Councillor Don Palmer Providing Local Leadership & Working for You

With the speed humps installed the Leah Street reconstruction has finally been completed.

After extensive local consultation the redevelopment of this road has been redeveloped and the installation of the speed control humps mark the final phase of construction.

I have to admit I was taken by surprise when driving down Leah Street on Thursday to see the humps being installed. It has been some time since work was done.

The locals I understand see this as a success storey but the work was not yet complete when a resident in my ward expressed concerns that the humps were back. I have just spent some time as a guest in their home during which time they made some good observations about their installation.

Firstly, as a nearby resident who uses the street daily they were not consulted. Secondly,they see convergence issues as drivers try to navigate the humps by positioning their vehicles over the humps but challenged by on coming traffic, particularly buses, to pull back.

Finally, as a daily user of the street, they are concerned that traffic in future may avoid the problems identified above by diverting down nearby residential streets.

So for me I reflect for future projects how far should consultation reach and when dealing with traffic issues where are the geographic boundaries when coming up with solutions. In other words how do we avoid creating problems in adjacent streets in order to solve the issues in one street.

I am thankful for their input in moving forward.