In built-up areas like the Woy Woy Peninsula, you would expect the streets to have kerbing and footpaths.
The kerbing designates where vehicles can drive and park, plus controls the flow of stormwater when it rains. The footpaths are there to provide a safe commute for pedestrians, the elderly and frail, plus kids on pushbikes skateboards and so on. The road is for vehicles and the pavements for the people and it provides an element of safety and security for all of us.
Not so on the Peninsula, where through lack of care and money, the former Gosford Council has designated that over 70 streets in this densely populated area have no kerbing or footpaths. Gosford Council spent vast amounts on other developments within the Shire but left the Peninsula roads resembling an outback town. They have provided developments like the swimming complex in Blackwall Rd and the Woy Woy football oval, plus the massive Mantra Resort to be built.
Yet residents have had to suffer for more than 20 years with so many streets being poorly maintained. Many homeowners have spent thousands in giving their homes a facelift, but not a cent spent by Council in improving the streetscape. Too much time and lack of concern have passed and now it is time that Central Coast Council steps up and pays more attention to improving the Peninsula roads and streets. Peninsula residents should demand from council a full and comprehensive plan over the next five years for complete street upgrading.
Email, 10 Mar 2018 Rod Fountain, Booker Bay