Hunter New England Health Working with Traffic Consultants to Fix Congestion at John Hunter Hospital

BY ISABEL EVERETT

Hunter New England Health acknowledge more needs to be done to reduce traffic gridlocks at John Hunter Hospital, while waiting for the completion of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass. 

Traffic conditions were temporarily eased last year due to covid-19, but have reportedly worsened in recent months.

Wallsend MP, Sonia Hornery moved a Notice of Motion in the NSW Parliament on Tuesday, calling on the Health and Transport Ministers to do more for the staff and visitors to John Hunter Hospital, who remain trapped in what she says is a "constant traffic nightmare."

The primary and secondary access points for the John Hunter campus are closely located to each other, and connected only to Lookout Road, a major road with significant traffic constraints. 

Peak hour traffic impacts heavily on Lookout Road causing delays stretching both North and South, which causes traffic congestion on the campus.

Staff and visitors to the Hospital reportedly face a daily wait of more than an hour just to exit the Hospital campus. 

In 2020, changes were made to the intersection at Jacaranda Drive and Lookout Road to allow vehicles to turn right.  

"While the recent works have had some impact on traffic flow, we acknowledge more needs to be done," Hunter New England Health's Executive Director Infrastructure and Planning, Dr Ramsey Awad says. 

Traffic planning for the $780 million investment in the John Hunter Health and Innovation Precinct will include a direct connection to the new bypass interchange, being delivered as part of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass. 

Areas for additional parking and public transport connections will also be considered as part of the project’s planning process. 

"While traffic congestion will not be fully resolved until the Bypass is completed, we do recognise that shorter term solutions are needed in the meantime," Dr Awad says. 

 "We are currently considering strategies with the help of traffic consultants to identify additional improvements to traffic flow." 

Ms Hornery also called for the return of a shuttle bus service which ran from McDonald Jones Stadium, with John Hunter Staff reportedly starting their own petition calling for the reinstatement of the shuttle bus during peak hours.

“Since the Government cut the shuttle bus in 2015, the road around the hospital has become completely gridlocked at peak periods of the day," Ms Hornery says. 

“This impacts significantly on staff trying to get to school and childcare pickups on time for their children.  Parents are often very stressed, not knowing if they will make it in time to collect their children and often they are forced to call around to see who might be able to help them out.

“The one thing that is guaranteed to get traffic off the road is to give staff options to park and ride from Hunter Stadium." 

However Hunter New England Health say there are no plans to reinstate the shuttle bus service.

"It was introduced to ease car parking pressure before an additional 700 car parking spaces were provided at the hospital in 2015," Dr Awad says. 

"The shuttle bus transported a small number of people in the morning and afternoon peak times. Its return would have a minimal impact on reducing traffic congestion."

Image Credit: Daily Telegraph