Newcastle council says it will start reinstating permanent roundabouts and crossings along the East End Supercars track before July.
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The council issued a statement yesterday saying it had started planning the first stage of work on the temporary roundabouts on the corner of Wharf Road and Watt Street and at the intersection of Shortland Esplanade and Zaara Street.
The council said onsite works would start at the two intersections this financial year and proceed to another 13 locations in 2024-25.
Ratepayers will foot the bill for the new roundabouts and crossings under the council's 2023-24 and 2024-25 budgets.
A council spokesperson said the two roundabouts in stage one would cost an estimated $300,000 to $500,000 in total while some of the later works would be integrated with "overlapping" projects such as the Foreshore Masterplan and East End Masterplan.
"The design process for future stages will identify whether traffic flow and safety can be further improved at several sites by making changes to the road infrastructure, with costs dependant on the final designs," a council spokesperson said.
The East End road network was modified with removable infrastructure before the first Newcastle 500 in 2017.
The annual race is no longer on the Supercars calendar after a council-commissioned survey last year showed significant opposition to the event continuing.
"Re-installing permanent infrastructure demonstrates to the community that after four successful Newcastle 500 events, which delivered an estimated economic output for the city of $36 million per event, City of Newcastle has responded to community feedback and is committed to moving in a different direction going forward," deputy lord mayor Declan Clausen said.
The council said the road works would include installing permanent raised pedestrian crossings throughout the East End with "updated signage and line marking to improve safety, visibility and enhance accessibility for pedestrians throughout the precinct".
Liberal councillor Callum Pull, echoing a speech he made to the council in November, said reinstating the road infrastructure was a "scorched earth policy to make sure the Newcastle 500 can never again return to Newcastle".
He described the new spending on "some of the best maintained roads in Newcastle" as "wasteful".
"The ones currently there still work just fine, while in the western suburbs we have streets that don't even have proper guttering," he said.
"The Newcastle 500 was without a doubt the biggest event our city has ever had and is something we should be working very hard to see return as soon as possible."
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.
