Council Minutes - Town of Cambridge

COUNCIL MINUTESTUESDAY 26 JUNE 2012CR12.71LAUNCESTON AVENUE SHARED PATH ALIGNMENTPURPOSE OF REPORT:To consider a petition from Launceston Road residents tabled at the Council meeting heldTuesday, 22 May 2012 - "Do You Want A 3 metre Wide Bike path Along Your Street - No".To adopt an alignment for the path construction along Launceston Avenue between HelstonAvenue and Branksome Gardens.BACKGROUND:A petition was submitted on 16 May 2012 by Mr Martin Coyle from 39 Launceston Avenue.The petition represented 10 properties and contained 9 signatures.The presentation of the petition was as a consequence of a Council letter dated 4 May 2012which was presented to all properties on Launceston Avenue advising them of the constructionprogram and location of a 3.0 metre wide shared path along Launceston Avenue from HelstonAvenue to the underpass under West Cost highway adjacent to Branksome Gardens.Following receipt of this advice, Mr Coyle presented to all Cambridge Councillors a letter dated10 May 2012 expressing views as to why a 3.0 metre shared path along Launceston Avenuewas unnecessary. Briefly, the points raised were:-• It is a waste of ratepayers money;• Noise impact from West Coast Highway will increase as trees and shrubs will beremoved;• Regrowth and new plantings will take too long;• Property valuations would be negatively affected;• The path is in the wrong place. The existing shared path along Challenger Parade is themost direct and safest route.Copies of the petition and letters referred to are included in the report attachment.DETAILS:The proposed 3.0 metre wide shared path link along Launceston Avenue between HelstonAvenue and the underpass under West Coast Highway linking to Bold Park was approved byCouncil in December 2011. It will complement a second link from the underpass linking toRochdale Road on the Bold Park side. This link would allow for a continuous north/south linkalong West Coast Highway. This would supplement the path preferred by Mr Coyle which isalong Challenger Parade (Refer M Coyle's letter dated 10 May 2012).This path link is one of several included in the Shared Path program that Council has adoptedwith funding of $500,000 per year to ensure the Town can create connectivity of all pathnetworks throughout the Town.The previous access for pedestrian/cycle path users on Launceston Avenue has been to usethe road pavement which is 7.3 metres in width and is considered a low traffic volume street.This is not a current acceptable practice to adopt.H:\CEO\GOV\COUNCIL MINUTES\12 MINUTES\JUNE 2012\C CR.DOCX 61