillcrest Road and Fisher Avenue
Median traffic island in Yarrara Road at Hillcrest Road
Pedestrian refuge islands in Ramsay Road
Landscaped kerb blister islands in Hillcrest Road
Pedestrian refuge islands in Fisher Avenue near Pennant Hills Road
Associated pavement delineation and traffic signs

More information on the proposed intersection improvements can be found on Hornsby Council’s website, see this link. Detailed plans are available here.

Hornsby Council is investing approximately $650’000 in this project, which comes from NSW Government grant which was received last year.

The Civic Trust supports the proposal in principle, with minor amendments, and we are liaising with Council traffic safety engineers. The proposal will improve the road safety of pedestrians, cyclists and car drivers in the Pennant Hills Town Centre, which will likely improve the amenity.

Hornsby Council is inviting your feedback on this proposal, until March 4th, 2020. So go on, and have your say!

NorthConnex- returning local streets to local Communities

The 9 Km NorthConnex tunnel between the M2/Pennant Hills Road intersection and Pearce’s Corner is due for completion in early 2020. After years of anticipation we can soon look forward to having less congestion on Pennant Hills Road.

There are many anticipated project benefits but the four of greatest interest to us as a Pennant Hills community are:

taking 5,000 trucks per day off Pennant Hills Road.
return local streets to local communities,
providing opportunities for improved public transport, better and more reliable trips

Planning for People: A Community Charter for Good Planning in NSW

The Better Planning Network believes that NSW needs a fundamentally different planning system from the one that is currently operating. A system that is driven by Ecologically Sustainable Development principles and one that is fairer, more transparent and less open to corruption.

This is why the BPN, together with a number of other groups including the National Trust (NSW), Shelter NSW, Nature Conservation Council of NSW, National Parks Association of NSW, Inner Sydney Voice and the Total Environment Centre, have developed Planning for People: A Community Charter for Good Planning in NSW.

In the lead up to the State elections on 23 March, BPN is calling on you to formally endorse this Charter. Continue reading “Planning for People: A Community Charter for Good Planning in NSW”

Progress on the Pennant Hills to Epping Bike Path

Your Trust has been working for slightly over three years in conjunction with our colleagues from the Beecroft Trust, local state members (Matt Kean, Damien Tudehope), Councillor Emma Heyde and Bike North to promote a well designed bike path joining Pennant Hills to Epping. From Epping cyclists would have access to a number existing bicycle friendly trails. Our longer term plans include a north extension from Pennant Hills towards Hornsby. Continue reading “Progress on the Pennant Hills to Epping Bike Path”

Spin or Certainty ?

A group of residents from suburbs along the route of NorthConnex is concerned that after three years or so, the phrase “Return local streets to local communities” on promotional material and hoardings for the gargantuan development, disappeared earlier this year.

“Was the thought of actually having to realise this benefit for the long-suffering residents of suburbs along Pennant Hills Road proving problematic?” asks Brian Ash of Pennant Hills, a member of the resident group. Continue reading “Spin or Certainty ?”

Returning Local Streets To Local Communities

NORTHCONNEX – AN OPEN LETTER

To Whom It May Concern

The above letterhead is a picture of part of the hoarding that surrounded the NorthConnex tunnel construction compounds along Pennant Hills Road. The hoardings were refreshed after three years and this message was deleted in the process – why? The “return of local streets to local communities” was one of the eight key benefits / features in the NorthConnex promotional material presented in the name of the Australian Government, the NSW Government and Transurban. With the alignment of the NorthConnex tunnel running under Pennant Hills, Thornleigh and Normanhurst is it reasonable for these communities to expect to benefit in terms of relief from non-local traffic on their streets – surely yes! But who is accountable for the delivery of this benefit? Continue reading “Returning Local Streets To Local Communities”

Hornsby Shire Council and Pennant Hills – AGM 2018

Hornsby Shire Council’s General Manager Steven Head gave a very interesting presentation about his views on the immediate and intermediate future of Pennant Hills. He discussed various planning questions, our ideas towards a town plan, the bike path from Pennant Hills to Epping, and other topics. The presentation was followed by a short Q&A session with Mr Head, Trust Members, and the Councillors present. Mr Head was kind enough to let us distribute the slides from his presentation, which you can find in the link below.

HSC-Presentation-to-PHDCT-AGM-20181018

Community Forums – August 2018

On Thursday 23 August 2018, Hornsby Council held its community forum for B Ward at the Pennant Hills Bowling Club. Councillors Browne, Nicita, Heyde and McIntosh, as well as Mayor Ruddock attended this forum, and answered questions from residents.

Community Forums

Community Forum Meetings are a valuable opportunity for local residents to raise issues and gain feedback from their local Councillors. They are a golden opportunity to put your views on what Council and its representatives should be doing for us their electors in an informal meeting.

Continue reading “Community Forums – August 2018”

Epping to Chatswood Railway Line Closure

[update] Transport for NSW has announced the changes:

T1 Northern Line

Current services between Hornsby and the City via Chatswood will be replaced by limited stop services via Strathfield. These services will start or terminate at Central during peak times. At all other times, trains will directly connect to Wynyard, Town Hall and North Shore stations via Strathfield and Central.
Most Normanhurst to Cheltenham customers travelling to the CBD in the morning peak will have faster or similar journey times compared with today.
Two extra services per hour in the morning peak and a doubling of trains in the evening peak for Rhodes, Meadowbank and West Ryde.
All peak hour services to operate as eight car trains to improve capacity and comfort for all T1 Northern Line customer

Read more about this here.

Continue reading “Epping to Chatswood Railway Line Closure”

Traffic And Parking At Our Shire Stations

Are commuter traffic and parking key issues for residents in the Pennant Hills District/Hornsby Shire?

In the Australian on 24 February 2018 (‘Sydney and Melbourne the focal point for a nation of commuters’) the demographer Bernard Salt, states that 2016 ABS Census data indicates “that 120,000 workers flow south into the greater Sydney metropolis in the morning, only to return exhausted in the evening.”

Traffic and Parking at our Shire Stations

This is 14,000 commuters more than the estimate made in the 2011 Census, with the number of commuters growing by almost 3,000 a year. These commuters, as well as 7,000 from Newcastle, pass through and perhaps even park in the Shire. Continue reading “Traffic And Parking At Our Shire Stations”