Northern Beaches Council has identified four ‘entry’ areas of Manly that will be considered for road treatments:

• Fairlight St between James St and West Esplanade
• Commonwealth Parade between West Esplanade and The Crescent
• Darley Road between Ashburner St and Cliff St
• Osborne Road between East Esplanade and Addison Road

On the 23rd of February, representatives for Manly Community Forum met the Acting Director Transport & Assets from NBC to discuss widening the project scope to include all of Darley Road.

The Manly Community considers the need for a Darley Road Master Plan due to the very high number of independent stakeholders (at least 21) who share the Eastern Hill and the North Head area with local residents. Development and patronage of the area will continue to increase over coming years which will require a strategic management plan to ensure the local community is not adversely affected and the amenity of the area is improved and maintained.

Given that Darley Road is the primary route in and out of Eastern Hill and one of Sydney’s premier tourist spots, North Head, as well as the former Manly Hospital site and the Sydney Water Waste Water Treatment Plant, local residents on Eastern Hill stand to be significantly affected by increased development and patronage of all sites.

The draft master plan currently being discussed with Council covers the area from Victoria Road to Blue Fin Crescent, and aims to achieve the key goals of the project which are:

• To improve safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers
• To improve the livability of Eastern Hill for local residents
• To ensure serviceability for the many government and commercial businesses on North Head and Eastern Hill.

Download the document here: Gateway to North Head NBC Proposal Darley Road Feb 24

The plan will encompass management of pedestrian activity, roads, private vehicles, bicycles and E-bikes, commercial vehicles and trucks, public transport, and parking. At the same time, the plan aims to give long awaited recognition to the traditional owners of the land after whom Manly is named. Council have indicated they are in agreement for the need of a plan and have an appetite to allocate a Project Manager to work with the community and support the plan development and implementation of a masterplan.

Updates to follow, or come to our meetings and hear about it there.

If you want to join the sub-committee, please email secretary@manlycommunityforum.com