LAST year, the Great Lakes - Taree region was given the dubious honour of being home to two of the top four worst roads on the North Coast.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now voting has opened again for motorists to see if anything has changed.
The National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA) is currently calling for all motorists in NSW to vote for the roads they are most concerned about, in their annual Seeing Red on Roads campaign.
Results for 2013 put the Pacific Highway at Urunga at the top of the state-wide list, with the Bucketts Way at Krambach coming in at number nine.
In terms of the North Coast region, the Pacific Highway remained at number one, Bucketts Way number two, The Lakes Way at Rainbow Flat number three, and Waterfall Way over Dorrigo Mountain came in fourth.
Since 2011, over 35,000 people have taken part in NRMA’s campaign, citing narrow lanes, poor road surface, and not enough lanes as the main concerns.
Pleased with the success of past campaigns, NRMA deputy president Wendy Machin thinks it essential for motorists to continue to flag the roads causing the most frustration.
“Motorists need to help ensure that the government is held accountable for important promises,” she said.
Citing the last election commitments of both the NSW and Australian governments, Ms Machin explained that lack of funding commitments over many years means that the Pacific Highway upgrade has been extended to 2020, missing the promised 2016 deadline – despite the recent NSW Budget’s $1.2 billion commitment to complete the Pacific Highway upgrade following the Australian Government’s commitment of $5.6 billion.
NRMA has also recently highlighted the need for more funding for regional roads.
“While the big projects like the Pacific Highway are important, the state of local roads in regional NSW is critical,” Ms Machin said.
To ‘hoist the red flag’ and have your say on a road in the area, go to mynrma.com.au/redflag. Voting is open until August 31.