Sunday, March 25, 2012

Windsor Bridge

Community Action for Windsor Bridge (CAWB) is a community action group which was formed in response to the Roads and Maritime Services' (formerly Roads and Traffic Authority) decision to demolish and replace the existing Hawkesbury River bridge (Windsor Bridge) at Windsor and restructure adjacent intersections and approach roads. 

CAWB produced a paper and presented this to the Windsor Business Group on 27/2/12.  It can be downloaded here. 

The Roads and Maritime Services conducted a preliminary investigation into the possible options which could achieve their objectives. They selected Option 1 as their preference and are now seeking approval from the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure for its construction. 

CAWB feels, from a reading of the Roads and Maritime Service's own documents,  that Option 1 will be detrimental to the community at Windsor. It will result in:
  1. The demolition of the historic Windsor Bridge;
  2. The placement of a high, modern bridge structure through the historic Thompson Square precinct, permanently destroying the heritage value of the area;
  3. The destruction the physical and visual amenity of public space in Thompson Square;
  4. Traffic congestion because it will reach capacity in 2026;
  5. Destruction of Windsor's heritage tourism;
  6. Disruption to local businesses.

CAWB is made up of local people from a wide variety of backgrounds including lawyers, engineers, financial advisers, business owners, teachers, architects, builders and academics.CAWB is also made up of families who have passion for the Hawkesbury and their local community.  Many also have ties to the very early settlers in the Hawkesbury and are proud and protective of both their longstanding family ties to the area and the historical significance of Windsor. 

CAWB's Mission
CAWB's mission is to stop the approval and construction of any bridge (including adjacent intersections and approach roads) that diverts through traffic into the Windsor town centre and historic Thompson Square precinct. CAWB seeks ways to reinstate and restore the heritage value of Thompson Square and make it the enjoyable open civic space first envisioned by Governor Macquarie. CAWB understands that this will service the needs of the community, attract heritage tourism, increase local business turnover and hence ensure Windsor's future amenity and prosperity.

For more information on CAWB visit their website.

2 comments:

  1. The replacement bridge the RMS is proposing will reach traffic demand capacity by 2026. Guess where all that traffic will flow when the new bridge fails Hawkesbury traffic demands? Kevin Conolly is on record for saying that the replacement bridge is "replacing like for like". He doesn't care that the new bridge (probably the only new bridge that we will have for 100 years) will fail this community.

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  2. Mary Lyons-BuckettMarch 31, 2012 at 4:42 PM

    That's right Pete D. The planning must look well into the future or we will just end up in the same position we are in now. Alternative modes of transport need to be considered and implemented, and the heritage and historical value of Windsor retained.

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