Bayside Council will launch a campaign to get the NSW Government to overturn the new toll on the M5 East that is forcing an estimated additional 7,500 extra vehicles a day onto local roads.
The council will establish a committee of councillors, businesses and local residents to prepare an action plan to scrap the toll introduced on the M5 east of King Georges Road.
The idea was promoted in a Notice of Motion tabled by Councillor Bill Saravinovski at last week's council meeting and that was unanimously supported by his fellow councillors.
"A number of residents have contracted me wanting to be part of a campaign in relation to the traffic," Cr Sarvinovski said.
"It is getting completely out of hand. Forest Road is virtually 24-hours a day, seven days a week. The residents want to have the opportunity to form a committee to work out a strategy on how we can get the government to overturn this decision.
"It's been proven by the RMS statistics that there are an additional 7,500 cars and trucks a day that use Forest Road.
"When the M5 was built the selling point to the people of Rockdale was that there would be a reduction of traffic in Forest Road, Stoney Creek Road and Harrow Road.
"(Then NSW Premier) Bob Carr said this would be toll-free because the people of Sydney had paid for this road.
"Now there is constant traffic. I don't blame them for using our roads because it is a heavy toll where before there wasn't a toll."
Councillor Liz Barlow described the situation on local roads as an accident waiting to happen.
"If you are coming over Preddys Road, Coveney Street is truck truck lengths away. Someone will get killed one day because trucks come over that hill as cars want to turn right into Coveney Street and they are going to get rammed.
"The residents on the corner of Preddys Road said trucks fly through there. In the middle of the night they go through red lights," she said.
"(Transport for NSW chief operating officer) Howard Collins said they are going to get 12 months of data and they might change it back.
"They won't change it back because it's all about money. It's not about safety. It's not about the residents. It is political, I suppose. It's not a strong Liberal seat so they don't care.
"Forest Road is a disaster and it is an accident waiting to happen. I hope on-one gets killed."
Cr Andrew Tsounis described what the State Government had done to the area as "absolutely despicable".
"First we get Clearways, then we get intersection changes to make Forest Road and Stoney Creek Road easier to live with. But how can we. We have to put up with another 7,500 trucks and cars on the road a day, maybe more."
