Note: The public exhibition period for the Canoon Rd Recreation Area Plan of Management Amendment is now closed. Submissions to Council closed at 5pm 1st Feb 2018. You are encouraged to keep emailing Councillors with your concerns. Keep an eye out for the Council meeting dealing with this issue, you may want to attend and give a presentation at the Council meeting.
Ku-ring-gai Council proposes to dramatically expand netball capacity at the Canoon Rd Recreation Area netball facility in South Turramurra which will significantly increase weeknight traffic congestion. If you have concerns for traffic and/or environmental impacts from this development in our local area please send a submission to Council. The alternative is to accept these impacts.
Council will only listen if residents speak up in large numbers, it is vital your voice is heard.
Ku-ring-gai (KMC) Council has put forward an amendment to the Canoon Road Recreation Area Plan of Management (PoM) to allow Ku-ring-gai Netball Association (KNA) training and games under lights on 4 weeknights (9 courts with lights) during the winter season. This change adds 72 nights of peak hour traffic congestion to the 18 Saturdays of congestion already endured by the community. The amendment is on public exhibition between Thursday 23 November 2017 and Monday 15 January 2018, with submissions to Council accepted up to 1st Feb 2018. Turramurra and Wahroonga residents South-West of the Pacific Hwy are encouraged to send submissions to Council on the proposed PoM amendment as it will have significant impact on traffic flows for the Comenarra Pkwy, Kissing Point Rd and local roads.
Main Issues
The Kissing Point Progress Association wishes to alert residents to the many significant impacts from this amendment, a lack of due diligence and a very rushed misinformed process from KMC and the Ku-ring-gai Netball Association (KNA).
Note: In the text below there are several web links with supporting information and detail so please use the web links should you wish to find out more on this issue.
The Council’s PoM amendment to allow netball under lights 4 nights per week breaks the promise made in 2015 by the Ku-ring-gai Netball Association (KNA) Executive that they would only use the lights 1 or 2 nights per week. The PoM amendment proposed should not be accepted and the 2015 promise honoured. It appears KNA’s pattern of promise small then up-size later continues unchallenged. It’s a shame some at Council show such a lack of regard to local residents.
The existing PoM for Canoon Rd netball states a precinct wide traffic study must be done (high priority) to assess the impact of netball traffic. No such study has been completed yet Council are breaking the 2015 promise by increasing netball from 2 to 4 nights per week (a draft inaccurate traffic study exists). This rushed opaque process is unacceptable.
Below are the top issues regarding the PoM development proposal to install lights at Canoon Rd for weeknight netball:
Traffic impact
- Significant impact on week-night peak hour traffic flows for Comenarra Pkwy, Kissing Point Rd and local roads in South Turramurra.
- Failure to deliver the promised relief from Saturday traffic congestion.
- The draft traffic study released in August 2017 has many deficiencies and cannot adequately inform development decisions. (the traffic study still recommends against weeknight netball due to peak hour traffic impact despite the deficiencies).
- Failure to respond to safety issues and bus accessibility caused by large traffic volumes on local roads, particularly for less able residents.
Environmental impact
- Failure to consider the impact of flood lights in a breeding hot spot for Ku-ring-gai’s celebrated Powerful Owls and other threatened-vulnerable species.
Does not solve netball growth needs
- Failure to deliver a plan to support netball growth for Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby residents. KMC’s main strategy to support netball growth is to keep increasing capacity at Canoon Rd, an inappropriate location for such a high impact development.
- KMC persistently ignores the imperative to distribute access to netball. Unfortunately this is due to KNA’s opposition to a distributed netball model as they insist on “flocking” in a single high capacity facility to optimise their money raising and operations. This hard-line opposition to modernise and adapt to a growing population is one sided and unfair.
More Information
Netball court usage causes traffic and high impact amenity issues for local residents. The web links below cover these impacts, information on the rushed opaque Council process and the broken promises over the years that has eroded trust in the KNA taking these issues seriously.
Netball light impact on the Powerful Owl and other threatened species
Rushed KMC process and misinformation
Video of Traffic and Safety Issues Caused by Netball Traffic