The decision making process behind the change in route for this year's Anzac Day march is now available to the public.
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Councillor Hollee Jenkins requested a chronology of the decision making process from Singleton Council on April 15 this year following community concerns about the change in the Anzac Day march route in particular the decision not to allow the march to head down George Street.
Authorities refused to close George Street for the march despite the fact this had been the regular route from John Street via Campblee Street to Burdekin Park.
Only the issues with the park's flying fox colony had previously forced a change in the march's direction and relocation to Civic Park from 2012 before its return in 2017.
According to the Council's response to Cr Jenkins there were a num er of issues in both the 2017 and 2018 marches involving the closure of George Street.
- Drivers bypassing the ROAD CLOSED signs and entering the march area (2 incidents in 2017 and 1 incident in 2018).
- The shortest detour route for northbound vehicles (due to the weight limit on Dunolly Bridge) is Boundary Street, Dyrring Road, Retreat Road and Bridgman Road which is an extremely long detour (due to the already excessive amount of traffic control signage required it is not practical to provide separate light and heavy vehicle detours).
- Traffic control devices being moved/knocked over etc. Due to the size of the traffic control set up in 2017 and 2018 it was not possible to fully monitor all activity to ensure that the event area was fully contained. However with the deployment of more resources this would be possible.
- Excessive delays to the highway due to the road not being cleared of pedestrians in a timely manner after the ceremony.
The suggestion to change the route for 2019 was initially raised by the Police at a planning meeting for the 2019 Anzac Day march that was held in April 2018 prior to that year's march.
An email was sent to Singleton RSL on January 15, 2019 by Council's Traffic Engineering and Road Safety Officer outlining that there had been a number of issues with the Anzac Day parade route that was used for the last two years (Hunter Street, John Street, New England Highway) in terms of road safety, inconvenience for drivers and logistical issues in setting up and monitoring the traffic control and that it was suggested that the parade route be changed to go along John Street, Elizabeth Street and Bourke Street, ending in Burdekin Park.
The RSL responded via email on January 27 that the proposed changes to the route were discussed at a meeting and that the general response was that the members present agreed that there was an issue with the highway and that they would be taking a group to take a look at the proposed route.
The RSL advised via email on the February 12 that they had undertaken a tour of the proposed route and requested that the parade start on Ryan Avenue so those marching would not have to walk over the speed humps on John Street.
A revised plan of the route, starting at Ryan Avenue, was sent to the RSL via email on February 13. The proposed traffic control for the Anzac Day march 2019 was discussed at the Local Traffic Committee meeting on February 21.
The recommendation to Council was that "Local Traffic Committee recommends that Council approves the implementation of the temporary traffic control measures for the Anzac Day parade as per 'PS19-009 - Anzac Day 2019 - Traffic Control Plan'." The Traffic Control Plan effected the temporary closure of the following roads; Ryan Avenue between John Street (north) and Burns Lane John Street between Hunter Street and Elizabeth Street Elizabeth Street between John Street and Bourke Street Bourke Street between Elizabeth Street and Hunter Street Hunter Street between Bourke Street and New England Highway
That recommendation was approved by Council at its March 18 meeting. The approved recommendation read "Local Traffic Committee recommends that Council approves the implementation of the temporary traffic control measures for the ANZAC Day parade on 25 April 2019 as per 'PS19-009 - ANZAC Day 2019 - Traffic Control Plan' and that Council Officers monitor traffic during the march to consider if any amendments are required to the march route or the traffic control measures for future marches".
Anzac Day 2019 was also discussed at the Councillor Briefing on March 25. The Director Planning & Infrastructure Services attended a debrief meeting on May, 13 organised by the Singleton RSL Sub-Branch.
The Singleton RSL Sub Branch Steering Committee is proposing to meet in August to discuss the future Anzac Day march route.
In the meantime, the Mayor, General Manager, Councillor Sue George (as Chairperson of the Local Traffic Committee), the Director Planning & Infrastructure Services and the Traffic Engineering & Road Safety Officer, met with Inspector Jo Schultz to discuss the Anzac Day march route. Council staff are following up with RMS to determine the extent to which they are prepared to consider closing the Highway during next year's march and service.
At this week's Council meeting it was resolved that Singleton Council provide support and assistance to the Singleton RSL Sub Branch with the preparation of a risk assessment, safety management plan and any other assistance requested by the Sub-Branch for the smooth planning and execution of the Anzac Day proceedings.
The full version is available at https://www.singleton.nsw.gov.au/357/Meeting-Agendas-and-Minutes
