Ken McLean with his plans for the location of his proposed roundabout.
Photo by
Owen Sinclair
Ken McLean has an idea, and its realisation might just change the face of Barooga.
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Sitting in the convivial interior of Barooga’s Border Cafe, the Barooga Advancement Group committee member rifled through a series of poster-sized planning maps.
Outside, 18-wheelers and motorists cruised through the intersection of Vermont St and Golf Course Rd, their engines rumbling.
One of the maps in Ken’s collection showed Vermont St, highlighted and annotated with handwritten notes.
He pointed to the intersection of Vermont St and Golf Course Rd, whose real life counterpart sat just beyond the window outside.
“The town has been looking at this traffic intersection for a number of years, I believe, and people always talk about it - how dangerous it is. And it doesn’t actually stack up with accidents and proof that there’s been any fatalities or anything like that,” he said.
“But as we grow,” he said, “there’s an obvious need to re-jig our master plan for the CBD area.”
Part of the solution to deal with this growth? A series of roundabouts, with the first located at the existing intersection of Vermont St and Golf Course Rd.
“I can’t guarantee there’s enough room, but if there’s a proper study conducted utilising NSW Roads, [showing] what is required and what’s not required, and then a plan from there, well, I strongly believe a roundabout is our best option,” Ken said.
In May last year, the Berrigan Shire Council commissioned a Traffic Assessment Report (TAR) to investigate traffic-calming options at the Vermont St - Golf Course Rd intersection.
The report found that a roundabout would not be necessary to ‘aid traffic operations’ because the intersection already performed to ‘excellent operating conditions’.
Council minutes from an August 2024 meeting also estimated the cost of a roundabout at $902,700 compared to a raised intersection ($857,710).
Ken conceded the upfront cost to install the roundabout would be high.
But in the long term, he said, the roundabout would benefit everyone.
“The proposal they were putting up was a raised intersection, so [there would not be] a lot of change, but it wouldn’t... cater for all our needs as we grow,” he said.
“A roundabout now would be future-proof.”
According to Ken, a roundabout at the intersection would not just slow traffic entering and leaving town, it would also reduce the potential for traffic accidents in one of the busiest parts of Barooga for the next few decades.
Ken at the site of his proposed roundabout.
Photo by
Owen Sinclair
At a broader level, current planning documents need to be updated to reflect Barooga’s growth, according to Ken.
“The 2017-18 Town Strategic plan is out of date, and it’s now time to work with the shire and develop a grand new master plan which includes the whole street,” Ken said.
“In my experience with roundabouts, it’s very long-term.
“I can just see a need for it, and I’d like to think that we actually can get in to making it something we really want to build.
“Let’s work together, get it right, and then move on it, move forward - make it happen.”
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