Don't drive to Bondi

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal Waverley Council is opposing a plan to fix traffic congestion on Bondi Rd because it acts as a filter in dissuading people from driving to Bondi.

While the Cross City Tunnel has opened the way for more people from Sydney's west to drive to Bondi, the 1.5km stretch of Bondi Rd remains in gridlock most hours of the day.

Attempts by the RTA to introduce a clearway on Bondi Rd on weekends or install a bus lane have been repeatedly rejected by the council.

Waverley Mayor George Newhouse said the congestion on Bondi Rd helps alleviate parking problems at the beach by discouraging people from taking the car.

"If it (Bondi Rd) is busy, people elect to visit other places,'' he said.

"Bondi Rd does, in its own way, stop Bondi being overwhelmed.

"When people are considering which beach to visit they will take the traffic factor into account and that means that Bondi Rd does in some ways assist with the parking problems. It acts as a limiter.''

Coogee State MP Paul Pearce said 40 per cent of motorists on Bondi Rd, which is the boundary between Coogee and Vaucluse electorates, are from the inner west and the inner city.

He said turning the congested road into a clearway on weekends would encourage more people to drive to Bondi Beach.

"All it would do in expanding the road capacity is increase the attraction of driving into Bondi and (people) have nowhere to go when they get there,'' he said.

"All you end up doing is to facilitate more vehicles coming into the Bondi basin where there is already a shortage of parking.''

He said installation of a clearway did not make sense.

"You will then encourage people to bring vehicles from other areas into Bondi. So the whole thing makes zero sense in terms of planning,'' he said.

Mr Newhouse pointed the finger at residents of new developments at Green Square, Redfern and Zetland.

He said although they were in Sydney City Council's area they were using Waverley's libraries, roads, beaches and parks and putting extra demands on services.

"We have statistics that show that residents of Redfern, Green Square and Zetland are travelling to Bondi Beach to swim.

"These are thousands of additional cars on our roads that were not there before,'' he said.

"The young people at Green Square are travelling to Bondi and there is increasing use of roads, libraries, public transport. We have to service those residents without the commensurate contribution that the City of Sydney is getting.''

Vaucluse MP Peter Debnam said Bondi Rd was a traffic nightmare and needed to be improved.

"You get hard-core greenies and Labor who might want to lock people out of Bondi. That's just more of the wacky ideas that increase road rage,'' he said.

http://www.news.com.au/sundaytelegraph/story/0,,21596749-5001021,00.html