Listening to the 'loudest voices' not the way to go, says Wollongong councillor

The councillors were debating Cr Richard Martin's motion to investigate a speed limit reduction along Murray Road at Corrimal.

Cr Martin was calling for it to be cut to 30km/h.

"I probably get an email a week from people complaining about speeding down there, the hoons and everything down there," Cr Martin said.

"The correspondence that I have, unfortunately, the residents are not trusting us as much as they used to. They were they were told that the construction of a raised pedestrian crossing would happen in 2023-24.

"And then another piece of correspondence said council's going to have this completed by March 25. I got an email today from a resident who was very concerned because it's been pushed out to [financial year] 2026-27."

Cr Cox supported the motion, adding that when she first came on the council she wanted a pedestrian crossing on Murray Road so she could take her son to pre-school - he was now almost in high school and the crossing is still not there.

She felt there had to be a better approach than just responding to individual requests for crossings and the like.

"It's about having a strategic view of what's better for everybody," Cr Cox said.

"I find it frustrating that instead of achieving this through coming at it from a strategic lens of having a policy in place for the places that have preschools and shops and hairdressers all in one spot that we then have to come and say, 'okay, we want it on this road'.

"I find it's not the right process and not the right way of going about it. And you end up just advocating for the loudest voices rather than having the best outcome for the community."

Cr Cox said there should be a pedestrian focus for Murray Road, rather than catering to cars.

"The only people that go up that road are the people that live at the end of it that are getting out to Memorial Drive or to Pioneer Road," she said.

"It's more important that people are able to cross the road, go to the shops in a safe way, that all of those kids are able to get to preschool and school."

Cr Cameron Walters said a similar speed reduction in Helensburgh had been greeted favourably by locals and saw a similar need in Murray Road.

"I think it's a good thing to have it in a community, especially like Murray Road," Cr Walters said.

"When you do drive down you instantly think that someone's gonna walk out from behind a car. If you don't have that feeling, you're probably driving too fast.

"It is a place where it does need that limitation on the speed in that area because it's a high pedestrian movement [area]. And I've always said if you have the right speed zone in the right place, that is a sensible move."

The councillors unanimously passed Cr Martin's motion to investigate the speed limit cut.