Retired academic Don Parkes says the inclusion of traffic lights at the McCaffrey Drive interchange is an "admission of failure" by the designers of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass.
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Dr Parkes, a former urban systems researcher and local resident, has joined the list of critics of the latest design update for the project issued by transport authorities in July.
The new interchange design combines twin bridges over the bypass into one, revisiting an earlier version of the plan, and reintroduces a set of traffic lights which will affect all traffic on the bridge except eastbound cars on McCaffrey Drive.
"I think it's pretty common knowledge for anyone who has any interest at all in complex urban flow systems that, if you have to put traffic lights on a complex interchange that's been designed from scratch, it's an admission of failure," Dr Parkes said.
"The purpose is to keep the traffic flowing, not stop it.
"Designs the world over where there are complex interchanges they do not have traffic lights."
The updated design has also copped flak from residents and Newcastle council for again omitting north-facing on and off ramps to McCaffrey Drive
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said last week that design and construction of the ramps was technically possible but the $25 million cost was too high given the number of motorists who would use them.
A Roads and Maritime Services traffic report published in 2016 found fewer than 100 of the 17,000 cars on McCaffrey Drive each day would use the ramps, a figure Dr Parkes described as "patently absurd".
"If it's technically feasible to build a ramp, why the hell don't you build the ramp," he said.
"The answer appears to be that it's not important enough because less than 100 vehicles will use it.
"This is modelling that's completely unacceptable ... there's no behavioural modelling.
"This is just done off counts and speculation."
He reiterated earlier concerns that the lack of ramps would hinder access to the bypass and John Hunter Hospital for emergency vehicles if roads were blocked by accidents or bushfire.
"This is not just for private traffic movements. This is looking to the future to emergency, to critical need."
The TfNSW spokesperson said the "steep terrain" where ramps could be built presented a costly design challenge and would increase the project's environmental impact. Building access ramps would also mean the loss of more bushland.
TfNSW hopes to start building the long-awaited bypass early next year, beginning with site preparation at the Rankin Park end.
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Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
