Victoria Street shop owners and their landlords Kath and Terry Skinner are furious after Roads and Maritime Services representatives told them a plan to take away shopfront parking was was already in place. 

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Local politicians all acknowledge the RMS has spoken to shop owners, some say the proposed plan is only one of many options and some say the RMS should have consulted stakeholders before any plans were discussed.

Most agree the installation of traffic lights at the Whylandra and Victoria street intersection will significantly decrease traffic congestion at peak times.

Dubbo MP Troy Grant said in developing a design, RMS consultation with potentially affected stakeholders is appropriate.

“One potential design which has caused angst is only that, a potential design,” he said.

“RMS has clearly said no decisions had been made.  I thank the stakeholders who have brought their concerns to my attention that is what consultation is all about. As the local MP, I will absolutely ensure that the RMS hears those concerns before any decisions are made.”

Mayor Ben Shields said council is working collaboratively with RMS on revising and preparing a detailed design for this intersection, particularly concerning minimising the impact on parking in front of the shops along Victoria Street.

“The intersection design is to ensure the proposed intersection upgrade achieves the goals of significantly improving local traffic flow,” he said.

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“At the same time, in accordance with work already undertaken by Council in collaboration with the property owners along Victoria Street, council aims to ensure this shopping precinct remains active and vibrant and that access to these shops for both motorists and pedestrians is recognised as a key outcome of the intersection upgrade works being undertaken by RMS.”

Labor candidate Stephen Lawrence said after discussions with Terry Skinner he had no doubt the RMS plan was the only option put forward to shop owners.

“The RMS definitely had decided to do away with the parking, but I understand from information I received late yesterday they will be going back to the drawing board on the proposal and undertaking consultation,” he said.

“The real issue here is the River Street bridge proposal which will see B triples going through the middle of Dubbo. This demonstrates how badly we need a by-pass solution.  

“Every other town seems to get one, but the Nationals want to saddle us with a bridge that will ensure the Newell Highway is channelled through town for the next 30 years.”

Nationals candidate Dugald Saunders said he is planning to meet with shop owners this week.

“The RMS should always consult with stakeholders about proposed plans ahead of any decisions being made so any errors or unintended consequences can be fixed,” he said.

“RMS staff should also be respectful and open to change during any such discussions. Given no final decisions have been made it’s a good chance for those affected to have their concerns heard and work towards the best solution.”

Independent candidate Mathew Dickerson said as a person who has started multiple businesses it was obvious that some of the businesses along the row of shops will be severely impacted by losing parking.

“I met with landlords for the majority of the shops and with business owners for several shops to hear their concerns first hand,” he said.

“One criticism that I have heard repeatedly about this government is that they do not communicate effectively with the public. This is just another example. There was no consultation with shop owners or landlords and no realisation from the Government that removing all the parking along this strip would have a major impact on these businesses.” 

Troy Grant MP

The installation of traffic lights at the Whylandra and Victoria street intersection will significantly mitigate increasing traffic congestion at this location particularly at peak times in the morning and afternoon and addresses community calls for improvements.

In developing a design for the approaches RMS consultation with potentially affected stakeholders is absolutely appropriate and one potential design which has caused angst is only that, a potential design.

RMS have clearly said NO decisions have been made.  I thank the stakeholders who have brought their concerns to my attention that is what consultation is all about.  As the local MP I will absolutely ensure that those concerns are heard by the RMS before any decisions are made and am more then happy to meet with them and the Nationals candidate for Dubbo Dugald Saunders to ensure a satisfactory community outcome is achieved.

Stephen Lawrence

I have been working on this for the last 2 days since I was contacted by Terry Skinner. 

The RMS definitely had decided to do away with the parking, but I understand from information I received late yesterday they will be going back to the drawing board on the proposal and undertaking consultation. 

The real issue here is the River St bridge proposal which will see B triples going through the middle of Dubbo. 

This demonstrates how badly we need a by pass solution.  

Every other town seems to get one but the Nationals want to saddle us with a bridge that will ensure the Newell Highway is channeled through town for the next 30 years. 

The whole bridge debacle shows the emptiness of all their rhetoric around infrastructure funding. 

If the Nats lose this seat I believe it will be because of the bridge/by pass issue.

The reality is every Nationals MP is bragging about record spends, because of privatisation and record stamp duty income.

Orange gets a brand new hospital and a by pass, but in Dubbo we can't get either. Meanwhile billions are spent on knocking down Sydney stadiums.

Troy probably believes his own rhetoric but the truth is elsewhere and it's not good. 

Dugald Saunders

 I have already spoken to shop owners who may be affected, and we are planning to meet on site in the next day or so.

The RMS should always consult with stakeholders about proposed plans ahead of any decisions being made so any errors or unintended consequences can be fixed.

RMS staff should also be respectful and open to change during any such discussions. Given no final decisions have been made it’s a good chance for those affected to have their concerns heard and work towards the best solution.

Mathew Dickerson

On Thursday I was informed that shop owners were being contacted by RMS about losing parking in front of their businesses so I arranged meetings on that same day. I met with landlords for the majority of the shops and met with business owners for several shops to hear their concerns first hand. As a person who has started multiple businesses, it was obvious to me that some of the businesses along the row of shops will be severely impacted by losing that parking and the businesses I spoke with confirmed the same. I would happily meet with more shop owners along the strip to discuss options but to me the only viable option that will protect those businesses is not to lose that parking.

As I have travelled across the electorate, one criticism that I have heard repeatedly about this government is that they do not communicate effectively with the public. This is just another example. There was no consultation with shop owners or landlords and no realisation from the Government that removing all the parking along this strip would have a major impact on these businesses. The public needs to know if, in fact, any decisions have actually been made on the River Street bridge option. On 2 June 2017, this Government made the announcement that a new bridge would be constructed at the River Street location with no timeframe given. This was to cover the fact that a major election promise was broken. On 14 March 2015, the Premier, Deputy Premier and Roads Minister made the announcement that, if the Government was re-elected, they would duplicate the LH Ford Bridge in this current term of Government. That has not happened.”

In the middle of 2012, when I was Mayor of Dubbo City Council, a road transportation strategy to the year 2045 was unanimously adopted by Council. One of the points from the strategy was to ‘actively lobby State and Commonwealth Governments as a matter of priority to fund a duplication of the LH Ford Bridge’ and this community was led to believe this lobbying effort was successful in 2015. The 2045 strategy also outlined the broad plan for a freightway (or ring road) to move highway traffic away from the main bottlenecks in Dubbo. There are two separate problems in Dubbo with traffic at the West Dubbo roundabout and they need two separate solutions. The River Street Bridge option is an attempt to solve two problems with one solution and it solves neither problem effectively.