Sandy Dan IV With Jan Lewis On 'No More Trucks - Keep Gubinge Road Safe' 080323

NO MORE TRUCKS - KEEP GUBINGE ROAD SAFE • Kimberley Mineral Sands (KMS) originally got Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval to ship their product from Derby, but last year changed to using Broome port. They applied for permission for 100 trucks trips every day, 24 hours a day through Broome. The EPA approved this without any community consultation. • Broome residents are dismayed at the lack of community consultation and the impact of so many large trucks so wrote to the Minister for Transport. • Last week the Minister for Transport acknowledged Broome residents’ concerns in writing and has arranged for a road safety audit. • Residents continue to call for an independent audit of all impacts and real community consultation before the project proceeds. • There is a community meeting on 22 March at Lotteries House at 5.30pm Many Broome residents use Gubinge Road or Port Drive to get to the beach, yet far fewer are aware that from 2024 Kimberley Mineral Sands (KMS) will be bringing huge mining trucks along these roads to get to Broome Port – for at least the next 36 years. Too many people still believe the trucks are going to Derby On 30 January 2023 the Broome community group No More Trucks sent a letter to the Transport Minister expressing concerns about safety issues on Gubinge Road and Port Drive. This was a follow up to a similar letter with 293 signatures of Broome residents sent to the Main Roads Kimberley office which described the state of the roads as ‘an accident waiting to happen’. Last week the Transport Minister replied “Main Roads acknowledges the concerns you have raised” stating that the agency, in consultation with the Shire of Broome, will “arrange for a Road Safety Audit to be undertaken on both Gubinge Road and Port Drive….. prior to the end of this financial year…. to review and assess the concerns you have raised.” “This news confirms the legitimacy of our concerns” spokesperson for No More Trucks Jan Lewis said. “It’s a relief actually. When I first contacted Main Roads they told me Gubinge Road has relatively low traffic and pedestrian volumes and that there was nothing wrong with it. Really? By what standards? To ensure maximum objectivity we are calling for any assessments to be done by independent experts.” Currently the maximum truck length allowed on Gubinge Road and Port Drive is 53.5 metres. No More Trucks members are concerned that Kimberley Mineral Sands has applied to use 60 metre long 4 trailer trucks, known as quads – the same as those used by mining companies in the Pilbara. While Main Roads has granted in-principle support for the use of quad road trains, this is subject to KMS preparing a Traffic Impact Assessment, to be endorsed by Main Roads, which considers further community consultation and identifies and addresses concerns raised by the community. A Cartage Management Plan must also be prepared and endorsed by Main Roads, addressing the community’s concerns related to increased heavy vehicle traffic through the town, and how future complaints from the community will be managed. To date Kimberley Mineral Sands has provided no opportunity for Broome residents to have their say about their proposal. On March 22nd No More Trucks is holding a community meeting to talk about the various issues that Kimberley Mineral Sands’ trucks present to the future of Broome. “It’s not only about road safety for Broome residents” Jan said, “We don’t believe that tourists with caravans, those driving home from Race Day, sunset viewing or walking to the beach should be on the same road as huge mining trucks. Surely there will be impacts on the tourist industry. We continue our call for an independent audit of all the impacts of mining trucks on safety and local tourism businesses.” For further enquiries contact Jan Lewis on 043 997 9589.