'Rip it up and start again': Wollongong mayor's wish for troublesome road

The problem was, he said, that the money wasn't there to do it.

The road in question is The Avenue, often used by speeding drivers as a rat run between Figtree and Coniston. The road also lacks footpaths, meaning pedestrians have to walk along the edge of the road, sharing it with those vehicles.

One resident even invited Cr Bradbery down to try pushing a pram along The Avenue.

At Monday night's Wollongong City Councillor meeting, councillors discussed the Quarterly Review Statement which looked at the October-December rollout of the council's $400 million infrastructure delivery program 2022-2026.

Cr Bradbery noted that the council's infrastructure delivery had been hampered by "financial constraints" like high labour costs and "cost shifting" from the state government.

He said the limited budget meant that the wishes of the community had to be balanced with what was fiscally possible.

"There are many requests that have merit," Cr Bradbery said.

"It's not as if the requests that come into us and filter through to us don't have legitimacy or great merit. I think situations like The Avenue, I would like to actually have ripped up that street and restarted again if we could. If we had the resources - but we don't."

Cr Tania Brown also noted that the provision of footpaths was a constant wish of ratepayers - both along The Avenue and elsewhere.

"The hot button issues that is consistently raised with me is still footpaths and maintenance," Cr Brown said.

"I acknowledge this is noted in the report as priority areas along with the shared paths and getting our children to school safely.

"Being able to move around our suburbs, safely navigating traffic in areas such as The Avenue needs to continue to be a focus of our efforts.

"We acknowledge this is not an easy task, thanks to our local landscape, navigating trees and traffic along with growing costs."

She also mentioned the Transport for NSW e-scooter trial, which started in the last quarter of 2023. Cr Brown said she was a regular user of the scooters and saw first-hand the changes they had brought.

"I can attest to the impact that I've seen in that it has people choosing to leave their cars at home and that's part of why we wanted to do that," she said.

"I would be remiss if I didn't pass on feedback from our colleagues at Neighbourhood Forum Five - please park them correctly.

"It is certainly a frustration that people are expressing, that they are parked across footpaths, blocking pram, wheelchair and pedestrian access."