Parkes Hospital Redevelopment

Noise impact on surrounding homes:

We are extremely concerned about the noise impact of the intended hospital on the nearby residences. The surrounding lots are zoned a large lot residential blocks, residents have specifically moved here to avoid urban impacts including noise. The intended development of the hospital and the noise generating activities (traffic, helicopters, air conditioners etc) will negatively impact on the surrounding area. This impact has not being specifically addressed by documents provided for viewing. The acoustic study only addresses noise impacts on the new hospital and not the impact of the hospital on the surrounding residents. The helicopter landing pad is situated between the hospital building and the large lot residential blocks, which will mean the flight path will be directly over the nearby homes.

Most people do not want the new Parkes Hospital to be on the Southern side of town as they have concerns regarding the railway line that needs to be crossed by the majority of Parkes residents wishing to access the hospital. Local people are well aware of the delays in waiting of the train to cross and as you stated in your Transport Impact Assessment document, it has ranged from 1 second to 48 minutes at times. You note that the ambulance can manage issue this via CCTV and radio contact, but what in the case of an individual, in their vehicle, stuck in traffic at a level crossing with a medical emergency?

There will be safety concerns trying to maneuver your vehicle out of static traffic to try and turn around and cross over at another crossing. Not to mention having to travel past all the backed up traffic to turn be able to turn into a street and head to the next crossing. I have seen traffic backed up for a kilometer perhaps more. You will also have to determine which direction the train is travelling in as you might catch the train again at the alternate crossing. You have pointed out in your documentation that a train can reach a length of 1800m and you have distances of 500m and also 1500m between level crossings. If in the case you child is experiencing an asthma attack, time is of the essence and choosing which direction to try and cross over could be a life or death decision. If you want to build a hospital on the southern side of Parkes you will need to commit to build an overpass over the railway tracks to ensure the safety of all residents. Building the Southern Ring Road (phase 1) is not going to ensure an open railway crossing. If Parkes is to become a logistics hub, railway traffic will only increase in the future and this will become a bigger problem. .

As for your section 3.4 Stakeholder Consultation, in building the Southern Ring Road link to Back Yamma Rd (phase 1) you have stated that "The road will provide a practical alternate route for heavy vehicles when Clarinda Street East is blocked, thereby replacing Woodward Street from that role". I want to point out that Fisher Street IS NOT a viable option for B Double/heavy vehicle traffic, as it is not wide enough for trucks to make the turn into Woodward Street. Council has confirmed this to be the case.

Access to the new hospital over the East Street and Nash Street Rail crossings down Woodward street onto the Newell Highway is currently very easy and direct route to the new hospital and their is no need to create the link to Back Yamma Road as their are many safety concerns for traffic flow down Fisher Street as it has various school bus stops, a blind rise, no pedestrian or cycling paths, it is a very narrow road with on street parking. How will you manage this safety aspect? Are you planning to use Fisher Street/Back Yamma Rd and the Southern Ring Road link for construction vehicles?

The documentation does not address decommissioning of the current Parkes Hospital. After the new Orange Base hospital was built, there have been issues regarding vandalism of the old hospital building, it becoming derelict and in general an eyesore. What are the decommissioning plans for the current hospital as it is surrounded by residential properties that will be negatively impacted if this matter is not addressed.

We are unhappy that there has been no direct contact or consultation with the residents surrounding the new hospital location regarding the new development and potential impacts (noise, traffic, health and safety) of the development. In your Community and Authority Consultation report you state: "The success of the community engagement can be gauged by the overwhelmingly positive response by the Parkes community to the new hospital's schematic design launched in late 2013." One can hardly say that 10 people attending information session of the unveiling of the redeveloped plans an overwhelming success and can be considered representative of the whole town of Parkes (population 10,000). A poll conducted by the Champion Post in May 2013, the overwhelming majority of 400 voters (88 per cent) would prefer the hospital on the northern side of the railway line which passes through Parkes. Regardless of that fact, you have decided to proceed with development on the Southern side of town and perhaps that reflects the low turnout/engagement level at the information session and the town residents feel their preferences are not being addressed taken into consideration.

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