Our decision to build a roundabout as part of the Calala Lane and Campbell Road Intersection Upgrade has been hotly debated over recent weeks. These debates and discussions have focused on a small part of the story only and we felt it important to provide more detailed information.

Why a roundabout was the best option for this upgrade

There are many reasons why a roundabout was chosen as the best option for this upgrade including vehicle and pedestrian safety, traffic flow, and private property access.

The intersection upgrade was designed based on traffic and pedestrian volumes in accordance with current relevant design standards and has been approved by Transport for NSW and NSW Police through the local traffic committee.

Pedestrian and vehicle safety

Ensuring our communities safety is at the forefront of any decision made by Council. A roundabout was deemed to be the safest option because it best manages the competing demands of vehicle and pedestrian safety:

• It has traffic calming features, such as median islands and curves on approaches, and the possibility of having to give way forces road users to reduce their speed. Alternatively, road users often speed up on approach to traffic lights to make a green or amber light.
• By providing a service road for properties on the southern side of Calala Lane directly facing Campbell Road it ensures all road users entering the intersection know who has right of way and property owners can safely and easily access their properties.
• It allows the existing supervised crossing for school children to remain. If traffic lights were installed the supervised crossing for school children would not be needed. A supervised crossing for school children is a safer option than traffic lights as there will be an adult ensuring each child has crossed the road safely.
• It significantly improves pedestrian safety compared to what is currently there. The pedestrian refuge and traffic calming features will significantly improve the safety and ease of pedestrians crossing both Calala Lane and Campbell Road. Pedestrians will only need to cross one lane and direction of traffic at a time and will have protection in the middle of the road while waiting to cross the other lane.

When the roundabout was being designed, a number of pedestrian counts were taken at the existing Calala Lane crossing point between Campbell Road and Boronia Drive. These were taken at various times of day on various days of the week, to ensure current accurate data was used for the design. This crossing point on Calala Lane was also designed to allow an upgrade to a different crossing type in the future if pedestrian volumes require this.

Traffic flow

Computer-aided modelling for the current and future traffic volumes has shown the roundabout will function well for all vehicle movements now and well in to the future. It also allows a consistent flow of traffic during less busy times and avoids unnecessary delays outside as would be the case with a signalised intersection.

Cost

The original budget allocation for this project was only for the installation of a roundabout, and was before any design work took place. The budget was reviewed throughout the design development to ensure appropriate funding was available for the final scope of the project.

If traffic lights were to be installed, there are extensive civil and electrical works that would need to be completed, including pavement rehabilitation, pavement widening and a shift in the road centreline to accommodate the required number of lanes, concrete medians, stormwater drainage, electrical relocations, etc.

As such a realistic cost estimate for a meaningful comparison between traffic lights and the roundabout cannot be determined without a detailed civil design. There would also be challenges with accommodating traffic lights within the existing road reserve due to changes to the number of lanes and road medians needed, and space required to maintain safe property access on the southern side of the intersection. It should be noted that a detailed cost estimate for traffic lights did not proceed as a roundabout was deemed to be the safest option given the points mentioned above, and how it best manages the competing demands of vehicle and pedestrian safety for current and future vehicle and pedestrian volumes.