A four-way stop that has been the bane of motorists travelling through the Marwell industrial area could soon be history.
The stop signs may soon give way to stop lights, but that all depends on how businesses in the area view the project, said Clive Sparks, the city’s acting operations director.
The four-way stop is part of a bigger, $2-million reconstruction proposal in the Marwell area that would see new roads, drainage, and sidewalks put in, along with the traffic lights, said Sparks.
“Basically it goes out to the benefiting property owners. They get to say whether they like it or they don’t,” he said.
“If more than 50 per cent object to the local improvement, then the city won’t proceed, which means it won’t go ahead.
“If it gets turned down this year, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will come up next year; the city always has a number of projects.”
A local improvement charge vote could be held later this year, said Sparks.
A local improvement charge sees commercial property owners bordering a municipal reconstruction project pay two-thirds of the reconstruction costs of the project’s surface works.
For residential property owners that figure is one-third.
The area targeted for the reconstruction runs along Industrial Road from Two Mile Hill to Quartz Road, according to a city administrative report.
“Industrial Road is a major corridor in the Marwell area and was built decades ago,” the report states.
“The narrow, two-lane, rural-type road has seen an increasing amount of traffic, access to businesses is difficult, it has inadequate drainage and lighting, and the structural condition of the driving surface is very poor.”
A similar project was proposed in 2002, but was delayed.
“In 2002 the city proposed reconstruction of Industrial Road from Two Mile Hill to Platinum Road and held public meetings with adjacent property owners,” according to the report.
“At that time, several of the larger property owners expressed concern over the costs and asked the project to be rescheduled for a future date.”