DESPITE sending 123 pieces of correspondence for virtually no result, Hillsborough resident Michael Nolan remains determined to see an upgrade to one of the Hunter's most notorious roads.
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The long-time campaigner, who has been pushing for the installation of traffic lights on Hillsborough Road to improve access into the suburb's residential area for the best part of a decade, says it was disappointing to see the road's issues overlooked in the state budget, but it came as no surprise after so many years of inaction.
"If this were happening in a Sydney suburb it would have been fixed four years ago," he said.
"The people of Lake Macquarie are disappointed, tired and disillusioned in our leaders.
"We're worried it's going to take another death for structure to actually be implemented."
Mr Nolan recently sent a video to Roads and Maritime Services showing the daily backlog of cars trying to turn off Hillsborough Road into the residential area of the suburb.
The video displays a succession of traffic heading from Warners Bay to Charlestown along the road.
"What you don't see in the footage are the 11 cars banked up waiting to turn into Hillsborough behind the vehicle I was passenger in, spilling outside the turning lane and onto the main road due to lack of room as we couldn't move," he said.
"The steady stream of cars preventing residents from going home isn't a new occurrence, regrettably for us it's every day both when leaving and arriving home.
"It's not uncommon for wait times to exceed 10 minutes, just sitting their waiting for a gap in traffic."
The video was Mr Nolan's 123rd piece of correspondence to government departments and officials.
The RMS has begun work to convert the nearby "peanut" roundabout of Hillsborough Road and the Inner City Bypass to traffic lights.
"This work includes installing traffic queue sensors and traffic lights and is expected to be completed in the second half of this year," an RMS spokesperson said.
Mr Nolan said "any money spent" was welcome, but believed it was a "band-aid fix" for a "surgical problem".
"It's a hopeless situation that is just getting more and more dangerous," he said.
The RMS is developing a strategic business case for "projects" on Hillsborough Road between Warners Bay and the bypass, with traffic studies informing planning.
"The remainder of the proposed projects on Hillsborough Road ... will be subject to final business case and funding approval," the RMS spokesperson said.
"Roads and Maritime will continue to keep stakeholders and the community informed about Hillsborough Road as planning progresses. This will include community consultation on investigations and proposed designs."
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