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Thousands drive Sea Cliff bridge daily

By Bronwyn McGrath

Traffic on the Sea Cliff bridge peaked at 13,839 vehicles on 27 December, according to the Roads and Traffic Authority.
This huge influx has since reduced to 7667 recorded on 3 January 2006.
It is no surprise that thousands of cars are travelling daily along the new bridge between Clifton and Coalcliff and the increased business has been great news for shops and restaurants in Stanwell Park that struggled through the road closure over the past two years.
In the first week following the opening of the bridge, trading was up well over 100% compared with the same time last year and, while the consistent wet weather during the school holidays meant less customers, the weekends are still an average of 50% up, according to one Stanwell Park business owner.
However it is not all positive news as some residents of Stanwell Park and Coalcliff have identified traffic issues that need to be addressed by Wollongong City Council.
These issues include the Bald Hill intersection on Lawrence Hargrave Drive where traffic has been backed up to Stanwell Tops with delays (particularly on weekends) of up to 30 minutes. A roundabout at Bald Hill is understood to be under consideration to ease traffic flow.
Coalcliff residents are suffering parking problems as those leaving their cars to walk across the bridge are blocking driveways.
Signage directing tourists to park at the Coalcliff Surf Lifesaving Club has been erected to address this issue however the sign’s location does not give drivers enough warning to find the turn-off.
Members of the community with suggestions for local road changes should contact Wollongong City Council via email at council@wollongong.nsw.gov.au and mark their correspondence to the attention of the Wollongong City Council Traffic Committee.