Date: 10-Nov-2008
ACTEA Submission on the impact of the Cotter Dam Upgrade on Traffic on the Cotter Road
New Document
On behalf of the equestrian community on the Cotter Road, the ACT Equestrian Association would like to submit the attached submission in response to the Draft EIS on the Cotter Dam enlargement.
The ACT Equestrian Association offers its assistance in reaching a practical and safe solution to the increased dangers to local horse riders who use the Cotter Road as a consequence of the Cotter Dam enlargement.
If you wish to discuss the attached document you can contact me by return email or on 02 62885799. The Secretary of ACTEA, Beth Stone, can be contacted at bstone@webone.com.au or on 62477843.
Christine Lawrence
President
ACT Equestrian Association
10 November 2008
The ACT Equestrian Association (ACTEA) was established in 1970 as an umbrella organisation to represent all equestrians in their endeavours at all levels of achievement. ACTEA represents about 16 affiliated groups such as pony clubs, showjumping, trail riding, dressage, horse trials, eventing and endurance riding, as well as recreational pleasure riders. A list of ACTEA affiliates and its objectives are at Appendix I.
The ACT has a high population of recreational horses. Before the 2003 bushfires it was estimated that there were about 2,000 horses used for sporting and recreational activities in the Territory. The pleasure horse industry in Canberra supports a range of businesses from feed merchants and saddlers to veterinarians, equine dentists, farriers and chiropractors. In January 2002 Wayne Gregson and Graeme Taylor estimated in their report, “Strategic Development and Management Plan for Equestrian Sport and Recreation Facilities in the ACT”, that the equestrian contribution to the annual ACT gross state product was $13.85 million.
The Cotter Road is heavily used by horse riders and the upgrade of the Cotter Dam impacts on the following:
· Daily morning and evening travel along the Cotter Road by agistees to feed and ride their horses;
· Slowing traffic to turn into properties;
· Traffic from properties trying to enter onto the Cotter Road;
· Slow moving horse floats turning onto and off the Cotter Road;
· Heavy weekend traffic to agistment centres for recreation;
· Heavy float traffic on weekend by people taking their horses to events;
· Access to Stromlo Forest Park along the Cotter Road from Riverview which requires riding along the Cotter Road verge and crossing the Cotter Road on horseback;
· Access to Stromlo Forest Park from the National Equestrian Centre, which requires crossing the Cotter Road on horseback; and
· Access to Stromlo Forest Park from the Canberra Equestrian Centre, which requires crossing the Cotter Road on horseback.
· Access for horse riders from the Cotter Road agistment centres to the Bicentennial National Trail south towards Kambah by using the Cotter Road verge
While many people choose a home because of proximity to schools for their children, the Weston Creek area is full of people who chose their home because of its proximity to agistment and riding facilities.
The Chief Minister, on several occasions, has pointed to the Cotter Road agistment centres as a solution to the current shortfall in government horse paddock places. He has issued press releases extolling the Stromlo Forest Park as a multiple use destination for recreational users including horse riders. One would think then, that it is not appropriate to be making it unsafe or impossible for horse riders to get from an agistment centre on the Cotter Road to Stromlo Forest Park.
Our response to the Cotter Dam Draft EIS is primarily focused on safety and access issues associated with the Cotter Road rather than the Dam itself. I am not aware of anyone in the equestrian community who does not support improvements to the Canberra water supply.
Upgrading of the Cotter Road Pavement
Section 2.3.2 Project scope (p23) “Design and construction of upgrade works required for site access routes, which may include improvements to Cotter Road”. There is no discussion in the EIS of what “improvements to the Cotter Road” might entail. Equestrians who use the Cotter Road are concerned to hear that there could be a loss of verge width in places and the possibility that horse riders traveling along the Cotter Road to the Stromlo Forest Park will be forced out onto the carriage way to get around reworked culverts.. Safe passage for horses does not mean being squeezed between a barbed wire fence and a B Double loaded with fly ash traveling at 80 kilometers per hour.
We understand that the “upgrade” does not include changing the road alignment in any way.
ACTEA requests that ACT Roads discuss the upgrade of the Cotter Road with local users, none of who have been consulted about proposed changes to the road surface and the road verge, and take into account their needs over the two year dam construction period.
ACTEA requests that ACT Roads improve Cotter Road verges between Riverview and Eucumbene Drive to keep horse rider traffic as far from the road pavement as possible.
Understanding the Traffic Patterns on the Cotter Road
ACTEA does not believe that the Bulk Water consortium has a proper understanding of traffic flows on the Cotter Road or the nature of the vehicles that use the road.
Traffic count data used in the EIS (5.1.2 Access Routes) is that collected for the Cotter Road at the Murrumbidgee Bridge and at the Streeton Drive intersection. This traffic count is inadequate for two reasons. Firstly, it assumes that the majority of the traffic on the Cotter Road is heading to the Cotter River and beyond. Secondly, it assumes that no traffic enters the Cotter Road from either Eucumbene Drive or Uriarra Road. Many equestrians live in the Weston Creek area and access the Cotter Road twice a day, every day, from Eucumbene Drive. The Coppins Crossing/Uriarra Road is very busy these days, especially at peak hour. There are all sorts of potential safety issues for these intersections with the Cotter Road once heavy vehicles become involved. The EIS also takes no consideration of people traveling east from Uriarra Road to Forest Park Riding School and the Equestrian Park at Yarralumla.
Agistees on the Cotter Road travel in both directions between 6am and 9am and 4pm and 7pm seven days a week. This usage IS NOT appreciably affected by the time of year. Numbers are boosted by weekend recreational riders who attend the riding school at the National Equestrian Centre. During Eastern Daylight Saving Time, there are equestrians driving on the Cotter Road as late as 8pm at night.
On weekends, horse owners take their horses to competitions from agistment centers along the Cotter Road. Horse floats are slow moving for the safety of horses and require large, slow turning circles. They take longer than the average car to get onto and off the road. The entrances to the National Equestrian Centre and the Stromlo Equestrian Centre are on a blind corner.
Traffic entering the Stromlo Equestrian Centre is undertaking a righthand turn and must give way to oncoming traffic which often requires a complete stop. This is already problematic in terms of the blind corner and following traffic. This difficulty will increase when the following traffic comprises large, heavily laden trucks that may have to stop suddenly on the blind corner.
The entrance to Riverview is on one of the few straight stretches of the Cotter Road west of the Mount Stromlo Road and is a place where overtaking at speed is likely to occur. This has been, and will continue to be a risky intersection for equestrians.
The EIS does not consider the implications for:
· fully laden trucks coming upon an almost stationary horse float on a blind corner, or
· fully laden trucks coming upon a car or float that is stopped on a blind corner because it is giving way to oncoming traffic, or
· worse still, fully laden trucks coming upon a horse and rider attempting to cross the Cotter Road at a point that is a combination of a blind corner, a busy entrance and exit point for two agistment properties, and the obvious and customary crossing point for horseback access to Stromlo Forest Park.
ACTEA requests that a proper study of the characteristics of the traffic on the Cotter Road between the Eucumbene Drive and Riverview be undertaken in consultation with the equestrian user group.
Horses Use the Cotter Road Too
The EIS does not recognize the fact that horse riders actually cross the Cotter Road in several places to access Stromlo Forest Park. The map at Attachment II indicates the main crossing points. . It has also been customary for horse riders from the Cotter Road agistment centres to ride along the Cotter Road verges to access the Bicentennial National Trail route south to Kambah and other riding areas in that area such as Narrabundah Hill. Riders, either individually or in groups, regularly leave the National Equestrian Centre to cross the Cotter Road to access Stromlo Forest Park. Horse riders from the Canberra Equestrian Centre at the southern end of Eucumbene Drive cross the Cotter Road to use the cavaletti entrance to Stromlo Forest Park just west of the intersection with Eucumbene Drive. This is also the designated route of the National Bicentennial Trail that travels from Cooktown in Queensland to Healseville in Victoria.
While many horses are good with traffic, they are animals whose first instinct in the face of danger is to flee and they cannot be relied upon to be phlegmatic about large trucks with pneumatic brakes.
The EIS proposes a ‘shared road’ policy that seems to be limited to an induction guide for drivers, signage and a community complaints number to report any incidents of unacceptable behaviour. However it is the number of trucks, as well as their nature, which is the problem. No horse rider wants to be the subject of an “incident report”.
Equestrians were told at a presentation by ACTEW and ACT Roads on 6 November 2008 that because of the volume of traffic and its status as a country road the Cotter Road did not qualify, even temporarily, for traffic management measures such as zebra crossings or traffic lights. This reflects a complete disregard for the special characteristics of the local user group.
It was also made clear during the above presentation that development of a Traffic Management Plan is not normally subject to a public consultation process. This is of concern to ACTEA given the special needs of equestrian traffic in the area, the predicted high volume of large trucks using the Cotter Road, and the potential for serious accident involving users of the Cotter Road and environs during the period of the Cotter Dam upgrade.
ACTEA welcomes Bulk Water’s offer to consult closely in the development of its Traffic Management Policy and looks forward to contributing to an effective driver education program that encourages respect for equestrian traffic.
ACTEA requests that ACT Roads institute practical traffic management measures, such as zebra crossings or manually operated traffic lights, to protect equestrian users at critical crossing points on the Cotter Road.
Implications for the Mount Stromlo Road
While it is hardly mentioned in the EIS, ACTEA understands that in the preparatory stages of the Dam project Bulk Water will use offices on the top of Mount Stromlo. This has to have implications for the number of vehicles using that road at least six days a week.
The Stromlo Road is winding with poor sightlines. Two entrances to the Stromlo Forest Park require crossing the Mount Stromlo Road. These crossings are marked on the attached map.
ACTEA requests a specific driver education program for staff who will be using the Stromlo site office to ensure that they understand the implications of their driving practices on horse riders accessing the Stromlo Forest Park.
Equestrian Use of the Cotter Precinct
ACT equestrians have ridden beyond the Cotter for many years until the 2003 bushfires, when many of the firetrails were made unusable. In an effort to maintain links with the Uriarra Settlement and Pierces Creek forest areas equestrian groups have participated in the My Cotter focus group consultations and contributed to the 2004 “Interim Recreation Strategy for the Natural Areas of the ACT”. ACTEA is concerned that there has been no consultation with the equestrian community in the development of the Lower Cotter Catchment Management Plan.
ACTEA strongly supports the suggestion made in the Interim Recreation Strategy that ‘there is scope in the Cotter Precinct for redesign and incorporation of a horse yard and float parking area and it could become a base for horse riders to use for day or overnight rides to more distant locations in ACT Forest such as Laurel Camp and Pierces Creek”.
Finally, we note that the ACT Equestrian Association is listed as a party consulted on the socioeconomic impact of the enlargement of the Cotter Dam. ACTEA is unaware of this consultation and would like to know with whom the consultation took place.
Attachment 1
ACTEA’S OBJECTIVES ARE TO:
· Promote horse riding as a recognised healthy recreational activity;
· Promote the development of equestrian facilities in the ACT;
· Assist the efforts of affiliated associations and clubs to obtain and improve equipment and facilities;
· Improve the standard of horsemanship in the ACT;
· Promote the views of the equestrian public;
· Encourage the support of equestrian activities by the Commonwealth and ACT Government and other persons and organisations.
AFFILIATES
ACT Dressage Association Inc
ACT Endurance Riders Association Inc
ACT Showjumping Club Inc
Australian Stock Horse Society Southern Highlands Branch
Belconnen Pony Club
Canberra Lakes Pony Club
Canberra Riding Club Pony Club Inc
Government Paddocks User Group
Hall Pony Club
Monaro Horse Trekkers Inc
National Capital Equestrian Club
National Capital Horse Trials Association Inc.
Pegasus Riding for the Disabled of the ACT (Honorary)
Tuggeranong Adult Riding Club
Zone 16 Pony Club Association of NSW
The ACT Equestrian Association offers its assistance in reaching a practical and safe solution to the increased dangers to local horse riders who use the Cotter Road as a consequence of the Cotter Dam enlargement.
If you wish to discuss the attached document you can contact me by return email or on 02 62885799. The Secretary of ACTEA, Beth Stone, can be contacted at bstone@webone.com.au or on 62477843.
Christine Lawrence
President
ACT Equestrian Association
10 November 2008
The ACT Equestrian Association (ACTEA) was established in 1970 as an umbrella organisation to represent all equestrians in their endeavours at all levels of achievement. ACTEA represents about 16 affiliated groups such as pony clubs, showjumping, trail riding, dressage, horse trials, eventing and endurance riding, as well as recreational pleasure riders. A list of ACTEA affiliates and its objectives are at Appendix I.
The ACT has a high population of recreational horses. Before the 2003 bushfires it was estimated that there were about 2,000 horses used for sporting and recreational activities in the Territory. The pleasure horse industry in Canberra supports a range of businesses from feed merchants and saddlers to veterinarians, equine dentists, farriers and chiropractors. In January 2002 Wayne Gregson and Graeme Taylor estimated in their report, “Strategic Development and Management Plan for Equestrian Sport and Recreation Facilities in the ACT”, that the equestrian contribution to the annual ACT gross state product was $13.85 million.
The Cotter Road is heavily used by horse riders and the upgrade of the Cotter Dam impacts on the following:
· Daily morning and evening travel along the Cotter Road by agistees to feed and ride their horses;
· Slowing traffic to turn into properties;
· Traffic from properties trying to enter onto the Cotter Road;
· Slow moving horse floats turning onto and off the Cotter Road;
· Heavy weekend traffic to agistment centres for recreation;
· Heavy float traffic on weekend by people taking their horses to events;
· Access to Stromlo Forest Park along the Cotter Road from Riverview which requires riding along the Cotter Road verge and crossing the Cotter Road on horseback;
· Access to Stromlo Forest Park from the National Equestrian Centre, which requires crossing the Cotter Road on horseback; and
· Access to Stromlo Forest Park from the Canberra Equestrian Centre, which requires crossing the Cotter Road on horseback.
· Access for horse riders from the Cotter Road agistment centres to the Bicentennial National Trail south towards Kambah by using the Cotter Road verge
While many people choose a home because of proximity to schools for their children, the Weston Creek area is full of people who chose their home because of its proximity to agistment and riding facilities.
The Chief Minister, on several occasions, has pointed to the Cotter Road agistment centres as a solution to the current shortfall in government horse paddock places. He has issued press releases extolling the Stromlo Forest Park as a multiple use destination for recreational users including horse riders. One would think then, that it is not appropriate to be making it unsafe or impossible for horse riders to get from an agistment centre on the Cotter Road to Stromlo Forest Park.
Our response to the Cotter Dam Draft EIS is primarily focused on safety and access issues associated with the Cotter Road rather than the Dam itself. I am not aware of anyone in the equestrian community who does not support improvements to the Canberra water supply.
Upgrading of the Cotter Road Pavement
Section 2.3.2 Project scope (p23) “Design and construction of upgrade works required for site access routes, which may include improvements to Cotter Road”. There is no discussion in the EIS of what “improvements to the Cotter Road” might entail. Equestrians who use the Cotter Road are concerned to hear that there could be a loss of verge width in places and the possibility that horse riders traveling along the Cotter Road to the Stromlo Forest Park will be forced out onto the carriage way to get around reworked culverts.. Safe passage for horses does not mean being squeezed between a barbed wire fence and a B Double loaded with fly ash traveling at 80 kilometers per hour.
We understand that the “upgrade” does not include changing the road alignment in any way.
ACTEA requests that ACT Roads discuss the upgrade of the Cotter Road with local users, none of who have been consulted about proposed changes to the road surface and the road verge, and take into account their needs over the two year dam construction period.
ACTEA requests that ACT Roads improve Cotter Road verges between Riverview and Eucumbene Drive to keep horse rider traffic as far from the road pavement as possible.
Understanding the Traffic Patterns on the Cotter Road
ACTEA does not believe that the Bulk Water consortium has a proper understanding of traffic flows on the Cotter Road or the nature of the vehicles that use the road.
Traffic count data used in the EIS (5.1.2 Access Routes) is that collected for the Cotter Road at the Murrumbidgee Bridge and at the Streeton Drive intersection. This traffic count is inadequate for two reasons. Firstly, it assumes that the majority of the traffic on the Cotter Road is heading to the Cotter River and beyond. Secondly, it assumes that no traffic enters the Cotter Road from either Eucumbene Drive or Uriarra Road. Many equestrians live in the Weston Creek area and access the Cotter Road twice a day, every day, from Eucumbene Drive. The Coppins Crossing/Uriarra Road is very busy these days, especially at peak hour. There are all sorts of potential safety issues for these intersections with the Cotter Road once heavy vehicles become involved. The EIS also takes no consideration of people traveling east from Uriarra Road to Forest Park Riding School and the Equestrian Park at Yarralumla.
Agistees on the Cotter Road travel in both directions between 6am and 9am and 4pm and 7pm seven days a week. This usage IS NOT appreciably affected by the time of year. Numbers are boosted by weekend recreational riders who attend the riding school at the National Equestrian Centre. During Eastern Daylight Saving Time, there are equestrians driving on the Cotter Road as late as 8pm at night.
On weekends, horse owners take their horses to competitions from agistment centers along the Cotter Road. Horse floats are slow moving for the safety of horses and require large, slow turning circles. They take longer than the average car to get onto and off the road. The entrances to the National Equestrian Centre and the Stromlo Equestrian Centre are on a blind corner.
Traffic entering the Stromlo Equestrian Centre is undertaking a righthand turn and must give way to oncoming traffic which often requires a complete stop. This is already problematic in terms of the blind corner and following traffic. This difficulty will increase when the following traffic comprises large, heavily laden trucks that may have to stop suddenly on the blind corner.
The entrance to Riverview is on one of the few straight stretches of the Cotter Road west of the Mount Stromlo Road and is a place where overtaking at speed is likely to occur. This has been, and will continue to be a risky intersection for equestrians.
The EIS does not consider the implications for:
· fully laden trucks coming upon an almost stationary horse float on a blind corner, or
· fully laden trucks coming upon a car or float that is stopped on a blind corner because it is giving way to oncoming traffic, or
· worse still, fully laden trucks coming upon a horse and rider attempting to cross the Cotter Road at a point that is a combination of a blind corner, a busy entrance and exit point for two agistment properties, and the obvious and customary crossing point for horseback access to Stromlo Forest Park.
ACTEA requests that a proper study of the characteristics of the traffic on the Cotter Road between the Eucumbene Drive and Riverview be undertaken in consultation with the equestrian user group.
Horses Use the Cotter Road Too
The EIS does not recognize the fact that horse riders actually cross the Cotter Road in several places to access Stromlo Forest Park. The map at Attachment II indicates the main crossing points. . It has also been customary for horse riders from the Cotter Road agistment centres to ride along the Cotter Road verges to access the Bicentennial National Trail route south to Kambah and other riding areas in that area such as Narrabundah Hill. Riders, either individually or in groups, regularly leave the National Equestrian Centre to cross the Cotter Road to access Stromlo Forest Park. Horse riders from the Canberra Equestrian Centre at the southern end of Eucumbene Drive cross the Cotter Road to use the cavaletti entrance to Stromlo Forest Park just west of the intersection with Eucumbene Drive. This is also the designated route of the National Bicentennial Trail that travels from Cooktown in Queensland to Healseville in Victoria.
While many horses are good with traffic, they are animals whose first instinct in the face of danger is to flee and they cannot be relied upon to be phlegmatic about large trucks with pneumatic brakes.
The EIS proposes a ‘shared road’ policy that seems to be limited to an induction guide for drivers, signage and a community complaints number to report any incidents of unacceptable behaviour. However it is the number of trucks, as well as their nature, which is the problem. No horse rider wants to be the subject of an “incident report”.
Equestrians were told at a presentation by ACTEW and ACT Roads on 6 November 2008 that because of the volume of traffic and its status as a country road the Cotter Road did not qualify, even temporarily, for traffic management measures such as zebra crossings or traffic lights. This reflects a complete disregard for the special characteristics of the local user group.
It was also made clear during the above presentation that development of a Traffic Management Plan is not normally subject to a public consultation process. This is of concern to ACTEA given the special needs of equestrian traffic in the area, the predicted high volume of large trucks using the Cotter Road, and the potential for serious accident involving users of the Cotter Road and environs during the period of the Cotter Dam upgrade.
ACTEA welcomes Bulk Water’s offer to consult closely in the development of its Traffic Management Policy and looks forward to contributing to an effective driver education program that encourages respect for equestrian traffic.
ACTEA requests that ACT Roads institute practical traffic management measures, such as zebra crossings or manually operated traffic lights, to protect equestrian users at critical crossing points on the Cotter Road.
Implications for the Mount Stromlo Road
While it is hardly mentioned in the EIS, ACTEA understands that in the preparatory stages of the Dam project Bulk Water will use offices on the top of Mount Stromlo. This has to have implications for the number of vehicles using that road at least six days a week.
The Stromlo Road is winding with poor sightlines. Two entrances to the Stromlo Forest Park require crossing the Mount Stromlo Road. These crossings are marked on the attached map.
ACTEA requests a specific driver education program for staff who will be using the Stromlo site office to ensure that they understand the implications of their driving practices on horse riders accessing the Stromlo Forest Park.
Equestrian Use of the Cotter Precinct
ACT equestrians have ridden beyond the Cotter for many years until the 2003 bushfires, when many of the firetrails were made unusable. In an effort to maintain links with the Uriarra Settlement and Pierces Creek forest areas equestrian groups have participated in the My Cotter focus group consultations and contributed to the 2004 “Interim Recreation Strategy for the Natural Areas of the ACT”. ACTEA is concerned that there has been no consultation with the equestrian community in the development of the Lower Cotter Catchment Management Plan.
ACTEA strongly supports the suggestion made in the Interim Recreation Strategy that ‘there is scope in the Cotter Precinct for redesign and incorporation of a horse yard and float parking area and it could become a base for horse riders to use for day or overnight rides to more distant locations in ACT Forest such as Laurel Camp and Pierces Creek”.
Finally, we note that the ACT Equestrian Association is listed as a party consulted on the socioeconomic impact of the enlargement of the Cotter Dam. ACTEA is unaware of this consultation and would like to know with whom the consultation took place.
Attachment 1
ACTEA’S OBJECTIVES ARE TO:
· Promote horse riding as a recognised healthy recreational activity;
· Promote the development of equestrian facilities in the ACT;
· Assist the efforts of affiliated associations and clubs to obtain and improve equipment and facilities;
· Improve the standard of horsemanship in the ACT;
· Promote the views of the equestrian public;
· Encourage the support of equestrian activities by the Commonwealth and ACT Government and other persons and organisations.
AFFILIATES
ACT Dressage Association Inc
ACT Endurance Riders Association Inc
ACT Showjumping Club Inc
Australian Stock Horse Society Southern Highlands Branch
Belconnen Pony Club
Canberra Lakes Pony Club
Canberra Riding Club Pony Club Inc
Government Paddocks User Group
Hall Pony Club
Monaro Horse Trekkers Inc
National Capital Equestrian Club
National Capital Horse Trials Association Inc.
Pegasus Riding for the Disabled of the ACT (Honorary)
Tuggeranong Adult Riding Club
Zone 16 Pony Club Association of NSW
New Document