PM Submission - Janelle Boyle - MCU22/0201

Subject: MCU22/0201 - Submission - Material Change of Use for a Car wash & Food and drink outlet
From: Jenelle Boyle
Date: 2023-11-03T04:44:18+00:00
To: Mailbox Council Mail

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Jenelle Boyle
Cooroy Mountain Road
(PO Box 348)
Cooroy   Qld   4563

2nd November 2023

The Assessment Manager
Noosa Council
PO Box 141
Tewantin   Qld   4565
e: [email protected]


Dear Sir / Madam

I refer to the above application and whilst, I do not object to the business proposed, I do object to the location.  Should this application be approved, a significant upgrade along Elm Street, would be required.

The use of Opal Street for ingress only and Diamond Lane for egress only, as proposed and addressed in the Oct Traffic Report is noted.

However, Item 10 of this report referencing "the relatively low traffic volumes expected on Opal Street" is debated.  No traffic count has been provided to substantiate this claim.

Currently Opal Street is one of the main ingress and egress points for the;

  *   BP Service Station (7 days a week)

As well as the primary ingress / egress points for patrons of the;

  *   Sunshine Coast Saddlery (6 days a week)
  *   Hinteractive Physio/Life Enhancing Chiropractic (5 days a week)
  *   Your Mates Bowls Club (6 days a week)

This route is also a major thoroughfare for residents on the eastern side of Elm Street and southern side of Diamond Street / Cooroy Tewantin Road travelling to and from the Business Centre / Cooroy State School / Bruce Highway southern interchange.

it is not unusual for the Opal Street outbound traffic and inbound traffic from Elm Street onto Opal Street to be at a standstill from those patrons of the BP Service Station turning from Elm Street (either north or south) to access the Opal Street entry and 'waiting' on Opal Street - across both lanes, until access can be gained into the Service Station.

It can only be predicted that a similar situation would arise by patrons waiting to access the Carwash facility.

During peak school hours, southbound Elm Street traffic is quite often at a standstill from the Myall Street intersection on the western side of the railway bridge, backing up along Elm Street through to the Reliance Service Station at the corner of Diamond Street and Elm Street

A further concentration of traffic onto Opal Street is an intensification of an already choked road intersection.

Item 11 of the Oct Traffic Report notes that "Placing a use such as this nearby to this type of road corridor is complementary and minimises the need for vehicles to divert significantly from their routes, especially in areas where the drivers may be unfamiliar with the local road network".

Item 24 (d) of this report references "Alternative locations for the proposed use at industrial precincts at Jarrah Street and Holts Road would be less complementary and would involve larger diversions of vehicles from the Cooroy-Tewantin road corridor and an increase in unfamiliar users in an industrial area".

These statements suggest that this proposed development's primary target are those vehicles 'travelling through', along Elm Street / Cooroy Noosa Road, and not the residents of Cooroy and environs.

Item 20 of the Oct Traffic Report further reinforces this where it states "There may be brief times during the day when turning right from Diamond Lane onto Elm Street may be difficult due to traffic volumes - drivers of vehicles wishing to travel to Noosa may opt to turn left and travel via Elm Street, Opal Street and Kauri Street.  While it would be infrequent for vehicles to use this alternative route, Opal Street and Kauri Street both have wide carriageways that are able to support vehicles towing caravans".

Locals already know the trials and tribulations of turning right onto Elm Street from either Opal Street or Diamond Lane.

Would not signage / advertising (as all business rely on) guide those drivers unfamiliar with the local road network, should such a business be established elsewhere.

Item 23 of the Oct Traffic Report references "that Council has asked the proponents of the proposed development to consider alternative locations to place the carwash, namely at existing industrial zones at Jarrah Street and Holts Road".

The observations by the author of the Oct Traffic Report in response to the above statement references the Jarrah Street location as being remote to the Cooroy-Tewantin road corridor and the Holts Road location still requiring vehicles to deviate from the main travel path, yet both Mary River Road and Holts Road already accommodate the Cooroy RV Stopover and Cooroy Caravan Park.  Again, the reference to the Cooroy-Tewantin road corridor suggests that the primary target for this facility to be those vehicles utilising this already heavily congested route.

The Cooroy-Tewantin road corridor is already a high volume traffic thoroughfare.  Turning left or right, or for that matter straight ahead to the Cooroy Railway Parking Precinct from the Diamond Street (Cooroy Tewantin Road) intersection can often be choked with southbound traffic again being backed up for several hundred metres back along Diamond Street (Cooroy Tewantin Road).

Should this development be approved, Council must take into consideration a substantial upgrade of Elm Street and in particular the intersection of Opal Street and Elm Street being required to accommodate all vehicles;

  *
turning right into Opal Street from Elm Street
  *
turning left into Opal Street from Elm Street
  *
turning right into the BP Service Station from Opal Street (off Elm Street northbound)
  *
turning left into the BP Service Station from Opal Street (off Elm Street southbound)
  *
turning left into the BP Service Station from Elm Street southbound (past Opal Street intersection)
  *
turning right into the BP Service Station from Elm Street northbound (before Opal Street intersection)
  *
turning left into the BP Service Station from Opal Street
  *
turning left into the proposed Carwash from Opal Street (via Elm Street southbound)
  *
turning left into the proposed Carwash from Opal Street (via Elm Street northbound)
  *
turning right into the proposed Carwash from Opal Street

Not to mention Bus Stop in the southbound lane of Elm Street adjacent to the proposed development site, where it is virtually impossible to clearly see traffic heading south when exiting from Opal Street onto Elm Street without extending into the southbound lane to check for oncoming traffic as visibility for southbound traffic is blocked by buses when stationary at this site.

The attached sketch plan indicates the current multitude of motor vehicle turning choices in the vicinity of the proposed development site.

Thanking you for your consideration.

Regards,
Jenelle Boyle