Legislative Council, Wednesday 22 September 2021

Ms FORREST - to DEPUTY LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs PALMER

With regard to the welcome and planned new ambulance station in Burnie

1 For the last two years, what are the annual average number of daily ambulance call outs from the Burnie Ambulance Station listed by day of the week;

2 How does the Government propose to make it safe for exiting and entering ambulances accessing the proposed Brickport Road entry/exit point during peak traffic times;

3 Has consideration been given to returning ambulances from Accident & Emergency utilising a route back to the rear end of the proposed new ambulance garage without requiring re-entry to Brickport Road using existing hospital car park corridors and gravelled access road on hospital land, which was used recently during the construction of the cancer centre;

3.1 If not considered to date, will this be considered prior to the development of the Development Application (DA);

4 Why has the style of roof for the new Burnie Ambulance Centre been changed from a flat roof (as shown to Brickport Road residents on July 5th & 6th 2021) to high angled skillion roof, thus significantly raising the elevation of the roof on the Eastern side of the building and the side closest to neighbours shown to them on 25th and 26th August;

5 Has a gabled roof with hips been considered particularly as this would be more in keeping with the style of nearby residences;

6 Will the Minister provide me with a copy of the design and proposed plans supporting the DA to the lodged with the Burnie City Council prior to the lodgement with the BCC?

Answers:

1 In 2020-21 the Burnie ambulance station responded to 5 617 incidents – which equates to 15.4 incidents per day.

I am advised that in 2019-20 the Burnie Ambulance Station responded to 5 387 incidents. On average, this equalled:
16.1 incidents on Mondays
14.9 incidents on Tuesdays
14.7 incidents on Wednesdays
14.6 incidents on Thursdays
14.9 incidents on Fridays
14.7 incidents on Saturdays
13.7 incidents on Sundays

In 2020-21 the Burnie Ambulance Station responded to 5 617 incidents. On average, this equalled:
16.1 incidents on Mondays
14.7 incidents on Tuesdays
15.6 incidents on Wednesdays
14.8 incidents on Thursdays
15.6 incidents on Fridays
15.1 incidents on Saturdays
16.1 incidents on Sundays

2 A detailed traffic impact assessment has been undertaken to determine the impact a new ambulance station would have on Brickport Road.
The assessment identifies that the proposed design provides sight distance along Brickport Road for ambulances exiting the new station and to the access point for vehicles travelling along Brickport Road. It also exceeds the requirements of the relevant Australian Standard.

The assessment also recommends that a channelised right turn be provided to facilitate safe and efficient access for ambulances from Brickport Road to the new station. This recommendation has been incorporated into station design.

3 The suggested access from the existing hospital carpark would traverse an area identified as a potential land slip zone. The presence of this slip zone has influenced the location of the new station, and building an access road across this potential land slip area places the access at risk in the event of a slip occurring. Construction of an access across this area may also cause the slip zone to become active.

The introduction of operational traffic movements through the public carpark introduces interaction with ambulances and pedestrians, and ambulances and private vehicles. This results in potential points of conflict increasing the risk of incidents, as other carpark users are likely to have a high level of distraction, associated with their visit to the hospital.

4 There has been no change to the roof profile from the initial stakeholder consultation. As a result of stakeholder feedback, the project architects have lowered the ambulance garage roof by half a metre and have also reduced the overhang of the administration roof by approximately two metres to further help reduce the impact on the local resident’s amenity.

5 All roofing configurations were considered during the design phase of the station. However, the large span of the ambulance garage was best served by the skillion design. A gabled roof is likely to be higher than a skillion roof, imposing a greater impact on the amenity of adjacent residents.

6 A copy of the design drawings can be provided to the member and a briefing from the Department can also be arranged if the member wishes.