Council wants the new bridge over the highway near Hazelbrook Railway station to feature a sandstone wall rather than rock-filled mesh pockets.
Blue Mountains City Council will lobby the NSW roads minister and heads of RailCorp and the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) in a late bid to improve the appearance of the pedestrian bridge near Hazelbrook Railway Station.
Councillors unanimously supported a motion by Ward 2 Clr Romola Hollywood’s to raise the issue at the February 19 council meeting. It follows the release of the Hazelbrook Urban Design Review in December.
The council wants the bridge to be fitted with sandstone cladding, rather than with cheaper, rectangular rock-filled mesh baskets.
Clr Chris Van der Kley said sandstone cladding “was going to be a feature” of the footbridge, but the design plan was changed in 2007 by the Roads and Traffic Authority “and nobody in the community saw it — council did not even get a copy”.
Clr Hollywood’s motion will also see council call for the construction of a shared footpath/cycle way along Railway Parade between Woodford and Hazelbrook and an extension of the existing footpath to the Park Road’ bridge.
“There is no safe way for people to walk across [the Park Road bridge], so this is an opportunity for us to get a better outcome,” Clr Hollywood said.
A report will come to the council outlining ways to improve pedestrian access at the Park Road bridge.
The council will request the NSW Government ensure the RMS and RailCorp fast-track any procedural review of the bridge’s design work, “noting that this work is vital to improving the look and feel of the bridge without delay to the overall highway widening project”.
Clr Geordie Williamson said “all of this material has only come to light through the terrier-like attributes of the Hazelbrook Association and Woodford Progress Association”.
“Let’s hope things can be moved along fairly quickly,” he said.