The NSW Government has provided funding under the $800 million Safe Accessible Transport (SAT) program for design and investigation work for the upgrade of Sawtell, Urunga, Macksville and Nambucca Heads stations, with designs scheduled to be completed within twelve months.

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A Transport for NSW spokesperson told News Of The Area, “The SAT program aims to make public transport safe, inclusive and easy to use for all passengers, especially people with disability, older people, people with prams or luggage and others who may be experiencing mobility problems.”

Each SAT upgrade is tailored to the local community’s needs and may include: new lifts and/or ramps, upgraded facilities including accessible toilets, tactile indicators to improve safety and accessibility for people who are vision impaired, improved lighting, signage and CCTV to enhance passenger safety, plus ‘Kiss and ride’ areas for easy pick-ups and drop-offs for people with prams and luggage.

Transport for NSW will progressively begin targeted stakeholder and community engagement to seek input and feedback to help shape the designs to meet local needs.

“This will take the form of workshops and an online consultation platform, which will start in the coming weeks.

“The community will be invited to have their say on our indicative designs, which will help inform development of final designs,” said the spokesperson.

Stakeholders and the community will be kept informed as the project progresses.

“The community will be invited to sign up to a project distribution list to ensure they’re kept informed about engagement opportunities as the projects progress.”

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said, “Public transport is a significant driver of social and economic activity, and accessible transport gives all people the opportunity to participate fully in their community and the economy.

“This is particularly the case in regional NSW where the tyranny of long distances can be terribly isolating for people with mobility issues and families without a car of their own.

“A safe, equitable and integrated transport network means people across the state can travel safely and confidently to work, appointments, holidays, events, and to visit friends and family.”

Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh welcomed the announcement.

“Access to safe and reliable public transport options is extremely important, particularly for people in regional areas who can be living long distances from family and friends.”

For more information visit www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/programs/safe-accessible-transport-program.

By Andrea FERRARI