SOUTH Arm Road, which runs from Rokeby through Lauderdale and Sandford to South Arm, once served the rural communities east and south of Clarence Plains, but those days are long gone by. This road, which is a highway in all but construction, now runs through a countryside where many old farming properties regularly fall to subdivision in one of the growth areas of the City of Clarence.

This road is the main access route in and out of a region for the residents of Acton, Roches Beach, Lauderdale, Sandford, Cremorne, Clifton Beach, South Arm and Opossum Bay. This coastal district of beaches and bays is also a playground for southern Tasmania, where many thousands make there way along this road every year to drive, picnic, cycle, swim, fish, go canoeing, boating, sailing, sail-boarding and surfing. Added to this tally are the many spectators who come to watch some of these activities and tourists discovering our island.

Another user of South Arm Road is the pedestrian. It is only 2 kilometres between Rokeby and Lauderdale in this growing urban area and should a person decide to walk through the region, or needs to, there is only one way to go and that is along South Arm Road. Normally, walking along the side of a road would not be a worry, but the stretch of South Arm Road between Rokeby and Lauderdale has no footpath and in many places the pedestrian is forced to struggle along in close proximity to fast moving traffic.

It is bad enough during the day, but for anyone attempting this walk at night, the situation becomes extremely dangerous. There are taverns in Lauderdale and Rokeby and should a patron have a glass too many and decide to do the right thing and walk home along this road, in either direction, they would be entering a death zone.

While the region grows and recreational activity increases, South Arm Road has become fossilised in the shape of its rural past. Plans were drawn up decades ago to rebuild this road and officially declare it a highway, but an archaeologist may need to be called in to dig those plans up from beneath the dust of eternal delays.

An offer from the Police Academy

The Lauderdale Primary School has received an offer from the Police Academy, only 1500 metres from the school, to use their facilities. Lauderdale School students would love to take up this offer, but the Police Academy may as well be on the Moon, as with no footpath, it is far too dangerous for teachers or parents to allow their children to walk or cycle along South Arm Road.

In April 2004 a young student of the school, Danica Monks, age 13, was so riled at the situation that she started a petition, collecting over 1200 signatures. Will Hodgman MHA presented the document to the House of Assembly, but that’s as far as it went. Silence fell like a thickening night while the road keeps getting busier.

A number of public meetings were held at the Lauderdale School last year and even Senator Paul Calvert expressed his anger at the situation, calling upon the State Government to “put up the money that is required to fix this.” (see below). Senator Calvert has lived in Sandford all his life and has watched the region grow by leaps and bounds, while the road has lagged ever further behind the demands of the times.

The Tasmanian Government revealed a keen interest in having South Arm Road rebuilt in 2004, when a canal housing proposal was mooted for Ralphs Bay. Now that the Ralphs Bay developer has walked away, the State Government appears to be once again running away from their responsibilities with this road. This loss of interest is most unfortunate, as a serious health and safety issue is now emerging that could soon bite the Government and bring tragedy to the community.

A large subdivision of 186 lots has recently been approved for Oakdowns, straddling the skyline above the Police Academy and opens the way for hundreds more lots to be developed in Oakdowns. This subdivision approval is next to one of the more dangerous sections of South Arm Road, which cyclists often complain bitterly about. With no space between the verge of the road and a ditch and cutting on a long bend over the hill, it is hard for the drivers of cars, buses and trucks to see anything ahead, which could be a child on a bicycle.

Hundreds of families

With hundreds of families moving into the Oakdowns houses just above South Arm Road and many attending Lauderdale Primary School, it is easy to see children finding their way onto this road and potentially getting hit from behind by a truck. Such a tragedy could easily end up in the courts, where millions of dollars in damages could be sought from the State Government, the Clarence Council and the developer, for pursuing and approving a major subdivision next to a lethal road that everyone knows is highly dangerous, has no footpath, is unsafe to cycle or walk along and requires extensive works to reduce the risk and make the road more people-friendly.

With more children from Oakdowns predictably attending the Lauderdale Primary School, another hot spot on South Arm Road can only get worse. All parents dropping their children off at the school would be using the Acton Road turn-off and this junction is already notorious for accidents. This is yet another situation that illustrates the urgency of upgrading this dangerous road. Allowing more houses to be built in Oakdowns before the main road in the area is made a whole lot safer, shows just how the cart is well and truly before the horse along with planning for human needs, health and safety.

Perhaps the State Government should consider putting a freeze on the building of any more houses in Oakdowns, until South Arm Road at least has a footpath for children to walk or cycle along to the school, the skateboard ramp, the beach or simply to visit friends in Lauderdale? If a toxic waste dump were discovered in Oakdowns, no building would be allowed until it was cleaned up. In this instance, a toxic road runs by just below where the houses are to go, which is becoming all the more dangerous as the volume of traffic steadily increases.

There has been discussion about a coastal track between Rokeby and Lauderdale, to run along the shore of Ralphs Bay. This would be a wonderful recreational trail, but the Tasmanian Police Academy have expressed reservations about the general public going through their grounds with the training that they run. The Ralphs Bay trail will happen one day, but this could never be an alternative to improving South Arm Road and may not be an option for people needing to walk or cycle between Rokeby and Lauderdale at night.

Safe way to access the school

Senator Calvert has raised the need to improve South Arm Road through to Sandford, which is also a growing urban area and where children have needs like those in Oakdowns. Sandford children also deserve a safe way to access the school and the beach in Lauderdale, which is not provided at present along South Arm Road.

Perhaps the Premier should be invited to take a walk along South Arm Road and see for himself the need for immediate improvements. After all, it is an election year and South Arm Road is in the Premier’s electorate. The experience of being too intimately close to the traffic may just get the Premier’s blood boiling enough to inspire a long overdue fiscal response to the South Arm Road situation and see delivered the level of health and safety that all Tasmanians deserve.

The horse and trap is no longer seen clipping along South Arm Road, but it must be wondered if the planners and decision makers in this State still think they do. An avoidable tragedy should not be the wake-up call for road works to catch up with galloping development.

Personal declaration: I have been involved in a Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal appeal concerning the Oakdowns subdivision mentioned in this article, which started out on skyline issues only, but within a hearing saw the plan completely redesigned, growing from 178 to 186 lots and had a new access included onto South Arm Road, to be via a roundabout at the entrance to the Police Academy. I called on the Tribunal to send the new plan back to the Council for public comment, but in their wisdom they chose not to, siting the cost involved as a critical factor. At the time I knew that South Arm Road was a major concern to the community, but only since the hearing have I come to understand just how dangerous South Arm Road really is. I agreed not to pursue the traffic issue in the Tribunal hearing, when I was assured that the new access and roundabout would be advertised by the Department of Infrastructure for public comment. Working under the banner of Saving Ralphs, I have also letterboxed all of Lauderdale for public meetings at the School and walked along the road and around the coastal route a number of times with politicians and DIER employees.

Message of 8.8.2005 from Senator Paul Calvert for a public meeting in the Lauderdale School on the need to upgrade South Arm Road,
To fellow Ralphs Bay residents:

Firstly, my apologies that I cannot be present at the meeting, due to my Parliamentary commitments in Canberra this week. However, this is a subject — as a ratepayer, a local resident, and as the Eastern Shore based Federal MP — that is close to my heart, so I am grateful to have the opportunity to have some input to this discussion, and I would like to thank Kim Peart for initiating this forum to raise awareness of this issue.

There are many dangerous sections of road in Southern Tasmania, which have not yet been upgraded to a safe standard. Certainly the need for safety along South Arm Road — especially the section between Rokeby and Sandford — falls into this category.

I have been a local resident in this area for my whole life, and it seems that the State Government has forgotten the southern electorates in its recent road “touch-ups” program. And I believe that I reflect the views of many local residents who have come to me on this, when I say that the State Government has failed to keep pace on many Southern road upgrades.

But enough is enough. The State Treasurer is also our local member here in Franklin. Dangerous sections of this road in our community are long overdue for complete upgrades, and I am disappointed that nothing was done about it in this year’s budget. Mr Lennon needs to cast his eye over the conditions of one of the major State roads in his electorate, some time. He needs to listen to local residents — like those assembled here tonight! — and put up the money that is required to fix this.

The State Government needs to listen – NOW – to the needs of this community, in a number of different areas, and should consider seriously any and all innovative plans from the community to address local road safety concerns. I am interested in Saving Ralphs group’s proposal that a cycle and walking track be put along the southern side of South Arm Road and look forward to receiving further details about this proposal and its feasibility.

The road between Rokeby and Sandford suffers from poor surface and shoulder condition, unsafe road widths and inconsistent safety markings; and there is no doubt this is putting drivers, cyclists and pedestrians like schoolchildren, parents and the elderly at serious risk — every day. It is already stressed by growing volumes of traffic and becomes busier every day. There is certainly a lack of appropriate road signage in a number of different areas, as well.

Without desperately needed upgrades, the likelihood of road accidents and fatalities increases.

The Australian Government continues to generously assist local councils and State Governments with their infrastructure responsibilities, through programs like Roads to Recovery, and the Black Spot Safety program. But this is a State road — and the State Government must take responsibility for its own infrastructure.

The Government can’t have it both ways — to increase road safety, we need a commensurate increase in the infrastructure spending on Southern roads now.

Thankyou.

Senator Paul Calvert