westbury road transport study · conclusion 50 appendix a1 appendix a2 figure index figure 1...

Meander Valley Council

Westbury Road Transport Study

April 2011

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Contents

1. Executive Summary 5

2. Introduction 6

2.1 Objectives 6

2.2 Information and Data Sources 6

2.3 Strategic Plan 6

2.4 Glossary of Terms 7

3. Background 8

3.1 Study Area 8

4. Existing Conditions 16

4.1 Transport Network 16

4.2 Road Hierarchy 20

4.3 Public Transport 21

4.4 Road Safety Performance 24

5. Consultation 26

5.1 Stakeholder Engagement 26

5.2 Key Stakeholders 26

5.3 Issues Raised in Consultation 29

6. Future Trends 30

6.1 Land use 30

6.2 Traffic Growth 31

6.3 Cycling 32

6.4 Pedestrians 33

7. Identified Traffic and Road Safety Issues 34

7.1 General Westbury Road Issues 34

7.2 Intersections 35

7.3 Prospect Vale Marketplace 37

7.4 Petrol Plus and BWS 39

8. Recommendations 40

8.1 Traffic management 40

8.2 Prospect Vale Marketplace 46

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8.3 Land Use Planning 47

8.4 St Patrick’s College 48

8.5 Ongoing Monitoring 49

9. Conclusion 50

Appendix A1

Appendix A2

Figure Index

Figure 1 Subject Site (Source: Google Maps) 8

Figure 2 Westbury Road Corridor 1 9







Figure 9 Westbury Road Planning Scheme Zoning 13

Figure 10 Prospect Vale Market Place Access 14

Figure 11 Prospect Vale Marketplace Car Park 14

Figure 12 Westbury Road 17

Figure 13 Country Club Avenue 17

Figure 14 Mt Leslie Road Roundabout from Westbury Road 18

Figure 15 Counter Locations and Traffic Volumes (vpd) 20

Figure 16 Road Hierarchy Function 21

Figure 17 Launceston (west) Bus Route Map (Source: Metro Tas) 23

Figure 18 Westbury Road Link Crash Locations 24

Figure 19 Westbury Road Intersection and Side Road Crashes 25

Figure 20 Future Land Use Development 31

Figure 21 Greater Launceston Bicycle Network (Extract) 32

Figure 22 Bradford Avenue Intersection 36

Figure 23 Donalds Avenue Intersection 37

Figure 24 Prospect Vale Marketplace Car Park 38

Figure 25 Petrol Plus/ BWS Access 39

Figure 26 New Pedestrian Refuges 41

Figure 27 Mace Street Intersection Treatment 42

Figure 28 Bradford Avenue Intersection Treatment 43

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Figure 29 Real Estate Access at Country Club Avenue 44

Figure 30 Westbury Road Roundabout 45

Figure 31 Bicycle Lane Guidelines 46

Figure 32 Market Place Access Configuration 47

Figure 33 Jardine Crescent Subdivision 48

Table Index

Table 1 Abbreviations Summary 7

Table 2 Traffic Volumes and Speeds 19

Table 3 Bus Routes 22

Table 4 Summary of Key Issues Raised in Consultation 29

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Westbury Road – Transport Study

1. Executive Summary

Westbury Road is strategically important road for Meander Valley Council municipality. It connects

between Bass Highway and Launceston and provides access to a large residential catchment area as well

as shopping, commercial and industrial precincts.

The objectives of this report were to identify all traffic, parking and road safety issues within the

Westbury Road corridor and the surrounding road network, and to propose potential solutions to

alleviate these issues, both in the short and long term. Extensive consultation with key stakeholders was

undertaken during the study to capture the key traffic, parking and road safety issues.

Westbury Road provides a collector road function as it carries a significant volume of through traffic that

is growing at a steady rate. It also provides access to properties along its length. Both of these

functions are important, although it is difficult to cater for increased accessibility and through traffic at

same time.

Many of the identified issues associated with Westbury Road relate to access to and from property and

side roads. Westbury Road also provides a barrier for pedestrians. Reported crash data show that

Westbury Road has a relatively high rate of mid-block crashes, highlighting the conflict between the

through traffic and access functions of the road.

It is likely that Westbury Road and its surrounding roads will cater for more pedestrians and cyclists over

time due to land use development in the nearby area. Westbury Road will need to be modified to

provide improved accessibility for these modes of transport over time.

This study identified the following traffic management strategies to improve Westbury Road over time:

Reduced speed limit to 50-km/h along the full length of Westbury Road

Roundabout at Vale Street

Pedestrian actuated traffic lights near Prospect Vale shopping centre

Improved accessibility for the Prospect Vale Shopping Centre for both vehicles and pedestrians

Provision of on-street cycling lanes

Various intersection upgrades

Increased number of pedestrian refuge islands to improve crossability

Land use recommendations to improve connectivity within the study area and place less reliance

on key intersections

Roundabout at the connection of Bass Highway off ramp with Westbury Road

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2. Introduction

Midson Traffic Pty Ltd were commissioned by Meander Valley Council to undertake a corridor study of

Westbury Road, Prospect Vale, in the Meander Valley municipality. The purpose of the study is to make

recommendations for the planning and implementation of improvements to Westbury Road and its

surrounds. The study is intended to provide guidance for future land use planning and infrastructure

development to meet the future needs of the community in a sustainable way.

2.1 Objectives

Westbury Road is a major collector road in Prospect Vale in the Meander Valley municipality. In a

strategic context, Westbury Road connects between Bass Highway and Launceston and provides access

to a large residential catchment area as well as shopping, commercial and industrial precincts.

This report outlines the traffic, parking and road safety issues identified through site investigation and

consultation with key stakeholders.

The existing road network, land use, traffic loads and road safety performance were considered as well

as forecasts for future traffic growth and land use development.

The objectives of this report were to identify all traffic, parking and road safety issues within the

Westbury Road corridor and the surrounding road network, and to propose potential solutions to

alleviate these issues, both in the short and long term.

2.2 Information and Data Sources

The following organisations were contacted during the preparation of this report:

Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources (DIER) – Provision of crash data and traffic

data.

Meander Valley Council – Provision of traffic data, general network and land use.

Launceston City Council – provision of network information and data.

Metro Tasmania – Public transport information.

2.3 Strategic Plan

The Meander Valley Strategic Plan 2004 – 2014 outlines the future directions for the Meander Valley

municipality:

The Strategic Plan has been developed using the outcomes of the future search conference that

was held over three days in April 2004 involving 80 community members. That group set a vision

of where they’d like Meander Valley to be in 2014, identified the values that would guide choices

along the way and the future directions to follow.

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This report assists Council’s future planning for this road corridor and aligns with the following Strategic

Objectives in the Strategic Plan:

Work in partnership with the State Government to meet the health and well being needs of the

community, in particular the needs of the elderly.

Help provide and improve the quality of recreation facilities and programs and encourage

increased participation in structured and informal recreation.

Help develop and promote nature based recreation and trails across Meander Valley.

Develop communication and consultation processes and standards between Council and the

community.

2.4 Glossary of Terms

The key abbreviations used in this report are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Abbreviations Summary

Abbreviation Description

ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics

ADT Average Daily Traffic

AM Morning Peak Period (typically 8:00am to 9:00am)

CBD Central Business District

DIER Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources

Drv Drive

est Estimated

Hwy Highway

HV Heavy Vehicle

km/h Kilometres Per Hour

LCC Launceston City Council

m² Square metres

MVC Meander Valley Council

N/A Not Applicable or Not Available

PM Evening Peak Period (typically 5:00pm to 6:00pm)

Rd Road

St Street

vpd Vehicles Per Day

vph Vehicles Per Hour

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3. Background

3.1 Study Area

The study area consists of the Westbury Road corridor in Prospect Vale within the Meander Valley

Council municipality; that is, between the Mount Leslie Road intersection and the Bass Highway

interchange as shown in Figure 1. The broader transport network and land use outside this corridor was

also considered in the overall context of the study as it relates to Westbury Road.

Figure 1 Subject Site (Source: Google Maps)

The study area is shown in further detail, including the location of various existing key traffic

management elements of Westbury Road, in Figure 2 to Figure 8.

Study Area

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Figure 2 Westbury Road Corridor 1


To Launceston

Location of recently

constructed roundabout

St Patrick’s College

Pedestrian median refuge

Allan’s Garden Centre

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Tyler Village



Prospect Vale

Marketplace Pedestrian median refuge

Bus bay

Petrol Plus/BWS

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Roundabout

Australian

Italian Club

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3.1.1 Land Use

Westbury Road runs through a predominantly residential area, with small commercial zones between

Bimbimbi Avenue and Burrows Street. To the southern end of Westbury Road there is an industrial zone

and sports field. The land use is depicted in Figure 9.

Prospect

Vale Park

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Figure 9 Westbury Road Planning Scheme Zoning

3.1.2 Prospect Vale Marketplace

The Prospect Vale Marketplace (shown in Figure 11 and access from bottle shop and service station in

Figure 10) is a shopping centre on Westbury Road containing a supermarket, petrol station, drive-

through bottle shop and a number of other stores. The shopping centre also contains a large car park

with three accesses onto Westbury Road. Of these accesses, one accesses the petrol station and bottle

shop, and the other two access the main car park area.

Westbury Road

Bass Hwy

Country Club

Avenue

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Figure 10 Prospect Vale Market Place Access

Figure 11 Prospect Vale Marketplace Car Park

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3.1.3 Schools

There are two secondary schools within the study area. St Patrick’s College (years 7 – 12) has

approximately 1,200 enrolled students at the Prospect Campus and is located on the corner of Mount

Leslie Road and Westbury Road. Prospect High School (7 – 10) has approximately 740 enrolled students

and is located on Lila Drive, with pedestrian access from Bradford Avenue.

Both of these schools are likely to expand in the future. The additional students will generate more

pedestrians, more traffic and more parking demands in the nearby area over time.

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4. Existing Conditions

4.1 Transport Network

For the purpose of this report, the transport network consists of Westbury Road from the Bass Highway

to the roundabout at the Westbury Road/ Mount Leslie Road intersection and all streets intersecting with

Westbury Road. Some consideration was also given to Mount Leslie Road, Country Club Avenue and

Westbury Road north of the Mount Leslie Road intersection.

4.1.1 Westbury Road

Westbury Road is a major collector road connecting between the Bass Highway and the City of

Launceston, providing access to the suburbs of Prospect, Prospect Vale, Blackstone Heights and, to a

lesser extent, Summerhill. Westbury Road provides access to Launceston to/from Bass Highway without

the need to utilise the Midland Highway.

It is a two lane, two way road with several roundabouts and uncontrolled give-way intersections along

its length. The posted speed limit on Westbury Road is 60-km/h with a 40-km/h school zone in the

vicinity of the Mount Leslie Road roundabout, where St Patricks College is located.

There is generally good pedestrian footpath provision throughout the length of Westbury Road, with

footpaths being provided on both sides of the road and the majority of Westbury Road has no on-street

parking available.

Westbury Road carries approximately 15,000 vehicles per day between Mount Leslie Road and Mace

Street, with an 85th percentile speed of around 60-km/h. The traffic entering Westbury Road from the

Bass Highway (west) was found to be approximately 2,500 vehicles per day.

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Figure 12 Westbury Road

4.1.2 Country Club Avenue

Country Club Avenue is a minor collector road providing access to the Country Club Casino, as well as

the suburb of Blackstone Heights via Casino Rise. It is a wide road with access from Westbury Road by

means of a three-legged roundabout. In the vicinity of Westbury Road Country Club Avenue is in a

predominantly residential Area.

Traffic volumes for Country Club Avenue are approximately 7,500 vehicles per day between Westbury

Road and Cheltenham Way, with an 85th percentile speed of around 60-km/h.

Figure 13 Country Club Avenue

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4.1.3 Mount Leslie Road

The function of Mount Leslie Road is similar to Country Club Avenue. Mount Leslie Road is a minor

collector road with access from Westbury Road by means of a recently constructed three-legged

roundabout. It passes through a residential area and also provides access to St Patrick’s College,

located just west of the Westbury Road intersection.

Mount Leslie Road also provides an alternative access to the suburbs of Summerhill and Blackstone

Heights.

Council traffic data indicates that Mount Leslie Road carries approximately 3,000 vehicles per day

between Willow Lane and Richard Street, with an 85th percentile speed of 55-km/h.

Figure 14 Mt Leslie Road Roundabout from Westbury Road

4.1.4 Harley Parade

Harley Parade is located at the southern end of Westbury Road and provides access to a small residential

area and a sports ground. Traffic volumes on Harley Parade are 1,100 and 770 vehicles per day to the

east and west of the sports ground respectively.

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4.1.5 Summary of Traffic Data

Council traffic data for Westbury Road, Country Club Avenue, Mount Leslie Road and Harley Parade

along with the remainder of the streets connecting to Westbury Road is summarised in Table 2. Road

and counter locations for the traffic data as listed are shown in Figure 15.

Table 2 Traffic Volumes and Speeds

Road Category Traffic Volume

(vehicles per day)

85th Percentile

Speed

Westbury Road (north) Major Collector Road 14,614 61-km/h

Westbury Road (south) Major Collector Road 2,436 59-km/h

Country Club Avenue Minor Collector Road 7,452 62-km/h

Mount Leslie Road Minor Collector Road 2,931 54-km/h

Harley Parade (east) Local Residential Street 1,072 47-km/h

Harley Parade (west) Local Residential Street 768 58-km/h

Donalds Avenue Access Road 2001 -

Burrows Street Local Residential Street 1,376 49-km/h

Stuart Avenue Local Residential Street 2001 -

Vale Street Local Residential Street 380 49-km/h

Bimbimbi Avenue Local Residential Street 449 51-km/h

Mace Street Local Residential Street 1,667 54-km/h

Bradford Avenue Local Residential Street 269 40-km/h

1 No traffic data available, figure is estimated

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Figure 15 Counter Locations and Traffic Volumes (vpd)

4.2 Road Hierarchy

Westbury Road plays an important role from a road hierarchy perspective. A road hierarchy is defined

as the “Grading of roads according to increasing or decreasing importance or their traffic carrying or

other function”. It creates tributary systems & networks that acknowledge which roads act as access,

feeder and arterial roads.

A road hierarchy formalises the importance of each road to the whole network. It provides justification

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for providing different levels of service.

At a broad level, roads provide two primary functions:

1. Land service function (access to residential, retail and other land uses)

2. Traffic function, moving large volumes of freight and traffic.

Roads cannot provide both of these primary functions to a high level simultaneously, however Westbury

Road has a mix of access and traffic function, as shown in Figure 16 (source: NZ Transport Agency).

The functions of through traffic and land use access are of equal importance for Westbury Road.

Figure 16 Road Hierarchy Function

4.3 Public Transport

Metro Tasmania have six regular bus routes on Westbury Road, including use of the Country Club

Avenue roundabout, the Burrows Street intersection and the connection to the Bass Highway for the

route servicing Hadspen and Rutherglen.

The route numbers and number of trips per day are summarised in Table 3.

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Table 3 Bus Routes

Route No Intersections Affected Trips per weekday

60 Country Club Avenue 14




76 Burrows Street

Country Club Avenue 4

78 Bass Highway Interchange 11

At present, public transport provision in the Launceston (west) area is relatively good, with buses

travelling to and from Launceston at regular intervals throughout the day. As the population ages, and

more families move to the Prospect and Prospect Vale areas, reliance on public transport will increase

and a high standard of public transport should continue to be provided.

The bus route map obtained from Metro Tas is shown in Figure 18. Future development of the road

infrastructure utilised by public transport should be designed and maintained with consideration of bus

manoeuvrability.

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Figure 17 Launceston (west) Bus Route Map (Source: Metro Tas)

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4.4 Road Safety Performance

Crash data can provide valuable information on the road safety performance of a road network. This

information can be utilised as a tool to assist in identification of possible road safety deficiencies

associated with a network. In Tasmania, all crashes that are reported to police are maintained in a

database managed by DIER.

Available crash data was obtained from DIER for the most recent 5 year time period for Westbury Road,

between Mount Leslie Road and the Bass Highway, as well as the intersecting side-streets within the

study area.

The crash data is summarised as follows:

A total of 69 crashes were reported during this time period. Of these, 19 resulted in injury and

the remaining 50 crashes involved property damage only.

44 of the crashes occurred on Westbury Road, 9 of which involved injury. The remaining 25

occurred on side-streets with 10 involving injury.

Intersections accounted for a total of 11 crashes, 2 resulting in injury, whereas the majority of

crashes occurred at mid-block locations with 58 crashes total with 17 resulting in injury.

The crash data is typical of a major collector road that provides property access along its length within

an urban area.

The crash location map for link crashes (crashes occurring between intersections) is shown in Figure 18.

Crash location map for intersection crashes and side roads is provided in Figure 19.

Figure 18 Westbury Road Link Crash Locations

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Figure 19 Westbury Road Intersection and Side Road Crashes

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5. Consultation

5.1 Stakeholder Engagement

This study has involved extensive stakeholder engagement throughout its development. Council

advertised the study in The Examiner and Valley Views, the Council newsletter, for submissions from the

public. Council also actively sought comment from key stakeholders.

Two public meetings were held at the Australian Italian Club in Prospect Vale. The first meeting was on

Thursday 11 November, 2010. Approximately 25 people were present at the first consultation evening

and were given an opportunity to have their say and fill in a survey form about the Westbury Road

corridor. A similar number of people attended the second consultation evening, which was held on 3rd

February, 2011.

A letter box drop for all residents bordering on Westbury Road was also undertaken by Council to inform

them of the study, provide information regarding the public meetings and inviting community comment.

The key issues that arose during the consultation stage of the project are summarised in Appendix A.

The second public presentation presented the findings from the consultation as well as the

recommendations to overcome the issues identified.

5.2 Key Stakeholders

Council recognised the following key stakeholders as being important to the study:

Meander Valley Council

Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources (DIER)

Launceston City Council

Prospect Vale Marketplace

St Patrick’s College

Prospect High School

Metro Tasmania

Emergency services

Local businesses

Cycling groups

RACT

General public

Each of these key stakeholders is outlined in the following sections.

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5.2.1 Meander Valley Council

Meander Valley Council is the local government organisation responsible for Westbury Road and

connecting roads (with exception of Bass Highway) in the study area. The Council has direct

responsibility for the maintenance of Westbury Road and the land use planning authority within the

study area.

Meander Valley Council have developed the Strategic Plan 2004-2014, which details the direction of

future development within the municipality.

5.2.2 Department of Infrastructure Energy and Resources

DIER is the Tasmanian State Government department responsible for the maintenance of the Bass

Highway. DIER is also the statutory authority for the approval of new traffic control devices in

Tasmania.

5.2.3 Launceston City Council

Launceston City Council (LCC) is the local governing body responsible for the municipality of Launceston.

LCC own and maintain the northern section of Westbury Road, between Mount Leslie Road and its

northern origin in Wellington Street.

A large amount of the traffic on Westbury Road within the subject area consists of vehicles travelling

between Launceston and facilities in Prospect Vale.

5.2.4 Prospect Vale Market Place

Prospect Vale Marketplace is a shopping centre on Westbury Road containing a supermarket, petrol

station, drive-through bottle shop and a number of other stores. The shopping centre also contains a

large car park with three accesses onto Westbury Road. One access services the petrol station and

bottle shop, and the other two access the main car park area. The shopping centre is one of the largest

traffic generators in the study area, with the petrol station and bottle shop contributing a relatively large

amount of the traffic generation.

5.2.5 St Patrick’s College

St Patrick’s College is a catholic secondary school located on the corner of Mount Leslie Road and

Westbury Road at the northern end of the subject site. The school caters for grades seven to twelve

and has approximately 1,200 enrolled students at the Prospect campus.

5.2.6 Prospect High School

Prospect High School is a state government high school located on Lila Drive, with pedestrian access

from Bradford Avenue. It caters for grades seven to ten and has approximately 740 enrolled students.

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5.2.7 Metro Tasmania

Metro Tasmania are the public transport providers in the Greater Launceston area, with several bus

routes utilising Westbury Road.

5.2.8 Emergency Services

The emergency services, including Tasmania Police, Tasmania Fire Service and Ambulance services.

5.2.9 Local Businesses

There are numerous local businesses located on or near Westbury Road within the subject site, most of

which are in and around the Prospect Vale Marketplace and the Industrial Zone to the south. Westbury

Road provides primary access for patrons and service vehicles for these businesses.

5.2.10 Cycling Groups

The Westbury Road corridor provides an opportunity to significantly increase the numbers of people

cycling along what is a relatively flat corridor with significant resident population and trip destinations.

Cycling as a mode of transport has seen a relatively sharp increase in trips in Tasmania in the last

decade.

Council held discussions with a number of members of the Genesys Cycling Team in regards to the

provision of cycling routes - their comments are included in Appendix A1.

5.2.11 RACT

The Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania (RACT) is Tasmania’s leading service organisation providing a

number of services including roadside assistance, insurance, car finance, travel, driving lessons. A

detailed response to the Draft Report was received from Mr Gary O’Keefe on behalf of RACT and the

Regional Road Safety Taskforce. The full response is attached in Appendix A2.

5.2.12 General Public

The general public, including but not limited to residents of Prospect Vale, are also considered key

stakeholders for the purpose of this study. And have been given the opportunity to submit comments

about the current operation of Westbury Road during the course of this study.

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5.3 Issues Raised in Consultation

The main issues raised during the consultation phase of the study are summarised in Table 4.

Table 4 Summary of Key Issues Raised in Consultation

Location Issue Representation

Westbury Road General congestion General public

Vehicles speeding General public

Pedestrian facilities General public

Local businesses

Access to driveways General public

Local businesses

Pick up and drop off General public

Local businesses

Prospect Vale Marketplace Car park configuration General public

Difficulty of access to car park General public

Local businesses

Country Club Avenue Business access on roundabout General public

Mace Street/ Bradford Avenue U-turn manoeuvres General public

Donalds Avenue Heavy vehicle turning paths General public

Local business

General congestion General public

Local business

Harley Parade General congestion General public

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6. Future Trends

6.1 Land use

In the future, it is expected that there will be significant development, both industrial and residential,

utilising Westbury Road as a main corridor to and from the City of Launceston and Bass Highway.

The likely areas of future residential development are:

The Ben Lomond Views subdivision, currently under development on Mace Street.

Behind Prospect Vale Marketplace on Jardine Crescent.

Blackstone Heights.

Harley Parade.

Southeast of the Bass Highway interchange.

There is also some small industrial development expected inside the industrial zone at the southern end

of Westbury Road on Donalds Avenue.

These key development areas are shown in Figure 20.

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Figure 20 Future Land Use Development

6.2 Traffic Growth

There has been steady and progressive traffic growth in Westbury Road and surrounds over the last few

decades. This has mainly been driven by land use development both within the study area and external

to it (such as in Launceston and to the west on Bass Highway corridor).

Based on available historical traffic data, it is likely that traffic volumes will continue to grow at a rate of

around 2% per annum. This equates to a likely traffic volume of approximately 18,000 vehicles per day

in the year 2020, and 22,000 vehicles per day in 2030.

Similarly, Country Club Drive can expect traffic volumes in the order of 9,000 vehicles per day in the year

2020, and 10,000 vehicles per day by 2030. Mount Leslie Road can expect traffic volumes of 3,500

vehicles per day in the year 2020, and 4,000 vehicles per day in 2030.

Future Residential

Development

Future Residential

Development

Future Industrial/

Light Commercial

Development

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6.3 Cycling

Council actively promotes cycling within Meander Valley as a way of improving the health and wellbeing

of the community along with being an alternative mode of transport.

Identified in the Greater Launceston Cycling Strategy, Westbury Road is identified as a cycling corridor

for residents within the Prospect/ Blackstone Heights area and as a link between Launceston and

Meander Valley Road that accesses areas West and South of Launceston.

An extract from the proposed Greater Launceston Bicycle Network map is shown in Figure 21.

Figure 21 Greater Launceston Bicycle Network (Extract)

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6.4 Pedestrians

The future expansion of residential housing, commercial areas, such as the Prospect Vale Marketplace,

and Schools will result in an increased number of pedestrians, children in particular, utilising Westbury

Road.

Council have developed the Prospect Vale Fitness Trail that runs parallel to Westbury Road from

Prospect Vale through to Willow Lane. Council has an ongoing strategy to promote health and wellbeing

within the community.

Pedestrian activity is likely to increase along and across Westbury Road over time.

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7. Identified Traffic and Road Safety Issues

7.1 General Westbury Road Issues

7.1.1 Vehicle Speeds

Although vehicle speeding was raised through consultation as an issue on Westbury Road and within the

surrounding road network, the traffic data suggests that vehicles within the subject site are generally

sticking to the speed limits, with 85th percentile vehicle speeds approximately equal to the speed limit at

most counter locations. The issue of speeding is often a relative matter, particularly when pedestrians

are involved. It is likely that the speed issue is more related to constant traffic volumes along Westbury

Road, and the difficulties associated with crossing the road.

According to the traffic data shown in Table 2, the largest occurrence of speeding is on Harley Parade to

the west of the sports ground, with the 85th percentile speed exceeding the speed limit by approximately

8-km/h.

7.1.2 Pedestrian Facilities

There are very few pedestrian crossing facilities present on Westbury Road. Coupled with the large

traffic volumes, it is very difficult for pedestrians to select an appropriate gap in the traffic stream to

allow for a safe crossing and wait times of over 60 seconds are not uncommon. This is particularly

noticeable at the Prospect Vale Marketplace, the two secondary schools and bus stops which are three

areas of high pedestrian activity.

The only pedestrian crossing facility in close proximity to the Prospect Vale Marketplace is a

small pedestrian median refuge located adjacent to the northern car park access.

A roundabout has recently been constructed at the intersection of Mount Leslie Road and

Westbury Road, which forms the main pedestrian crossing point for St Patrick’s College. The

majority of pedestrian activity from Prospect High School occurs outside Allan’s Garden Centre,

which is a popular pick-up and drop-off location.

The signalised pedestrian crossing on the Launceston City Council side of Westbury Road is well

utilised by students of both St Patricks College and Prospect High School.

7.1.3 Access to Driveways

With the relatively high traffic volumes on Westbury Road during most times of the day, it is becoming

increasingly difficult to enter and exit driveway and side-streets, particularly with right-turn movements.

As a result, there appears to be a tendency for vehicles to undertake left turn manoeuvres and perform

U-turn manoeuvres at roundabouts or other intersections.

7.1.4 Pick-Up/ Drop-Off Activity

There is also a high level of pick-up and drop-off activity on Westbury Road, specifically near each of the

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two schools (and also on Westbury Road within the Launceston City Council municipality). Given the

high traffic volumes and general congestion during peak times, parking and un-parking vehicles cause an

increased risk of rear end collisions at these locations.

7.1.5 Parking

Most parking on Westbury Road is associated with commercial activity and the schools. The high

parking demands within the Prospect Vale Marketplace car park often results in parking activity on

Westbury Road.

Parking activity associated with the schools is generally confined to morning and afternoon peak periods.

Some provision for on-site parking is provided by the schools to reduce on-street congestion and

improve road safety outcomes.

Other high activity parking areas on Westbury Road include near the butcher and take away opposite

Stuart Avenue, and the residential parking north of Mace Street.

7.2 Intersections

7.2.1 Bradford Avenue

There are high traffic volumes utilising the Bradford Avenue intersection during peak times. Combined

with the high volumes along Westbury Road, there are large delays occurring, particularly for right-

turning vehicles.

There is a property access located on the northeastern corner of the intersection, which conflicts with

the footpath. This is shown in Figure 22.

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Figure 22 Bradford Avenue Intersection

The difficulty of right-turn manoeuvres from driveways and side-streets along Westbury Road also

results in vehicles performing U-turn’s in the Bradford Avenue intersection.

7.2.2 Mace Street

There are high traffic volumes utilising the Bradford Avenue intersection during peak times. Combined

with the high volumes along Westbury Road, there are lengthy delays occurring, particularly for right-

turning vehicles. This is likely to be exacerbated due to land development to the east of Mace Street.

Vehicles exiting the Prospect Vale Market Place car park often undertake a left turn exit and perform a

U-Turn at the Mace Street intersection. This compounds the congestion and traffic issues at Mace

Street.

The difficulty of right-turn manoeuvres from driveways and side-streets along Westbury Road are also

resulting in vehicles performing U-turn’s in the Bradford Avenue intersection.

7.2.3 Donalds Avenue

The general congestion and delays experience on most intersections within the Westbury Road corridor

are further compounded at Donalds Avenue by the high heavy vehicle utilisation of this intersection.

Heavy vehicles require a larger gap in traffic than light vehicles in order to enter the major traffic stream.

Property Access

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Figure 23 Donalds Avenue Intersection

The physical configuration of the Donalds Avenue/ Westbury Road intersection (Figure 23) causes issues

with heavy vehicle turning paths and there is a tendency to mount the footpath or encroach into the

oncoming traffic lane.

7.3 Prospect Vale Marketplace

7.3.1 Car Park Configuration

The Prospect Vale Marketplace car park is shown in Figure 24.

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Figure 24 Prospect Vale Marketplace Car Park

At present, the Prospect Vale Marketplace car park is heavily utilised with narrow, bi-directional aisles

and very tight parking spaces. The traffic movements within the car park causes safety concerns for

pedestrians and general increased risk of minor manoeuvring collisions within the car park.

7.3.2 Access from Westbury Road

There are two direct car park accesses on Westbury Road which are heavily utilised and can have

relatively large delays associated with them during peak times. The car park is also accessible from the

bottle shop and service station. These issues are particularly prevalent for right-turning vehicles

(although right turns are banned at the northern access for small vehicles).

The delays for right-turning vehicles are causing large queues which cause:

Lengthy delays for vehicles desiring to turn left out of the car park (due to the short right-turn

storage lane blocking the left turning traffic); and

General congestion of the parking aisle within the car park due to parking and un-parking

manoeuvres;

These problems are compounded by the presence of heavy vehicles at the site accesses. The northern

access provides primary access to the shopping centre for heavy vehicles, which access the service dock

near the northern boundary of the site.

39


7.4 Petrol Plus and BWS

The Petrol Plus and BWS site access is shown in Figure 25.

Figure 25 Petrol Plus/ BWS Access

As with the Prospect Vale Marketplace car park accesses, the southern Petrol Plus and BWS access often

experience relatively lengthy delays and congestion during peak times. This component of Prospect Vale

Market Place are relatively high traffic generators.

40


8. Recommendations

8.1 Traffic management

8.1.1 Speed Limit

The current posted speed limit on Westbury Road is 60-km/h. Due to the high levels of congestion, the

presence of roundabouts and future plans for traffic calming, the traffic is rarely free-flowing at 60-km/h,

particularly during peak times.

It is recommended to reduce the speed limit along Westbury Road to 50-km/h. This will have the

following effects:

Improved safety at areas with heavy pedestrian activity;

Reduced delays at intersections by reducing gap acceptance criteria for turning movements;

Negligible increase in end-to-end travel times along Westbury Road.

Assist in encouraging greater use of the Bass Highway and Southern Outlet to access

Launceston.

This measure is consistent with other collector roads in Tasmania that have been converted from 60-

km/h to 50-km/h (including Cascade Road in the Hobart municipality).

8.1.2 Pedestrian Crossings

There are a large number of traffic control islands located along Westbury Road. It is recommended

that the majority of these be converted or reconstructed to pedestrian refuge islands complete with the

extension of the footpath to the road edge and concrete apron.

As a general recommendation, as intersections are upgraded (as part of normal maintenance,

reconstruction, or works associated with other recommendations in this report), kerb ramps should be

installed to the current DDA requirements.

It is also recommended that a new pedestrian refuge island be constructed outside Allan’s Garden Centre

where a large amount of pick-up and drop-off activity occurs as shown in Figure 26.

41


Figure 26 New Pedestrian Refuges

8.1.3 Pedestrian Actuated Traffic Signals

The level of difficulty for pedestrians to cross Westbury Road near Prospect Vale Market Place will

compound over time. The increased traffic volume and increased pedestrian movements will result in a

difficult and dangerous location for pedestrians.

The Austroads publication, Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Series – Part 7: Traffic Signals, 2003,

states guidelines for the installation of mid-block signalised crossings. In general, signalised crossings

should be considered if one or more of the following warrants is met:

For each of four one-hour periods of an average day, the pedestrian flow crossing the road

exceeds 250 ped/h, and the vehicular flow exceeds 600 veh/h in both directions, or where there

is a central pedestrian refuge at least 1.2 m wide, the major road flow exceeds 1000 veh/h in

both directions. OR

For each of eight one-hour periods of an average day, the pedestrian flow crossing the road

exceeds 175 ped/h, and the vehicular flow exceeds 600 veh/h in both directions, or where there

is a central pedestrian refuge at least 1.2 m side, the major road flow exceeds 1000 veh/h in

both directions and there is no other pedestrian (Zebra) crossing or signalised crossing within a

reasonable distance. OR

Where the crossing is used predominantly by children, and for each of two one-hour periods of

an average day, the pedestrian flow exceeds 50 ped/h and the vehicular flow exceeds 600 veh/h

in both directions. OR

Where at least 50 per cent of pedestrians using the crossing are elderly or handicapped persons,

and for each of two one-hour periods of an average day, the pedestrian flow exceeds 50 ped/h,

and the vehicular flow exceeds 600 veh/h in both directions.

New pedestrian

refuge island Allan’s Garden

Centre

42


Given the high pedestrian traffic volumes crossing, and that vehicle volumes generally exceed 1,000 vph

on Westbury Road, it is recommended that consideration be made for the installation of pedestrian

actuated traffic signals adjacent to the shopping centre (potentially between Vale Street and Bimbimbi

Avenue).

8.1.4 Footpath opposite Stuart Avenue

The footpath area adjacent to the service station opposite Stuart Avenue is poorly defined, with conflicts

for vehicles entering and exiting the service station.

A defined footpath area should be installed at this location to improve safety for all users.

8.1.5 Mace Street Intersection

It is recommended to install a pedestrian refuge island on the Mace Street intersection complete with

concrete aprons for pedestrian access. The island will improve the safety for pedestrians travelling along

Westbury Road across Mace Street and restrict U-turn manoeuvres within the intersection.

This is shown in Figure 27.

Figure 27 Mace Street Intersection Treatment

8.1.6 Bradford Avenue Intersection

The following recommendations for the improvement of the Bradford Avenue/ Westbury Road

intersection have been made:

Divert the footpath on the south side to align with Westbury Road;

Continue the footpath on the northern side of Bradford Avenue;

Remove the property access on the northern side of the intersection;

43


Construct a traffic island on Bradford Avenue.

These changes are shown in Figure 28.

Figure 28 Bradford Avenue Intersection Treatment

The above recommendations will have the following effects:

Improved sight distance for cyclists and pedestrians through the realignment of the footpath;

Increased safety due to the removal of the property access, and construction of the footpath;

Prevention of U-turn manoeuvres within the intersection.

8.1.7 Country Club Avenue Roundabout

The access to the real estate car park adjacent to the roundabout should be redesigned to provide a

clearer definition of the car park access. The existing wide cross-over is confusing for drivers within the

roundabout.

44


Figure 29 Real Estate Access at Country Club Avenue

8.1.8 Westbury Road Interchange

A new roundabout is recommended for the intersection of the Bass Highway off-ramp and Westbury

Road (Figure 30) which will serve to:

Clearly define the “entrance” to Westbury Road and Prospect Vale,

Provide traffic calming for vehicles coming off the Bass Highway,

Reduce delays from the Bass Highway off-ramp approach to the intersection.

The roundabout should be designed to accommodate heavy vehicle movements and provision for a

potential fourth leg for alternative access to Donalds Avenue.

45


Figure 30 Westbury Road Roundabout

8.1.9 Bicycle Lanes

Promoting cycling as a recreational activity is an important Health and Wellbeing outcome of the

Meander Valley Council Strategic Plan 2004 – 2014, and good linkage between population centres and

natural trails is of a high priority.

Westbury Road is to be part of the Greater Launceston Bicycle Commuting Network, and as such, bicycle

lanes should be provided on the road pavement to connect to Westbury Road within the Launceston

Municipality.

Standard guidelines for bicycle lanes for a road with over 10,000 vehicles per day are shown in Figure

31.

46


Figure 31 Bicycle Lane Guidelines

These lanes should be provided along the entire length of Westbury Road and Country Club Avenue,

shown in the Greater Launceston Bicycle Network in Figure 21, as part of the long-term strategic plan for

the area.

8.1.10 Indented Bus Bays

Where possible, bus parking bays should be designed to be indented from the road behind the proposed

bicycle lanes. This may require earthworks due to level differences between the pavement and the

footpath.

8.2 Prospect Vale Marketplace

The current Prospect Vale Marketplace car park is heavily utilised and has large delays associated with

right turn movements in and out of the site. This situation is likely to worsen as more residential

subdivision occurs in the nearby area (thus increasing the catchment area for the shopping centre).

A new roundabout is recommended as shown in Figure 32 between Westbury Road, Vale Street and the

Prospect Vale Marketplace to form the main access. The existing northern and southern car park

accesses should become “left-in, left-out” only excepting heavy vehicles which cannot utilise the

roundabout.

As part of the development, a car park redesign is recommended with potential one way circulation to

reduce general congestion and improve vehicular circulation and pedestrian safety.

47


Figure 32 Market Place Access Configuration

Clear line-marking and definition should be added to the Petrol Plus site access south of the Prospect

Vale Marketplace car park.

8.3 Land Use Planning

8.3.1 Jardine Crescent Connectivity

If future subdivision of land is proposed between Las Vagas Drive, Stuart Avenue and Jardine Crescent,

it is recommended that development provide connectivity between Stuart Avenue, Jardine Crescent and

Las Vegas Drive as shown in Figure 33. This will aid in reducing congestion on Westbury Road, and at

the Country Club Avenue roundabout, by providing an alternative route. It will also greatly increase

connectivity for Stuart Avenue by providing safer access via alternative routes. It should be noted that

connectivity between all three streets is not necessarily required, but connection between two or more of

these roads is considered desirable.

New Roundabout

Redesigned

Car park

Left In/ Left Out only

(heavy vehicles

excepted)

Left In/ Left Out only

(heavy vehicles

excepted)

Access to/from

bottle shop and

service station

48


Figure 33 Jardine Crescent Subdivision

8.4 St Patrick’s College

St Patricks College should continue to consider improved pick-up and drop-off parking facilities within the

school where possible to reduce the impacts on on-street parking on Westbury Road. On-street parking

should be banned in the immediate vicinity of the Mt Leslie roundabout to support this. Observations

indicate that some pick-up/ drop-off activity occurs on Westbury Road to the north of the roundabout

(within Launceston City Council boundary), which increases the potential for rear-end collisions at this

location.

Improved pedestrian crossing facilities (as mentioned in earlier sections of this report) will greatly

improve road safety for students of the school.

Potential

Connectivity

Prospect Vale

Marketplace

49


8.5 Ongoing Monitoring

The Westbury Road corridor should continue to be monitored into the future, specifically in relation to

the following:

Traffic Volumes – Traffic counters should be used regularly to monitor the traffic growth and

saturation of Westbury Road.

Crash Data – The crash rates should be examined annually in order to identify any new road

safety deficiencies arising due to increasing traffic volumes.

Public Comments – Council should continue to actively seek community feedback on the

Westbury Road corridor, including the modifications as recommended in this report.

50


9. Conclusion

This report details the findings of a transport study of Westbury Road and surrounding areas. Westbury

Road connects between Bass Highway and Launceston and provides access to a large residential

catchment area as well as shopping, commercial and industrial precincts.

This report should be utilised for future planning of Westbury Road and adjacent land use.

Westbury Road provides a collector road function as it carries a significant volume of through traffic that

is growing at a steady rate. It also provides access to properties along its length. Both of these

functions are important, although it is difficult to cater for increased accessibility and through traffic at

same time.

Issues identified through key stakeholder engagement and site investigations predominantly related to

access to and from property and side roads. Westbury Road also provides a barrier for pedestrians.

Reported crash data show that Westbury Road has a relatively high rate of mid-block crashes,

highlighting the conflict between the through traffic and access functions of the road.

It is likely that Westbury Road and its surrounding roads will cater for more pedestrians and cyclists over

time due to land use development in the nearby area. Westbury Road will need to be modified to

provide improved accessibility for these modes of transport over time.

This study identified the following traffic management strategies to improve Westbury Road over time:

Reduced speed limit to 50-km/h along the full length of Westbury Road

Roundabout at Vale Street

Pedestrian actuated traffic lights near Prospect Vale shopping centre.

Improved accessibility for the Prospect Vale Shopping Centre for both vehicles and pedestrians

Provision of on-street cycling lanes

Various intersection upgrades

Increased number of pedestrian refuge islands to improve crossability

Land use recommendations to improve connectivity within the study area and place less reliance

on key intersections (e.g. Jardine Crescent)

Roundabout at the connection of Bass Highway off ramp with Westbury Road

The Westbury Road corridor should continue to be monitored over time with respect to traffic

volumes, crash data and public comments

51


Appendix A1

Submissions from Public Consultation

52


GENERAL SUMMARY

Westbury Road

Westbury Road suffers from a high level of congestion during peak traffic periods.

Parking

On-street parking on Westbury Road restricts the sight distance from some intersections. In some

areas, the lack of on-street parking is causing workers to mount the footpath, restricting pedestrian

access and forcing them onto the road.

Driveway Access

Access into and out of side-streets and driveways on Westbury Road is difficult and there are large

delays associated with right turn manoeuvres. Indication often results in driver confusion when turning

into a rarely utilised street or driveway.

Vehicle Speeds

Motorists tend to exceed the 60-km/h speed limit imposed on Westbury Road, particularly south of the

Country Club Avenue roundabout. Residents have requested a reduction in speed limit, or variable

speed signage, to be applied to Westbury Road during peak times.

Pedestrian Access

There is a general lack of pedestrian crossing facilities on Westbury Road. This is particularly noticeable

near Prospect High School, St Patrick’s College, Prospect Vale Marketplace and Tyler Village. People

utilising public transport often have to wait a large amount of time or attempt a dangerous road

crossing.

Prospect Vale Marketplace

There are large delays for vehicles performing right-turn manoeuvres into, and vehicles existing, the

Prospect Vale Marketplace. Right turn movements out of the northern end of the marketplace,

particularly by heavy vehicles, are causing unnecessary additional delays for left turning vehicles as well

as reducing intersection sight distance.

Due to the delays, there is a tendency for vehicles to turn left out of the car park and use either one of

the roundabouts or another intersection to perform U-turn manoeuvres rather than turning right directly.

Parking spaces and aisle widths within the Prospect Vale Marketplace car park are very narrow, further

increasing the congestion of the car park.

Petrol Plus Service Station

Access to the Petrol Plus Service Station and BWS bottle shop is congested and have large delays

associated. Additionally, there is a poor definition of the entrance and exit.

Allan’s Garden Centre

There is a high rate of drop off and pick up occurring outside the Allan’s Garden Center on Westbury

Road during peak periods. In addition, there is a bus stop at this location and no safe pedestrian

53


crossing facilities nearby.

Country Club Avenue

The access to the Statewide Real Estate is located on the Country Club Avenue roundabout.

Bradford Avenue

There is limited sight distance at the intersection of Bradford Avenue and Westbury Road, particularly for

pedestrian and cyclists travelling along the footpath. Vehicles having difficulty turning right onto

Westbury Road are performing U-turn manoeuvres at the Bradford Avenue intersection.

Mace Street

The new Ben Lomond Views subdivision located on Mace Street will increase the already high traffic

volumes utilising the intersection of Mace Street and Westbury Road. Vehicles having difficulty turning

right onto Westbury Road are performing U-turn manoeuvres at the Mace Street intersection.

Donalds Avenue

The intersection of Donalds Avenue and Westbury Road is heavily utilised by heavy vehicles due to the

industrial area at this location. The congestion is causing large delays and heavy vehicles are pulling out

into the major traffic stream with little regard for vehicles on Westbury Road.

The narrow intersection is also causing larger vehicles to mount the footpath and/or encroach into the

oncoming traffic lane in order to negotiate the intersection. Holding lines have worn off.

Harley Parade

A large amount of residential growth in the Harley Parade area, in addition to the sports ground, is

causing a large amount of congestion and high delays at the Harley Parade/ Westbury Road intersection.

This is particularly noticeable during Targa Tasmania.

There are also sight distance concerns with respect to on-street parking near Harley Parade.

54


WESTBURY ROAD CORRIDOR STUDY – RESPONSES FROM SURVEY FORM & EMAILS, AND

NOTES

Question Response Council Comment

1.0

Do you have any

concerns about

Westbury Road?

(please outline)

1.1 Entry/exit points of Petrol Plus service station – the

number of vehicles exiting from the entry driveway has

increased over the past year. It may be there is an

increased volume with the opening of the BWS store.

Survey Form

1.2 Traffic required to turn left at Bimbimbi end of

Marketplace on to Westbury Road are now doing U-

turns at Mace Street intersection; this is a very

dangerous manouevre.

Survey Form

1.3 As trucks are not required to turn left at road exit

Bimbimbi end of Marketplace, their right turn blocks up

this exit as they need more room than cars and quite

often do not leave enough room or visibility for cars to

continue to turn left.

Survey Form

1.4 Points taken from drawing on survey form:

STOP sign should be located at intersection of W’bury Road and Donald Avenue

extra turning lane for access into Australian Italian Club

- no parking between 420 Westbury Road and the Australian Italian Club due to turning of trucks and cranes

60km limit should be moved towards (St Patricks?) roundabout

Survey Form

1.5 Traffic Control – exits and entrances to Service

Station, Bottle Shop and supermarket congested and

highly dangerous.

Survey Form

1.6 Roundabout at Casino Rise needs a guard rail round

footpath particularly when turning left out of Casino

Rise.

Survey Form

55



NOTES


1.7 Pedestrians from Tyler House have difficulty crossing

the main entrance to the shopping centre. They find it

confusing watching traffic leaving and entering.

Suggest installing a pedestrian crossing over the

supermarket driveway.

Email from Manager at

Tyler House

56



NOTES


1.8 My family and I are residents of Bradford Avenue,

Prospect of which we have been for the past 18

months. The corner of concern is the T-junction of

Bradford Avenue which meets with Westbury Road.

Many vehicles use this as a turning circle, and many

cyclists cross over this intersection at high speed. The

concern is where cyclists cycling along the footpath

from the Mace Street side to the old shop side heading

towards Allen’s garden centre have nil vision until they

are onto that intersection, and any vehicle coming

down Bradford Avenue is at risk of hitting any

cyclist/pedestrian moving fast. (Because of the open

space opposite in front of the old shop – people think

they can see – but they cannot. I know it seems

strange, but is constantly proving to be true.

My solution: There needs to be a mirror for vision set

up there, or a roundabout. The fence on the property

situated on the corner of Bradford Avenue and

Westbury Road also needs to be lowered or removed.

This intersection is heavy with school traffic (back of

Prospect High and easy for St Patrick’s students) and

local traffic and now heavy vehicles which are

developing the new subdivision. My concern is that I

have already been involved in one accident whereby a

cyclist hit our vehicle whilst I was entering Westbury

Road from Bradford Avenue (thousands of dollars

damage to our vehicle and he nearly went under our

car). A second time a young cyclist just missed us by

an inch and had the fright of his lift – not to mention

us. What if we were a big truck that could not take

quick evasive action – or be ready each time for such

an event? It would be deadly. We have always

approached slow to this corner anyway.

Email from Alison

Hollingworth

57



NOTES


1.9 How awful it is to get out of the

supermarket/servo/bottleshop there anytime – let

alone at peak hour. Donalds Avenue is not much

better.

Email from Andrew

Howell

1.10 Woolworths Entries/Exits: This is ridiculous. I don’t

know what you can do here but it is nearly impossible

to get out of here during peak hour without doing

something illegal…

The car parks and accesses/entries/exits for the

bottleshop, servo and supermarket are all terrible and

this contributes to chaos. Anyone trying to exit from

the supermarket and turning right holds traffic up for

literally 10 minutes sometimes – backing traffic up into

the bottle-o, supermarket carpark and servo.

I can only think of not allowing people to turn right out

of the supermarket, but instead making all traffic turn

left and go down to St Patricks roundabout and turning

around. Traffic lights are probably too restrictive on

Westbury Road and no room for a roundabout.

Email from Andrew

Howell

2.0

How do you

think Westbury

Road could be

improved?

2.1 Re access/exit to Petrol Plus - Installment of metal

plates which sit up but can be driven over in the

correct direction because they fold down flat, however

cannot be driven over from the wrong direction.

Survey Form

2.2 Slip lane into Petrol Plus and clear signage to

persuade drivers to use correct exit.

Survey Form

2.3 Direct some traffic from the Marketplace out the rear of

the carpark instead of all of it entering/exiting on to

Westbury Road. Residents in those streets may not be

too happy about that though!

Survey Form

58



NOTES


2.4 By taking traffic through Silverdome roundabout via an

exit to highway and entrance, thus reducing traffic flow

on Westbury Road. Traffic existing supermarket on

Bimbimbi Avenue side, causing problems as they have

to turn left only, forcing them to turn into Christ Street

and round that block to get to turn right. One major

entrance and exit from supermarket via a roundabout.

Survey Form

2.5 Install Traffic lights along the road to make getting out

of the driveway at the Marketplace easier.

Email from Manager at

Tyler House

59



NOTES


2.6 I am writing to complain about the car park at the

Prospect Vale Shopping Complex) I have found in the

11 years that I have been accessing the shopping

centre that there have been improvement made to car

parks and access to the car park, however I believe

that more needs to be done.

Ultimately I believe that the centre requires traffic

lights controlling one access point of entry and exit.

This would allow for the management of traffic on the

busy Westbury Road and ensure that vehicles are

entering and exiting the complex safely. (Three entry

and two exit points to the complex is excessive and

over complicates the area). The addition of traffic

lights would also allow pedestrians (many of whom are

elderly) safe crossing over Westbury Road. As I

appreciate that this is an expensive request and that it

is unlikely to occur in the near future, I would like to

ask that it be proposed as an addition for future

budgets. I would have preferred to see my rates go

towards this than the resurfacing of Pitcher Parade

(that really did not need to be done).

Assuming that traffic lights are outside the current

budget, I would like to request some further small

changes to the existing car park, given the recent

changes made:

1. Right-hand turn access from Westbury Road into

the car park be removed from the middle entry point

(between the petrol station and the main building)

which is now the only right-hand turn exit point.

2. Paint arrows on the one-way exit from the petrol

station into the car park – two lanes with one with a

right and the other a left-hand arrow (encouraging cars

to move to the right of the lane when existing the

petrol station and the complex itself).

I believe that these two small changes will aid in

making the entry into and out of the complex and the

Email from Rebecca

Doumouras

60



NOTES


petrol station flow better and reduce the frustration of

drivers.

2.7 I believe that the main lane for traffic flow around the

car park should be widened to give vehicles better

access to and from the main area of car parks.

Redesign of car park spaces so that vehicles are not

backing out onto such lanes as well as the installation

of gutters (or similar) to prevent vehicles from taking

shortcuts through spaces onto the access lane would

also help improve traffic flow around the car park

(obviously this may not be completely achievable

given the space involved and the number of car

spaces required). Such a redesign is probably only

possible if traffic in and out of the complex is reduced

to a single access point with a traffic light (probably

also retaining the entry point into the petrol station).

Email from Rebecca

Doumouras

61



NOTES


2.8 Donalds Avenue Intersection/Westbury Road and also

Bass Highway intersection/Westbury Road: We have a

suggestion on how we think Council should address

the intersections which immediately impact on our

business – the Donalds Avenue-Westbury Road

junction and also the Westbury Road/Bass Highway

junction (where Interpump now is on the corner) – this

is another HV route with the industrial businesses

along towards Dulux, Volvo, Harley’s etc. Both are

notoriously difficult to get out of, even when it is not

peak hour and HV often just pull out in front of people

and hold traffic up after waiting there 5-10 minutes at

times.

We think one solution might be to look at placing a

roundabout on the interpump intersection which would

possibly resolve the issue with traffic (particularly HV)

coming out from near Roberts, Dulux, Volvo, etc.

As a second part to this, we think you should close off

the front of Donalds Avenue where it accesses

Westbury Road and acquire a small strip of land down

through the open area of Galvline for a new road – to

meet up with a new roundabout above, forming one

large intersection instead of two that don’t currently

work well. This takes all traffic back to this new

roundabout intersection which has plenty of space to

construct, and you also get a block at the end of

Donalds Avenue (where it used to meet Westbury

Road) to sell off to acquire necessary land off Galvline

and/or contribute towards roundabout costs. Has

advantage of removing part of blind corner for Donalds

Avenue intersection, encloses all the industrial bit and

potentially gets some leverage to get rid of Galvline

limited access if you wanted – they currently use this

open area we propose for a new road as an access

through their premises anyway as they can’t turn

semi’s easily inside.

Email from Andrew

Howell

62



NOTES


2.9 I am Fred Mace, one of the older generation of

Prospect; Tom Barker, Mrs Nancy Roteral and Mrs

Philis Rudd, there could be others. I have seen

Prospect grow from horse and cart days to its present

township. There were only 75 houses from Normanton

Road in the whole area, including Summer Hill,

Prospect, Prospect Vale, Blackstone Heights and Mt

Leslie. With all new shops and supermarkets and

factories and now 8,000 houses, so when schools are

opening it is at is busiest time.

So if the new highway (had not been) opened it would

have been chaotic. I have studied the area and the

only solution I can see is to advise those that work in

Launceston to travel down the new highway. It is

quicker to turn left and travel down the new highway.

It has been asked if (it were) possible to have:

a pedestrian light at (the) Woolworth crossing the road as older people and pram and wheelchair people are slower to get across. Coming out of the supermarket, if you try to get to the island it is dangerous as cars are onto you before (you) know.

Arrows in and out of Woolworths, cars are not allowed to right; semi trailers do (only) one lane.

Letter received from

Fred Mace - 329

Westbury Road,

Prospect Vale

3.0

What do you

think Westbury

Road might look

like in the

future?

3.1 Hopefully much nicer. Overhead power lines and

poles, odd nature strip trees add to the messiness and

busy appearance of the road. MVC has done an

excellent job at the corner of Bass Highway near

Galvline. Looks very nice there.

Survey Form

3.2 A congested mess due to lack of foresight and

planning, ie supermarket, service station and bottle

department, all of which are the major contributors to

most of the problems.

Survey Form

63



NOTES


4.0

Do you have any

specific

comments

relating to:

vehicular

access to

properties?

Vehicular

access to side

roads? Trucks?

Pedestrians?

Bicyclists?

Motorcyclists?

4.1 Confusing arrangements at BWS and service station

as to how to exit the BWS. This results in cars exiting

at the entrance to the service station.

Survey Form

4.2 Marketplace carpark is way too tight – lucky for two

small cars to pass each other anywhere within the

carpark.

Survey Form

4.3 Improve entries and exits for supermarket and Petrol

Plus service station.

Survey Form

4.4 Install fold down steel driveway barriers to encourage

people to use correct entries and exits. Barriers fold

down when driven over in the correct direction and

stay in place all other times.

Survey Form

4.5 Truck movement in Donaldson Avenue and cranes

need more room for turning as sometimes they end up

on the footpath.

Survey Form

4.6 No parking signs on one side have been knocked

over.

Survey Form

4.7 Poor lighting in reserve at end of Wenlock Way is a

concern; also motorcyclists use the reserve as a

through road. Very dangerous indeed for pedestrians!

Survey Form

4.8 As a Manager (of Tyler Village) and a driver, the only

issues I and a few other people find frustrating is the

time it can take to get out of our driveway at Tyler

Village. Sometimes you can sit there for 10 minutes

and that is not an exaggeration.

Email from Damien

Bailey, Manager at

Tyler House

5.0

Harley Parade /

Westbury Road

5.1 Parking of parents near junction as a school bus drop

off point is busy, vehicles cut this corner and there is a

parked car obstructing visibility along with the fences

on this corner. It needs an island!

Notes/observations by

Ted Ross

64



NOTES


Junction 5.2 If Harley Parade has any more growth (through

subdivisions) it will need an alternative access as

combined with the sports grounds there is a lot of

traffic now and only one way in and one way out.

5.3 During Targa staff from the Country Club Hotel use an

access onto Harley Parade and this causes a lot of

problems.

5.4 Also during Targa with all the traffic coming in from the

Bass Highway it is difficult to get onto Westbury Road.

6.0

Mace Street

6.1 Cars do U-turns after exiting the supermarket by

turning left as it is too hard to turn right or you are not

allowed to do this.

6.2 Concerns in regards to Ben Lomond Views there are

68 new houses, how are we dealing with this? There

will be an increase on Bradford and Mace Streets and

it will be even harder to get in and out of this road.

6.3 There should be a roundabout at Mace Street!

7.0

Accident Data

7.1 Residents think the crash data is likely to be higher in

the order of 3 or 4 times. Not all accidents are reported

to the police.

8.0

Speed

8.1 Speed off the highway – people still in highway mode,

people don’t slow down until they reach the country

club roundabout.

8.2 Can we slow it down to 50km/h? Will motorists be

more frustrated by slower speeds and cause more

accidents? Will this reduce the ability of the road to

take the amount of traffic for now and into the future?

65



NOTES


8.3 Could we use variable speed signage for busy periods

and to control speed near the school.

8.4 Cars seem to be speeding at greater than 60+ km/h

9.0

Access to

Driveways

9.1 Very difficult to get into and out of driveways. When

you indicate people think you are turning into a road

e.g. on the approach to Country Club roundabout

when you are actually turning into the Australian Italian

Club or a house.

9.2 It is almost impossible to turn right out of driveways in

peak periods and residents are forced to turn left and

go for a distance before they can use a roundabout to

come back.

9.3 Turning into driveways there are a lot of crashes and

potential accidents.

10.0

Subdivisions

10.1 Population expansion = more vehicles/pedestrians

11.0

Donalds Avenue

11.1 Not shown on plans and is busy it needs traffic counts

and it need to be considered.

11.2 Line marking Donaldson Avenue is missing an extra

wide white line (holding line) worn off, never put back.

This would help get trucks in and out of the road.

Sometimes trucks just go and don’t stop because they

find it hard to get a gap in the traffic.

11.3 Crane goes across to the other side of the road when

they are entering Westbury Road.

66



NOTES


12.0

Marketplace

Carpark

12.1 Having 2 x entrances at the supermarket is

problematic and could be improved by having a slip

road (this is common for many mainland shopping

centres) or a roundabout. The nature strips could be

removed and a slip road installed from before the

service station. This would prevent queuing on the

main road and improve sight distance for those turning

out. Suggestion that you could have a slip road on one

side and a slip road on the other side to exit the car

park.

12.2 Access to the supermarket and service station is

narrow and needs to be widened. Cars propped in the

centre to turn in block the way of vehicles that are

turning right out of the car park can this be fixed?

12.3 Why are heavy vehicles allowed to turn right out of the

Marketplace carpark while cars have to wait and can

only turn left (northern access).

12.4 Marketplace = CHAOS so many accidents,

pedestrians can’t cross accesses.

12.5 Tight car parking spaces can they be bigger?

12.6 People blocking traffic (right turners), left turn should

be able to go without waiting, pedestrian sometimes

have to wait for lots of cars entering and exiting the

carpark before they can cross!

13.0

Pedestrian

Crossings

13.1 Is it possible to use an under or over pass? Concern

by residents that overpasses are difficult to use for the

elderly and that young people would be unlikely to use

them (access/mobility issues). Perceived safety issues

with underpasses.

67



NOTES


13.2 Westbury Road is very difficult to cross and elderly

residents who try and cross are unable to do so in

many cases. Suggestions that traffic lights for

pedestrians could be installed between Mt Leslie Road

and Brandford Avenue to service the two schools and

also lights at the shopping centre to improve this as a

crossing point.

13.3 Need a pedestrian crossing for kids at Mt Leslie Road,

other schools have this and the roundabout does not

help pedestrian safety.

14.0

Access to Bass

Highway

14.1 Council should extend Chris St to have an access onto

highway from Ben Lomond Views. This would be an

on ramp only to take pressure off Westbury Road.

14.2 Have Council looked at providing access onto the

highway from the Silverdome. This would take away

all the traffic from events and also residents from

Summerhill and other residents that currently access

the highway by travelling through Prospect.

15.0

Traffic Lights

15.1 If traffic lights are used they need to allow for flow so it

doesn’t hold up the traffic.

16.0

Parking

16.1 Parking restricts view from side streets, especially at

Mace Street where there is always a car parked just

up the road and you can’t see traffic coming from the

right.

16.2 Trades people have been parking on Westbury Road

on the footpath and students are forced to walk on the

road. Council should police this more.

68



NOTES


17.0

Allens Garden

Centre

17.1 High pick up point for parents at this location and

during peak periods it is very busy and concern that

there could be accidents. Also a bus stop at this

location and it is not safe for kids to be crossing at this

location with all this other stuff happening.

18.0

Roundabouts

18.1 Drivers need to be educated on how to drive them,

they should work like a cog and not stop start as it is

very inefficient and means that it doesn’t work as well

as it should.

19.0

Access to

Blackstone

19.1 Council should make Mt Leslie Road wider and then

extend this road along to join in with pitcher parade.

20.0

Bimbimbi

Avenue/Jardine

Crescent

20.1 Is it possible to have another access to the

supermarket via the rear? This would require widening

of Bimbimbi. Residents of Bimbimbi are not happy

about this suggestion.

20.2 Council have previously said that the undeveloped

land at the end of Jardine Cres can only be developed

using three cal de sacs (Jardine, Stuart, Off Las

Vegas) is there an opportunity to join these up to

access Las Vegas drive and Country Club Avenue to

take pressure off Westbury Road.

21.0

Congestion

21.1 How much traffic is on the road, fundamental question,

do we need more or less? There is just too much

traffic at the Market Place and it doesn’t seem to be

coping.

22.0

Further

Consultation

22.1 Suggestion that a card table at the Marketplace could

bring out more issues.

69



NOTES


22.2 Need to talk with school bus operators to find out what

they are doing.

23.0

Stuart Avenue

23.1 Child care creates additional vehicles in and out. They

are spread out so it is not as bad as we thought it

would be. Suggest though that each additional

business creates more traffic.

24.0

Bass Highway

24.1 Reluctance of elderly in the community to use the

Southern Outlet as it is a steep hill with lots of

vehicles, high speed and large trucks. Prefer to use

Westbury Road to access Launceston.

24.2 Difficult to get onto the Southern Outlet from the Bass

Highway because of the speed and number of lanes.

Need to extend the lane further down towards the

Westbury Road overpass to improve the merge. Can

you reduce the speed here?

25.0

Country Club

Avenue

25.1 Working well, if it wasn’t there then residents think that

people would still be waiting to get onto Westbury

Road.

25.2 Dangerous statewide access opposite Country Club

Ave on the roundabout, near misses for vehicles

exiting, they seem to access wherever they want and

do not give way to vehicles on the roundabout.

26.0

Metro

26.1 Various bus routes go through Westbury Road at

different times. Sometimes need to wait for more than

an hour. Hadspen, Blackstone, Summerhill at various

times drop off, difficult as you need to cross the Bass

Highway (Westbury Road?) so sometimes you are

better off just staying on the bus and travelling out to

Hadspen and when you get back get off on the right

side of the road.

70


Cycling:

Council officers had discussions with a number of members of the Genesys cycling team in regards to

the provision of cycling routes and received the following feedback:

Cyclists train in rural areas where there are lower traffic volumes and there is less disruption

(start/ stop). The difficulty is gaining access to these areas through the city of Launceston and

the provision of cycling lanes helps to delineate travel paths and gain awareness from other road

users that cyclists exist.

Westbury Road is a good example of a link used to access training areas within Meander Valley

and also links through to Northern Midlands via Pateena Road.

One of the most difficult traffic situations is negotiating roundabouts where the road narrows

and where turning movements cause traffic conflict. Skilled cyclists on the approach to a

roundabout assess the situation by either speeding up, or slowing down, to then merge in with

the traffic. The difficulty is with less experienced cyclists and road users who try and speed up to

get past the slow cyclist before the roundabout. The actual speed of movement within the

roundabout itself is similar so there are no problems once traffic users have merged.

Use of a cyclist zone on the approach to roundabouts would be ideal where on long stretches of

road a white line and cycling symbols are appropriate. Highlighting conflict areas in green as

undertaken in other areas around Australia improves delineation and lets other road users know

that it is ok for a cyclist to come across and merge with the traffic.

Ideally cycling lanes would be separated from other traffic however having lanes is better than

the current situation.

71


Appendix A2

Submissions from Public Consultation

72


RACT Response:

The following is a summarised response to the Draft Westbury Road Transport Study from Mr Gary

O’Keefe on behalf of RACT and the Regional Road Safety Taskforce:

RACT support the reduction of speed limit on Westbury Road to 50-km/hr.

RACT are in favour of future consideration of the Mace Street/ Westbury Road and Bradford

Street/ Westbury Road intersections for the construction of roundabouts.

RACT support the construction of pedestrian actuated traffic signals near the Prospect Vale

Marketplace entrance.

RACT have expressed concern over the historical ad hoc approach to bicycle lanes in the Greater

Launceston area and that careful planning is required for bicycle lanes on Westbury Road.

Future development of subdivisions in the Westbury Road corridor will cause increased traffic

volumes. RACT expressed concern over the additional strain this will have on intersections

within the road network.

RACT are in favour of Council negotiating for the acquisition of land to reroute Donalds Avenue

to connect to the recommended roundabout at Harley Parade.

73


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Document Status

Revision Author Review Date

0 Keith Midson Mark Petrusma 17 January 2011

1 Keith Midson Zara Kacic-Midson 24 January 2011

2 Keith Midson Mark Petrusma 6 April 2011

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