Friends of Oatley Inc - No Coles Supermarket for Oatley

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Unedited letter sent to St George Sutherland Shire Leader , part of which was published Thursday May 15 2008.

Dear Editor,
Please find attached a photo of a truck on the wrong side of Mulga Rd, Oatley. This "unsafe traffic situation" occurs on a daily basis. And why? Because Hurstville Council told the Land and Environment Court that such turning paths of trucks was not an issue.

Trucks, when turning left out of the Coles loading dock, cross the double centreline and go onto the wrong side of the road. This is not only illegal but also unsafe.

The court appointed expert identified such turning paths of trucks as an issue for the Land and Environment Court to consider.

On the first day of the hearing Hurstville Council told the court about "this problem of getting these 11 metre trucks on and off the site."

The commissioner agreed with Hurstville Council and the court appointed expert, and said that he could not ignore the problem and that if he followed Coles’ line of argument and if he decided to approve the supermarket, Coles "will have an unsafe traffic situation."

But, on the last day of the hearing Hurstville Council told the court that the turning paths of trucks was no longer an issue for Council, and the commissioner of the court then went on to approve the supermarket.

Regards
Anne Wagstaff

Letter to Hurstville City Council, General Manager September 28, 2007

Contravention of Coles Traffic Management Plan.

I am writing to complain about a contravention in the traffic management plan court order decreed when the Coles Supermarket was approved by the Land and Environment Court.

On Thursday 27 September at approximately 8.20am a Steggles van (number plate XBA506) delivering to Coles drove down Mi Mi St. The loading dock at Coles was full, so the van then proceeded to circle the block of Woronora Pde, Woonona Pde, Mi Mi St and Mulga Rd. The truck finally pulled into the loading dock at approximately 8.33am.

My understanding of the court order is:

That trucks are supposed to access the site via Gungah Bay Road and Mulga Road, and

That trucks are supposed to wait at Roberts Ave near the tennis courts for the loading dock to become available, not circle the streets in Oatley.

Please advise what actions council is taking to ensure that the Court Order is not breached by Coles.

Sincerely

Kym Coleman

Cc: Coles Supermarkets Pty Ltd (ABN 45 004 189 708)

800 Toorak Rd, Tooronga,

Vic 3146

Coles Supermarkets Pty Ltd

Manager

47-65 Mulga Rd

Oatley, 2223.

1) Have you seen trucks reversing out of loading bay?
This a breach of the court order. Take photo or details of numberplate, report immediatly to police and council this is a breach of the court order and report it to this blog with date and time.

2) Do you see trucks parked near Coles waiting to go into dock?
This is against the court order. According to the court order, trucks have to wait on Roberts Avenue. Report to Council and Police.

3) Have you experienced a dangerous situation as a pedestrian or driver due to traffic coming out of into the development?

Send us photos or your stories to ORAO@oatleypark.com

We tried, we lost but we still care

The people of Oatley fought hard to protect our suburb from what we felt was a development that would have a detrimental impact on this special part of Sydney. Though we lost in the end, it wasn’t without a huge amount of dedication, time and effort put in by the community.

Has all that effort been for nothing? THAT'S UP TO YOU

Although we’re yet to feel the full impact of this development and there’s nothing we can do now about the ugly edifice in Mulga Road, it’s time to think about why we felt a Coles Supermarket was wrong for Oatley in the first place. Just because it’s there doesn’t make it right. There’ll be lots of communities into the future who will be forced to give up quiet, leafy parts of their suburbs to corporates like Coles if those corporates can prove that fighting communities results in a profitable supermarket.

If you felt that what Coles did was wrong, you don’t have to support them. Coles needs the spending of every household in Oatley. Don’t think your household spend is too little to make a difference. When people join together and not support what they believe is wrong the result can be substantial even if the Oatley battle, as such, is lost.

Organisations like Coles will not consider communities unless it is in their interests to do so. We can show Coles the importance of listening to communities and use our experience to help others.

You are still able to be a conscientious objector ….
If you didn’t want it, you have the right not to shop there.

Thanks for your long fight.

Oatley Residents Against Overdevelopment www.nocoles.oatleypark.com

Po Box 121, Oatley 2223

A traffic accident occurred on 26 July 2007 at roadworks associated with the Coles site in Mulga Rd. Fortunately the driver was not badly injured and no other vehicles or persons were involved.

Labels: Traffic