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Transport for NSW Regional Boating Plan Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water Region Consultation Draft August 2014

Transport for NSWRegional Boating PlanHawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water RegionConsultation Draft August 2014

ii | Transport for NSW Regional Boating Plan, 21/23122

Table of contents 1. Introduction.....................................................................................................................................4

2. Physical character of the waterways..............................................................................................6

2.1 Background..........................................................................................................................6

2.2 Hawkesbury River and Nepean River..................................................................................7

2.3 Pittwater ...............................................................................................................................9

2.4 Brisbane Water ..................................................................................................................10

3. Waterway users ...........................................................................................................................11

3.1 Analysis of waterway users ...............................................................................................12

3.2 Regional site visits .............................................................................................................13

3.3 Consultation to date ...........................................................................................................14

4. Safety ...........................................................................................................................................17

4.1 Overview of existing safety activities .................................................................................18

4.2 Complaints .........................................................................................................................19

4.3 Infringements .....................................................................................................................20

4.4 Incidents.............................................................................................................................20

4.5 Consultation feedback .......................................................................................................22

4.6 Key findings .......................................................................................................................23

4.7 Actions ...............................................................................................................................24

5. Access..........................................................................................................................................26

5.1 Overview of existing access facilities.................................................................................27


5.3 Key findings .......................................................................................................................33

5.4 Actions ...............................................................................................................................34

6. Storage.........................................................................................................................................37

6.1 Existing storage .................................................................................................................38


6.3 Key findings .......................................................................................................................42

6.4 Actions ...............................................................................................................................45

7. Other issues raised during consultation.......................................................................................49

7.1 Overall analysis of ‘other’ issues .......................................................................................49

7.2 Snapshot of ‘other’ issues..................................................................................................49

7.3 Key findings .......................................................................................................................50

7.4 Actions ...............................................................................................................................51

8. Detailed opportunities to support Actions ....................................................................................52

Summary of key actions...............................................................................................................52

9. References...................................................................................................................................73

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Table index Table 1 External stakeholders consulted at a regional level...............................................................14

Table 2 Profile of survey respondents.................................................................................................15

Table 3 Perceived importance of safety issues survey responses ..................................................23

Table 4 List of grants provided to Hawkesbury River, Pittwater, Brisbane Water region through the BBP Projects ..................................................................................................29

Table 5 Perceived importance of access and infrastructure issues survey responses ...................32

Table 6 Perceived importance of storage issues survey responses................................................42

Table 7 Location based key issues, potential solutions and opportunities ..........................................53

Figure index Figure 1 Map of regions ........................................................................................................................4

Figure 2 Hawkesbury River and Nepean River.....................................................................................8

Figure 3 Pittwater and surrounds ..........................................................................................................9

Figure 4 Brisbane Water and surrounds .............................................................................................10

Figure 5 Infringement analysis ............................................................................................................20

Figure 6 Survey response overall safety satisfaction.......................................................................22

Figure 7 Example of safety issue ........................................................................................................25

Figure 8 Example access facilities within the region...........................................................................28

Figure 9 Completed BBP projects examples within the region ...........................................................31

Figure 10 Survey response overall satisfaction with access and infrastructure facilities...................32

Figure 11 Examples of access issues/opportunities ...........................................................................36

Figure 12 Examples of commercial marina berths, yacht clubs, private moorings and fore and aft moorings ................................................................................................................38

Figure 13 Examples of marinas in Brooklyn and Berowra, including hire and drive storage..............39

Figure 14 Survey response overall satisfaction of storage facilities ................................................42

Figure 15 Examples of storage issues and opportunities identified during regional site visits ...........47

Figure 16 A map of the mooring areas in Pittwater showing large concentrations of moorings ............................................................................................................................48

Figure 17 Examples of commuter vessels, commuter vessel wharf in Pittwater, car ferry on the Hawkesbury River........................................................................................................51

Appendices Appendix A Details of Stakeholder Consultation

Appendix B Maps

4 | Transport for NSW Regional Boating Plan, 21/23122

1. Introduction

The NSW Government is seeking to improve the experience of recreational boating across NSW through the development of Regional Boating Plans. These plans will identify the priority projects and actions over the coming years in order to keep our waterways safe, improve accessibility and enhance the overall boating experience.

The Regional Boating Plans are being developed by the Maritime Management Centre (MMC) in Transport for NSW (TfNSW), working closely with Roads and Maritime Services (Roads and Maritime) and consultants with expertise in coastal infrastructure. The plans will be used to inform projects to be funded out of a new boating infrastructure partnership program. The new program will replace the successful Better Boating Program and will see more funding available for boating facilities across NSW with a stronger focus on delivering projects that will provide the greatest strategic benefit to each region.

The State’s major waterways have been grouped according to geography and waterway management to form eleven distinct regions as shown in Figure 1. A Regional Boating Plan will be developed for each of these regions.

Figure 1 – Map of regions

Each Regional Boating Plan is being developed through a two-stage process involving the development of a Consultation Draft and then a final plan for each region. This Consultation Draft has been informed by the feedback received through an initial consultation program

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including engagement with local councils and boating stakeholder groups as well as an online survey process open to all waterway users.

The project team has also undertaken site visits of infrastructure in each region including on- water inspections with local Roads and Maritime Boating Safety Officers (BSOs).

Following release of this Consultation Draft, the project team will return to each region to discuss the key findings and proposed priority projects with councils. The project team will also seek further community views on the Consultation Draft through a public information session.

Public information sessions will be held on:

NewportTuesday 19 AugustRoyal Motor Yacht Club46 Prince Alfred Parade, Newport6:00-7:00pm

EttalongWednesday 20 AugustEttalong Diggers51-52 The Esplanade, Ettalong Beach 6:00-7:00pm

Submissions on the Consultation Draft can be made via email to [email protected] by 31 August 2014.

Transport for NSW - Regional Boating Plan, 21/23122 | 5

WindsorThursday 21 AugustWindsor RSLMileham St and Argyle St, South Windsor 6:00-7:00pm

mailto:[email protected]


2. Physical character of the waterways

2.1 Background

This region predominately consists of three major waterways: Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water. Recreational boating is important to all three waterways and largely defines the character of the region.

Recreational users undertake a wide variety of boating activities including water-skiing, sailing and fishing and activities such as swimming and kayaking are also popular. Pittwater and Brisbane Water in particular are heavily used by recreational boaters and have numerous access points.

A unique characteristic of boating in this region is the large number of recreational vessels used for commuting purposes by people living on islands and in other isolated locations. These vessels are referred to as ‘commuter vessels’ throughout the remainder of this Plan. There are also a number of ferry services operating in the region, catering for both tourists and commuters.

Further details on waterway users are provided in Chapter 3.

The waterways are covered by nine councils:

Gosford City Council (GCC);

Hawkesbury City Council (HCC);

Camden Council (CC);

Pittwater Council (PC);

Ku-ring-gai Council (KC);

Hornsby Shire Council (HSC);

The Hills Shire Council (tHSC);

City of Penrith Council (CPC); and

Warringah Council (WC).

Most councils have plans in place to manage their waterways and associated estuaries. The main objectives of these plans have been to manage and co-ordinate waterfront development, improve public safety and accessibility and to protect the visual character and natural landscape of the waterways.

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The sections below outline the physical characteristics of the waterways where boating mainly occurs rather than the entire catchment and tributaries.

2.2 Hawkesbury River and Nepean River

The Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment drains an area of approximately 21,400 km2 in size. The waterway itself covers an area of approximately 115 km2 in size and has an average depth of 13.8 m. It is the longest coastal catchment in NSW extending from Lake Bathurst to Broken Bay. This study only considers the navigable waterways used for recreational boating, which encompass all nine of the LGA’s listed in Section 2.1.

The Hawkesbury River begins near Penrith at the convergence of the Grose and Nepean Rivers and reaches the ocean at Broken Bay. The river is mostly navigable. Upstream, the banks of the river are fairly well developed due to flat topography. The downstream section of the Hawkesbury is largely unspoilt national park and has steep topography.

The Hawkesbury River is tidal dominated, with its influence extending to York Reach near Wilberforce. Due to a deep and wide entrance channel, there is little amplification of the tide. Upstream near the tidal extent there are a number of areas with navigation issues due to siltation build up.

One of the main tributaries of the catchment is the Nepean River which starts close to Robertson and flows north into the Nepean Dam. The Nepean continues north, near Wallacia where it is joined by the dammed Warragamba River. Near Yarramundi, at its confluence with the Grose River, the Nepean becomes the Hawkesbury River. Navigation on the Nepean River is not recommended upstream of Warragamba park owing to the close proximity of Warragamba Dam.

Other major tributaries include the Colo River, Mangrove Creek, Berowra Creek, Cowan Creek, Mullet Creek and Mooney Mooney Creek.


Figure 2 – Hawkesbury River and Nepean River

8 | Transport for NSW - Regional Boating Plan, 21/23122

2.3 Pittwater

Pittwater drains a catchment area of approximately 51 km2 in size. The waterway itself covers an area of approximately 18 km2 in size and has an average depth of 9.9 m, although this reaches 22 m at its maximum. It is a sheltered waterway immediately north of Sydney which flows into Broken Bay from the south. Pittwater falls within the Pittwater LGA and is bounded by Mona Vale and Warriewood in the south, Palm Beach in the east and West Head in the west. The adjoining land is heavily developed in the east and primarily National Park (Ku-ring-gai Chase) in the west. Pittwater is a tidal waterway due to its proximity to the ocean resulting in generally good levels of water quality.

Figure 3 – Pittwater and surrounds


2.4 Brisbane Water

Brisbane Water drains a catchment area of approximately 153 km2 in size. The waterway itself covers an area of approximately 28 km2 in size and has an average depth of 3.1 m. It lies north of Sydney within Gosford City Council LGA. Brisbane Water is a relatively sheltered waterway during storm events. However navigation can be an issue in some locations such as The Rip and Ettalong due to ocean swell, tidal currents, eddy formation and mobile sand shoals.

Three creeks run into the main body of water. These are:

Narara Creek - This creek is well developed upstream and consequently is a majorsource of sediment and pollutants to the waterway, mainly due surface to run-off;

Erina Creek - This creek is only developed in its lower reaches; and

Kincumber Creek – This creek is relatively small.

Brisbane Water is tidal and, because tides attenuate upstream due to sand bar formations, flushing times are quite long where these creeks deposit. Thus, the water quality can be significantly lower upstream than it is in the lower reaches. There are also a number of small coastal lagoons such as Terrigal Lagoon and Avoca Lagoon that are found within the Gosford LGA.

Figure 4 – Brisbane Water and surrounds


Transport for NSW Regional Boating Plan, 21/23122 | 11 -

3. Waterway users

Recreational boating is a popular pastime in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water regional waterways. These waterways are popular for recreational fishing, sailing, water skiers, wake vessels, rowers, kayakers, yacht racing and other regattas. The waterways also host numerous sporting events (sailing, rowing, and water skiing) throughout the year, including the “Bridge to Bridge” power boat and water skiing events on the Hawkesbury River. As mentioned earlier, this region has a number of ferry services that transport commuters to various neighbouring suburbs and regions.

Hawkesbury River catchment

The Hawkesbury River is an extremely popular and diverse waterway in terms of its usage. Due to its proximity to Sydney and the Central Coast, a considerable proportion of waterway users are visitors. In the lower reaches of the river, recreational activities include power boating, recreational fishing, water skiing and wakeboarding, PWC usage, house boating, sailing, kayaking, canoeing and swimming. Due to the popularity of the waterway, a number of conflicts arise including:

Congestion around boat ramps, including lack of car/trailer parking and cars parking intrailer spots. This has been exacerbated by both the increase in the number and size ofboats competing for the same facilities;

Noise, inconsiderate behaviour and not observing regulations; and

Conflicts between commuter vessels, large vessels or wakeboard boats and smaller,passive craft, mainly as a result of generated wake.

The upper reaches of the Hawkesbury are dominated by water skiing and wakeboarding, particularly in the vicinity of Wisemans Ferry. This section of the river and its tributaries, such as the Colo River, are also popular for canoeing and other forms of passive craft recreation. In addition, recreational fishing is common in this part of the river.

The Nepean River is especially popular for rowing; the Sydney International Regatta Centre is based in Penrith. Power boaters also utilise the river, and primarily launch out of Tench Reserve. An additional facility is provided for wake boarders in the form of a cable wake park in Penrith.

Pittwater

Pittwater is one of the busiest waterways in the State and is intensively used for recreational purposes due to its proximity to Sydney. Recreational activities include swimming, sailing,

kayaking, fishing, sailboarding, kite-surfing, water skiing, sailing, dragon boating and shore fishing. This waterway accommodates a relatively high number of large vessels. These vessels are stored on private moorings or in marinas. The popularity of the waterway creates competition for limited space and infrastructure, often leading to conflict. Space is further limited by the high number of swing moorings in the waterway. To manage this popularity and minimise on-water conflict, a number of 4 and 8 knot speed restrictions along with no wash zones are enforced in Pittwater.

The inappropriate use of PWCs was highlighted as a particular concern, with PWC use becoming increasingly popular as a result of the ban of their usage on Sydney Harbour. Commercial activity is also high on Pittwater, including the commuter ferries that connect Scotland Island and the western foreshore to the mainland, and the ferry services that connects Palm Beach to The Basin and to Ettalong Beach on the Central Coast.

Brisbane Water

Brisbane Water is a popular waterway with recreational uses including power boating, fishing, water skiing, sailing, paddling, kayaking and rowing. There is a relationship between vessel size and location of use. Typically there are large vessels predominantly found downstream of the Rip Bridge and smaller vessels found upstream. Water skiing is generally permitted throughout the centre of the waterway, although it is prohibited in Correa Bay and speed restrictions apply in some other areas. PWC use is becoming increasingly popular in the waterway, partially because they are prohibited in Sydney Harbour. Fishing is popular in a number of areas such as between Paddy’s Channel, The Rip Bridge, Lintern Channel and Fagan’s Bay. Sailing is popular due to the three sailing clubs. The use of sail craft is predominantly located in The Broad Water, north of Saratoga.

In the summer months, the use of Brisbane Water increases for all recreational activities, which is when on-water conflicts between user groups are highest. Commercial fishing is banned in Brisbane Water but permitted in Broken Bay and offshore. Owing to the small and shallow nature of the Gosford coastal lagoons, power boating does not take place here. These lagoons are extremely valued and popular with passive users for activities such as swimming, kayaking and paddle boating.

3.1 Analysis of waterway users

3.1.1 Licence data analysis

As of the 2011 census, there were 1,037,172 people living across the eight LGA’s in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region. The region generally experienced a population growth of 4.7% between 2006 and 2011, which was below the national average of 8.32% and the NSW average of 5.63%. It should be noted that two LGA’s experienced growth in excess of the State average namely Ku-ring-gai Council and The Hills Shire Council.

As of 12/03/2014 there were approximately 103,000 boat licence holders in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region. This represents approximately 19% of all boating licences in NSW, the greatest contribution of any of the Regional Boating Plan regions. The region also has the highest proportion (approximately 25%) of vessels over 6 metres in the State.

The majority of licence holders in the region carry a General Boat Licence with approximately 12% licensed to operate Personal Watercrafts (PWCs). This breakdown of licence types is typical across the State.


3.1.2 Registration data analysis

As of 12/03/2014 there were approximately 41,000 registered recreational vessels in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region. This represents approximately 17% of all registered recreational vessels in NSW. The most common vessel hull types in this region are open runabouts followed by cabin runabouts and sail vessels. Whilst overall there are more power vessels registered in this area, there are nevertheless significant numbers of sail craft.

The majority (77%) of the registered vessels in this region are below 6 m and the average vessel length is 5.4 m. Vessels less than 6 m in length are defined as trailerable. This has a strong influence on the boating access and storage requirements in the region with a strong demand on boat ramps and trailer parking.

3.1.3 Other users

Whilst the data analysed above provides information on licence holders and vessels registered in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region, it does not capture vessels from other regions utilising these waterways. External users include boaters from nearby regions including the Central Coast and Sydney, which can add significantly to the local demand at certain times of the year.

Roads and Maritime’s licence and registration data does not capture passive craft numbers such as kayaks, canoes, beach-launch sail craft which do not require registration. Based on the estimated total number of these vessel types in NSW, it is suggested that there may be many thousands of unregistered passive craft in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region.

The Region’s waterways also incorporate a number of commuter and tourist ferry services, including the following services operating under service contracts with TfNSW:

• Palm Beach to Ettalong

• Palm Beach to The Basin

• Woy Woy to Gosford

• Brooklyn to Dangar Island

• Church Point to Scotland Island

3.1.4 Future demand

In 2010, the then NSW Maritime released a report titled NSW Boat Ownership and Storage Growth Forecasts to 2026. The report forecast a continuing growth trend in vessel ownership of 2.9% annually across NSW.

The Report used a different regional profile to that being used for the Regional Boating Plan; however it identified the Hawkesbury/ Broken Bay region (which incorporates Pittwater) as one of the largest areas in the State in terms of boat ownership. The continuing population growth in the region together with high boat ownership of the current population supports the forecasted trend in vessel ownership.

3.2 Regional site visits

Regional site visits and consultation with local stakeholders were an integral part of the study process. This section summarises key findings and observations in relation to the users of this region. Further details are provided in Chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7.

There are several layers of complexity that were observed during visits that influence safety, access and storage in this region. These include: the level of urbanisation along the


Hawkesbury River and its tributaries; the substantial numbers of private moorings in Pittwater, including the largest mooring area in the State (at Clareville); some larger marinas (including yacht clubs) with several hundred berths in Pittwater; passenger ferry services; car ferry (punts) crossings at Berowra and on the upper stretches of the Hawkesbury River, and; several islands and other residential hubs that can only be accessed by water.

Whilst several boat ramps were of a high standard, the site visits identified ramps and other related infrastructure that were in poor condition, poorly maintained, lacked amenities and had insufficient capacity to cater for current demand and any future growth. Stakeholder feedback reflected these observations and also highlighted parking generally as well as the impact of commuter parking at transport hubs adjoining recreational boating infrastructure, cost of parking at ramps in Pittwater, rapidly expanding population in the suburbs adjoining the Hawkesbury and Nepean Rivers with limited access points, and, the need for improved amenity such as pontoons, toilets and fish cleaning tables.

Similar to other highly urbanised regions, the need for additional on-water and dry storage in this region was identified during the site visits. The length of mooring waiting lists in the region also limits boating access in some areas. Reviewing and optimising the configuration of some existing mooring areas could help to improve storage, access and navigation in these bays without increasing the overall mooring footprint.

These observations were supported by strong feedback from stakeholders across the region on need for dry storage (both stack and long-term trailer parking), reduction of mooring waiting lists, improved storage for dinghies and other passive craft, including for rowing and dragon boating and the need to increase berth numbers from Pittwater to Berowra due to high occupancy and waiting lists.

The waterway provides an abundance of recreational boating opportunities and it was evident from observation and feedback that there are a high proportion of experienced boaters using these waterways.

3.3 Consultation to date

Stakeholder consultation was undertaken in this region with the councils, Roads and Maritime’s Boating Safety Officers (BSOs) and other groups through facilitated workshops & meetings. Appendix A provides a comprehensive list of State-wide stakeholders consulted as part of this study. Table 1 outlines the groups consulted specifically for this region.

Table 1 – External stakeholders consulted at a regional level

Agency / Group Represented

Boating Safety Officers responsible for the region

Gosford City Council (GCC)

Hawkesbury City Council (HCC)

Camden Council (CC)

Pittwater Council (PC)

Ku-ring-gai Council (KC)

Hornsby Shire Council (HSC)



The Hills Shire Council (tHSC)

City of Penrith Council (CPC)

Warringah Council (WC)

National Parks and Wildlife Service

Individual and other representative stakeholders from community organisations, sporting clubs and marinas.

Stakeholders provided direct feedback both verbally and in writing in addition to responding to the online survey which was also open to the broader community. In total 54 survey responses were received. The outcomes of the survey should not be viewed as representative of all users of this waterway. A detailed profile of the survey respondents is available and is summarised below in Table 2.

Table 2 – Profile of survey respondents

194 (Individuals 158, Government 36)

Industry/comm, General Public, 4% 4%

Number of respondents

Respondent

Category Individual boater,

73% 7% Club/ Group Rep,

Oth

er,

4%

Government, 8%

20-29, 1%

Age Group

Licence type General Licence, 67%

General Young Adult Licence, 0%

Personal Watercraft (PWC)

Licence, 9%

Young Adult PWC Licence, 0%

Commercial licence, 2%

No licence, 18%

other, 4%

Boat ownership

No, 9

Yes, 149

30-39, 10% 40-49, 19% 50-59, 25% 60+, 44%

Less than 20, 1%

Boat type

Personal Sailing dinghy, 4% Watercraft (PWC),

4%

Trailerable power boat, 29% Yacht, 29% Other, 6%

Canoe / kayak, 14%

Power boat, 14%


Less than 6 metres, 52%

More than 6 metres, 48%

Boat length

Boat Category Recreational, 99%

Fishing, 23% Cruising, 29% Sailing, 23%

Commercial, 1%

Water sports, 11% Special events, 6% Recreational

Boating

Oth

er,

8%

Activities

Boating

Frequency

Summer (October - March)

Winter (April - September)

Less Weekly Fortnightly Monthly frequently


Transport for NSW Regional Boating Plan, 21/23122 | 17

4. Safety

Key findings

• Stakeholder consultation suggests high levels of satisfaction with current boating safety in theHawkesbury, Pittwater and Brisbane Water Region with 85% of online survey respondents indicating theywere at least satisfied with the region’s safety.

• The Nepean River has a high level of use by a range of different user groups with high use seen frompassive craft, particularly rowers, PWC users and towing vessels.

• Beach areas, particularly within Pittwater, Broken Bay and Brisbane Water are popular for swimming andother passive activities where conflicting use often occurs.

• Stakeholder consultation suggests that the large contingent of vessels over 6 m regularly create excessivewash without consideration for other waterway users, especially on Cowan Creek, Broken Bay andPittwater.

• Improved signage and navigation aids would help enhance the overall boating experience, especially inthe narrow channels and entrances to Brisbane Water where shifting sand banks and siltation are anongoing issue.

Actions

a. Review strategies to improve user behaviour across the region

b. Review the placement and planning of navigation aids and signage to improve navigation

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4.1 Overview of existing safety activities

The MMC has led a campaign with Roads and Maritime to promote the wearing of lifejackets, especially in small vessels. The campaign is a response to the fact that 9 out of 10 people who drown when boating, are not wearing a lifejacket.

The campaign has been the most comprehensive, targeted program on boating safety in NSW history. It included an extensive and targeted advertising campaign, an innovative mobile lifejacket promotional van which took the safety message to the boating public State-wide (including visits to the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region), a zero tolerance on-water compliance approach and a host of supporting activities. Roads and Maritime is responsible for the operational delivery of marine safety in NSW, including the operational aspects of the regulation of recreational and commercial boating activity throughout the State. The enforcement role is chiefly performed by BSOs who conduct regular on-water patrols and inspections throughout the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water waterways to provide boating safety education and ensure compliance with safety requirements (such as lifejackets), speed, wash, distance off, aquatic licences, commercial operations and mooring requirements.

Roads and Maritime also operate a Mobile Safety Education and Compliance Team which is a team of specialist BSOs who can be deployed throughout NSW.

The BSOs work in close partnership with the local NSW Police Force (both general duties police and the local Marine Area Command), often conducting joint patrols, although police officers are solely responsible for conducting random breath testing on NSW navigable waters.

BSOs also work in partnership with officers of the Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries) and National Parks’ rangers in relation to matters of common interest.

In addition to State-wide regulatory requirements and boating safety campaigns, specific boating safety restrictions that apply in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water are shown on the map included in Appendix B and online at http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/publications/maps.html. These are summarised as follows:

• Speed restrictions such as:

– 4 knot zones, specifically at:

Woy Woy Channel;

Coasters Retreat;

Milsons Passage;

Between Newport and Bayview;

Wisemans Ferry;

The Gut, Brooklyn;

The Narrows, Nepean River;

Colo River;

Sackville Ferry crossing

Creeks such as Kincumber Creek, Erina Creek, Narara Creek, CowanCreek, Coal and Candle Creek, McCarrs Creek, Berowra Creek, CattaiCreek; and

St Huberts Island.


http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/publications/maps.html

– 8 knot zones at Ettalong Beach, Killcare, Paddys Channel, Narrabeen Lagoon, Smiths Creek, Careel Bay, Bayview, Clareville, Mangrove Creek, Webbs Creek, Nepean River, Macdonald River, Windsor and North Richmond.

• “no wash” zones;

• personal watercraft prohibited areas;

• all or power boats prohibited areas;

• no anchoring submarine cables;

• shallow waters;

• bar crossings;

• known seaplane operating area;

• no towing zones; and

• no wakeboarding or wakeboard boats.

Further controls exist in the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea which are observed in NSW and include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The skipper (master of the vessel) is responsible for the safety of the vessel and all people on board;

• The skipper must always:

– keep to a safe speed for the conditions (eg., slower speeds at times of reduced visibility, rough water, congested waterway);

– keep a proper lookout;

– be prepared to take action to avoid a collision; and

– display appropriate navigation lights at night.

In addition, there are also a number of general “distance off” restrictions which apply on all NSW waters – for example, vessels travelling at 10 knots or more must remain at least 60 m from people in the water and 30 m from structures, shorelines and other powered vessels. Where it is not possible to maintain the specified distances, a “safe distance” should be maintained. This is the distance which will ensure that a vessel will not endanger or injure people or damage property, having regard to relevant factors such as prevailing weather conditions, visibility, speed and any obstructions.

4.2 Complaints

Analysis of the complaints received by Roads and Maritime during the five years leading up to 1 January 2014 reveals that the majority of complaints received relate to:

On-water behaviour including irregular riding of personal watercraft, wash and vessels not observing correct distances off (25%);

deficient moorings or vessels that are drifting (14%); and

speeding (13%).

The most significant number of complaints received by the Roads and Maritime for the region related to the broad Brisbane Water area (25%). Localised areas that received a number of complaints included Pittwater, Berowra Creek, Woy Woy and the Nepean River (totalling to 32%).


4.3 Infringements

Between 2009 and 2013, the number of penalty notices issued within the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region accounted for 12% of all infringement notices issued throughout NSW. Of the penalties issued over that period, approximately 79% were issued by Roads and Maritime, whilst the remainder were issued by NSW Police. In addition to these penalties, 2,882 formal warnings were issued. The highly trafficked waters of the Hawkesbury River accounted for more than a third of the region’s infringements.

As indicated in Figure 5 below, the infringements for which the most penalty notices were issued in the region were for:

excessive speed (29%);

failure to carry the correct safety equipment (28%); and

failure to carry the required licence (10%).

Figure 5 – Infringement analysis

Num

ber o

f Inf

ringe

men

t Not

ices

Issu

ed 450

400 350 300 250 200 150 100

50 0

Category of Infringement

4.4 Incidents

In the period between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2013, there were 259 vessel incidents reported to Roads and Maritime in the region. Eighty-nine incidents occurred in Pittwater, 75 occurred on the Hawkesbury River, 44 incidents occurred in Brisbane Water and 28 incidents occurred offshore. The remaining 23 incidents took place in a range of locations including Berowra Creek, Cowan Creek, the Nepean River, Narrabeen Lagoon and Terrigal Lagoon. One hundred and ninety-nine of the incidents involved recreational vessels, 28 involved an interaction between a recreational and commercial vessel and 32 involved commercial vessels only. This breakdown of incidents among vessel categories is broadly consistent with State-wide observations.

4.4.1 Incidents resulting in death or injury

Ten fatal incidents have occurred in the region during this period, which resulted in 11 fatalities. All but one of these incidents took place during daylight hours and half occurred on a Sunday.


Vessel types that were involved in multiple incidents include open runabouts, cabin runabouts and canoes. The incident type was capsizing, fall overboard or a result of towing. Based on the data available, all but one of the deceased was not wearing an appropriate lifejacket and drowned. These victims may have survived had they been wearing a lifejacket at the time of the incident.

There were also 43 incidents which resulted in serious injury to the victim. A serious injury is classified as one requiring hospitalisation or outpatient treatment. These incidents resulted in 50 injuries, almost half of which took place on an open runabout. There was no particular trend or pattern when analysing the cause of incident, however, the most common incident type was injury on board followed by propeller incident. An additional 32 incidents resulted in minor injury to 39 persons; half of these were the result of collisions between vessels or capsizing.

4.4.2 Types of vessels

The main types of vessels involved in incidents, where known, were small powered craft (open runabouts 30%, cabin runabouts 14%), sailing vessels (21%), and larger motor cruisers (14%). PWC (5%), houseboats (3%) and canoes (1%) were not highly represented.

4.4.3 Incident locations

While incidents occurred throughout the region there are a number of areas where there were significant concentrations of incidents. These areas are:

20 incidents in Pittwater East from the Broken Bay entrance to Barrenjoey Head to Box Head;

19 incidents in Pittwater south of Church Point and Salt Pan Cove;

11 incidents on the Hawkesbury River between Sackville Reach and Kent Reach; and

11 incidents on the Hawkesbury River at Wisemans Ferry.

4.4.4 Incident cause

Behavioural and environmental factors were identified as the primary cause of the majority of incidents. Forty eight were caused by a lack of judgement, another 30 were the result of a lack of proper lookout and 30 incidents were the result of adverse weather conditions. Material factors were attributable to 21 incidents involving failure of a variety of equipment, machinery, electronics or hull; consistent with the State-wide average.

4.4.5 Incident type

Composition of incident types in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region was broadly consistent with State-wide averages. Over a third (92 incidents) involved collisions between vessels, which is slightly higher the State-wide average.

The next most common types of vessel incident observed in the region were vessel capsize (31 incidents), grounding (17) and collision with a fixed object (14).

4.4.6 Incident operation

Vessel operation at the time of an incident provides some insight into the nature of incidents occurring. While 143 were the result of vessels underway, 37 vessels were moored and 29 were at anchor or berth, which is a high proportion when compared to the rest of the State. Thirty three of the 92 incident collisions noted at Section 4.4.5 involved collisions with vessels that were moored, berthed or at anchor – mostly by vessels breaking their berths or moorings and colliding with other moored vessels. This finding also correlates with the high number of complaints summarised in Section 4.2 regarding moorings. Fourteen tow sport incident were


reported during the period, which is a slightly greater proportion than the State-wide average for waterways where towing occurs.

4.4.7 Time of day, month and year

Where the time of the incident is known, 211 occurred during daylight; 66 in the morning and 145 in the afternoon. Forty eight incidents occurred at night, with the majority of these (33) occurring before midnight. January was by far the most common month for incidents to occur. As expected, November, December and March also had a high proportion of incidents, corresponding to the most intense periods of boating activity. Similarly, weekends were the most likely days for incidents to occur.

4.4.8 Wind and weather

During consultations, anecdotal evidence was provided suggesting that due to limited fetch lengths, the waterways of this region are relatively sheltered from changing weather conditions. However ocean swell, tidal currents, eddy formation and mobile sand shoals can cause problems for boaters, particularly in small vessels. Of the incidents where the weather conditions are known, approximately 78% occurred on days with clear visibility and fine weather. However weather conditions do not always reflect water conditions and approximately 41% of the incidents where water conditions are known were described as choppy, rough, very rough or in strong current.

4.4.9 Bar crossings

There is one bar crossing in the region which is at the entrance to Brisbane Water between Little Box Head and Ettalong. In the past five years there have been no reported bar crossing incidents. This is partially due to the specific wave angle or wind direction required to cause navigation difficulties, however it is also reflective of State-wide statistics which demonstrate improved safety awareness and compliance around crossing bars, particularly in relation to compulsory lifejacket wear.

4.5 Consultation feedback

Survey respondents generally rated their satisfaction level with respect to safety positively, with 85% stating it to be acceptable or above.

Figure 6 – Survey response – overall safety satisfaction

2%

12%

41%32%

9% 4%

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Acceptable

Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Not applicable

Respondents that rated the overall safety of the region as ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ were typically concerned about: speeding in restricted zones, wash creation by large boats and


navigation restrictions due to siltation build up and large mooring fields. Overall the respondents’ results were tallied to identify the perceived importance of various safety issues. The resulting rankings are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 – Perceived importance of safety issues – survey responses

Rank Issue

1 On-water behaviour

2 Wash

3 Speed

4 Navigation aids

5 Vessels not observing correct distance

6 Hazards

7 Emergency response

4.6 Key findings

The consultation feedback suggests that boaters in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region generally have a high level of satisfaction with current boating safety. Of the online survey respondents, 85% indicated that safety in the region was at least acceptable. This is likely due to the fact that the boating community in this region is localised and relatively experienced as it is an integral part of their lifestyle. However, analysis of complaints, infringements and incidents data suggests that, as busy waterways with multiple types of users, Roads and Maritime must continue to actively manage safety on the waterways through its compliance activities and education campaigns.

During the site visits and based on feedback received, on water conflicts between commuter vessels and recreational vessels were identified in this region particularly in Pittwater. The complex interactions between these vessels are further outlined in Chapter 7.

It is also clear that there are areas of dissatisfaction where improvements to the boating experience can be made. Improving the general behaviour of waterway users is a common theme across the different stakeholder groups. Particular attention was drawn to larger vessels, for creating excessive wash with lack of consideration for other waterway users, and PWC users, for not complying with speed and distance off regulations. This was identified to be of specific concern on Cowan Creek, Pittwater and Broken Bay.

This region services a large variety of waterway users from large motor cruisers and sailing vessels to kayaks, stand up paddle boards (SUPs) and swimmers. It was identified, through analysis and stakeholder consultation, that whilst many operators of motorised craft do not observe appropriate distance off to passive waterway users, passive waterway users often lack knowledge in regards to on-water regulations and protocols. As a result, on occasions passive crafts travel in the centre of busy navigation channels instead of on the less congested fringes of these channels.

The Hawkesbury River is very long waterway; however it only has limited formal access facilities at Brooklyn, Wisemans Ferry and Windsor. Between Wisemans Ferry and Windsor there are a large number of private access facilities with considerable levels of towing activity occurring in this area during peak seasons resulting in on-water conflict. The Nepean River has only a limited area where facilities can be developed to provide access to the river, between Weir Reserve, north of Victoria Bridge, to the start of the gorges at Regentville. As a result, waterway usage on both rivers is congested causing conflict between different user groups. On the


Nepean River there are some regulations in place to manage this demand, however, on both waterways, improvements such as strategic placement of access facilities could minimise on-water conflict.

In addition, it was noted that the popularity of sporting groups such as Dragon Boating has increased by a considerable portion since 2000. Stakeholder workshops with sporting bodies such as Rowing NSW, Dragon Boating NSW and Sailing NSW, have indicated a willingness to work together to investigate the feasibility of a shared facility. Further investigating this strategy may ease the on-water conflict in the region particularly in the Nepean River.

Conflict between different waterway user groups is also seen at beach areas, particularly within areas such as Pittwater, Broken Bay and Brisbane Water. These areas are extensively used for swimming and other passive activities. However, the beaches are also popular due to their protected nature, the proximity to moorings and the presence of some informal boat ramp facilities and as such, conflicts between the different users occur.

Whilst, generally, navigation aids and signage in the region were considered to be satisfactory, the boating experience could be enhanced through their improvement. This would particularly enhance boating in the narrow channels and entrances to Brisbane Water where shifting sand banks and siltation are an ongoing issue. Signage regarding wash and speed restrictions are also sometimes unclear due to the extensive distances from navigation channels to land. These issues have been identified at specific locations listed in Chapter 8.

4.7 Actions


State-wide education campaigns are important in improving user behaviour; however, there are actions that can be taken on a local level to improve user safety.

Opportunities include the strategic development of user group dedicated access facilities to minimise interaction between different waterway user groups. This is particularly relevant in the Nepean River where regulations are already in place to restrict boating access to specific user groups during allocated times. Through consultations with the different waterway user groups, Roads and Maritime and council, a robust strategy could be implemented including methods such as rostering and prioritisation during special events.

Generally for this region, education and communication campaigns for passive craft users will focus on the protocols around the appropriate use of major navigation channels. PWC users also need to be targeted through education and communication campaigns in observing correct distances to other waterway users, particularly swimmers at beach areas. This could also be supported through restricted zoning of specific waterway locations and beach areas.

MMC and Roads and Maritime will work with councils to review opportunities to upgrade existing access facilities in the region with the view of separating user groups. This will be done in conjunction with reviewing the need for upgrades to existing facilities and new facilities as outlined in Chapter 8.

MMC will also work with Roads and Maritime, councils and sporting associations to review the feasibility of the proposed centralised sporting facility and associated access facility to accommodate significant sporting groups.

b. Review the placement and planning of navigation aids and signage to improvenavigation

Roads and Maritime will review and update its program for managing and replacing navigation aids, particularly in Brisbane Water. Roads and Maritime will review existing signage at boating


locations throughout the region and work with other government agencies to improve clarity of signage at boat ramps. Obsolete signage will be removed as part of the project.

A new boating safety information sign template has been designed allowing interchangeable key boating safety messages to be displayed in the vicinity of boat ramps and includes waterway hazard information unique to each location. These new signs will be progressively rolled out to major boat ramps in the region.

Figure 7 – Example of safety issue

Faded speed restriction signage on Pittwater



-

5. Access

Key findings

• There are a relatively large number of waterway access points in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region. Despite this, there is a significant strain on capacity even amongst relatively new and well-managed facilities.

• Capacity of car and trailer parking does not meet demand at most access points. Car parking also restricts access to moorings, especially in Pittwater.

• More can be done to improve the condition of much of the region’s boating infrastructure, especially at the large number of wharves and jetties.

• There are a large number of residents in the region with waterway access only. These waterway commuters are heavily reliant on congested access infrastructure. This can impact upon the availability of infrastructure for recreational boaters.

• The Hawkesbury River covers a great distance and would benefit from the provision of strategically located access infrastructure to meet demand, spread waterway usage and cater for emergency response.

• There is a need to support the upgrade of rowing facilities with a view to sharing access with other passive boating uses including paddle craft.

• The Nepean River has relatively limited waterway access for the large growing population and the range of different waterway user groups it services.

Actions

c. Work with councils to improve the condition of key access facilities across the region to meet current and future demand

d. Work with councils to increase capacity and capability at existing access facilities with a particular focus on boat ramps

e. Work with councils to increase car parking for recreational boating access to moorings and jetties, especially in Pittwater, and increase car and trailer parking at boat ramps region-wide

f. Continue support for the Rescuing Our Waterways dredging program

g. Identify strategic locations for access development across the region specifically in Pittwater and the Upper Hawkesbury

5.1 Overview of existing access facilities

Vessel access to the waterways of the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater, Brisbane Water region is available through several avenues including boat ramps, private and commercial moorings, marina berths, and club or private landing facilities. Trailera vessels can be launched and retrieved at public boat ramps, some of which have public facilities available such as trailer parking, fish cleaning tables and toilets. Public wharves and jetties are also located on the region’s waterways and provide alternate access to vessels that are on the water. Formal and informal dinghy storage facilities exist and are used to access moored vessels. Some waterfront landowners also gain direct access to the waterway through private landing facilities. There is also informal access for smaller vessels (such as canoes and kayaks) from a number of public reserves and beaches.

During the site visits, some of the ramps visited were visually identified to be in below average condition, poorly maintained, lacking amenities and access facilities. Further details on some specific improvements to boating access upgrades are provided at Chapter 8.

Boat ramps

There are approximately 43 formalised boat ramps.

Location:

– 21 in Brisbane Water;

– 16 in the Hawkesbury River including all tributaries;

– three in Pittwater;

– two in coastal areas;

– one in Narrabeen Lagoon.

Material:

– 28 are concrete or bitumen ramps;

– three are composed of gravel or sand; and

– the remaining 12 are unknown.

Ownership:

– 37 of the boat ramps are owned and maintained by councils

Public jetties, wharves and pontoons

Further analysis of the region’s infrastructure found that there are 117 public access points including wharves, jetties, pontoons and landings.

Location:

– 46 in Brisbane Water;

– 40 in the Hawkesbury River including all tributaries;

– 29 in Pittwater; and

– two in Broken Bay.

Courtesy moorings

Current courtesy moorings include:

• Two in the Broad Water;

• One at Davistown in Cockle Channel;

• Two in Hardys Bay;


• One at Ettalong Beach;

• Four in Refuge Bay;

• Two in America Bay;

• Four in Deep Bay, Berowra Creek;

• One in Half Moon Bay, Berowra Creek;

• Two in Joe Crafts Bay, Berowra Creek;

• One at Wisemans Ferry;

• One at Bathurst Reach; and

• Two at Windsor.Figure 8 – Example access facilities within the region

Careel Bay Wharf Pontoon, Pittwater Church Point Boat Tie-up, Pittwater

Rowland Reserve wharf Kangaroo Point Pontoon

Storage and access for water skiing Storage for rowing clubs

5.1.1 Better Boating Program grants

Through the Better Boating Program and additional special grants funding Roads and Maritime has provided 73 grants totalling over $5.7 million for 69 projects in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater, Brisbane Water region between 2005 and 2014. A selection of these can be seen in Figure 9 with all projects listed in Table 4 below. It is important to note that the total cost of the


projects is not depicted in this table. For total cost of the projects refer to http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/mpd/success_projects.html.

Table 4 – List of grants provided to Hawkesbury River, Pittwater, Brisbane Water region through the BBP Projects

Recipient Project Final Grant

Brisbane Water Marine Watch

Signage – 50 sites around Brisbane Water for Marine Watch

$5,980

Camden Council Recreational Boating Feasibility Study, Camden $20,000* Cameron Brae P/L Berowra Waters Marina Sewage Pump Out

Facility $36,940

D'albora Marinas Akuna Bay Marina Pump Out Upgrade -Hawkesbury River

$18,340

Gosford City Council Bar Point Wharf Upgrade $113,000* Gosford City Council Brisbane Water Dinghy Storage $39,727 Gosford City Council Brisbane Water Public Wharves and Boat

Ramps Usage Study $16,859

Gosford City Council Couche Park Wharf Reconstruction, Brisbane Waters (Additional Funding)

$55,294

Gosford City Council Deerrubbun Reserve Boat Ramp and Pontoon, Hawkesbury River (Additional Funding)

$45,225

Gosford City Council Deerubbun Reserve Boat Ramp Carpark Upgrade, Mooney Mooney

$100,000*

Gosford City Council Deerubbun Reserve Boat Ramp Carpark Upgrade, Mooney Mooney (Additional Funding)

$150,000*

Gosford City Council Dinghy Storage at Captain Cook Memorial Reserve (Green Point), Brisbane Water

$13,527

Gosford City Council Gosford Boat Ramp and Wharf Upgrade at Masons Parade, Gosford (Brisbane Water)

$165,368

Gosford City Council Ettalng Beach New Public Ferry Wharf (Investigation)

$29,370#

Gosford City Council Jirramba Wharf Upgrade, Saratoga $115,000* Gosford City Council Koolewong Dinghy Storage, Brisbane Water $9,947 Gosford City Council Koolewong Reserve Boat Ramps - Wharf

Upgrades (Design) $17,475

Gosford City Council Lintern Street – Ramp Upgrade $80,000 Gosford City Council Lions Park Boat Ramp Pontoon, Woy Woy

(Brisbane Water) $87,104

Gosford City Council Pretty Beach Boat Ramp Upgrade, Brisbane Waters (Additional Funding)

$100,000

Gosford City Council Pretty Beach Boat Ramp Upgrade, Brisbane Waters (Additional Funds)

$25,000

Gosford City Council Terrigal Haven Water Access Infrastructure Upgrade - Stage 1

$30,000*

Gosford City Council Woy Woy Town Centre Wharf - User Study & Design

$22,490

Gosford Sailing Club Public Sewage Pump out $45,000 Hawkesbury City Council Governor Phillip Reserve Boat Ramp Jetty,

Windsor $178,000*

Hawkesbury City Council Hanna Park Jetty Refurbishment, North Richmond

$22,500*

Hawkesbury City Council Holmes Drive Reserve Boat Ramp Upgrade, Cumberland Reach

$50,000*

Hawkesbury City Council Windsor Public Wharf Replacement $200,000 Hawkesbury City Council Windsor Public Wharf Replacement (Additional

Funding) $163,000

Hornsby Shire Council Bar Island Jetty Reconstruction, Berowra Creek $30,000 Hornsby Shire Council Bar Island Jetty Reconstruction, Berowra Creek $37,596


http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/mpd/success_projects.html



(Additional Funding) Hornsby Shire Council Berowra Waters Boat Ramp Pontoon Extension $15,000 Hornsby Shire Council Berowra Waters Western Pontoon Replacement $28,028 Hornsby Shire Council Dangar Island Pontoon & Berthing Facility Stage

2 (Construction) $145,000*

Hornsby Shire Council Dangar Island Pontoon and Berthing Facility Stage 1 (Investigation & Design)

$51,661*

Hornsby Shire Council Kangaroo Point, Pontoon and Ramp -Hawkesbury River

$139,307

Hornsby Shire Council McKell Park Pontoon Replacement, Brooklyn (Hawkesbury River)

$41,091

Hornsby Shire Council Parsley Bay Boat Ramp and Pontoon Upgrade, Brooklyn

$150,000*

Hornsby Shire Council Replacement of Western Pontoon at Parsley Bay, Brooklyn

$40,664

Hornsby Shire Council Wisemans Ferry Public Wharf Embankment Repair

$16,063

Kuring-Gai Motor Yacht Club Pump out Facility and Tanker Bay, Cottage Point $10,000 NPWS Apple Tree Bay Pontoon Replacement $46,500 NPWS Bobbin Head, Cowan Creek pontoon $65,000 Penrith City Council Nepean River Boating Access Improvements -

Tench Reserve, Penrith $82,000*

Pittwater Council Bothams Beach Reserve Dinghy Storage (Stages 1 & 2), Church Point

$16,023

Pittwater Council Bothams Beach Reserve Dinghy Storage, Church Point (Stage 3)

$38,091

Pittwater Council Careel Bay Foreshore - Master Plan & Boat Tie Up (Stage 1)

$8,258

Pittwater Council Careel Bay Foreshore Upgrade (Stage 1) $117,328* Pittwater Council Careel Bay Wharf - New Pontoon (Pittwater) $21,280 Pittwater Council Careel Bay Wharf Sewage Pump out Facility,

Careel Bay (Pittwater) $100,000

Pittwater Council Church Point Boat Tie-up Facility, Church Point (Pittwater)

$100,000

Pittwater Council Church Point Reserve Watercraft Storage, Church Point

$13,500

Pittwater Council Clareville Beach Reserve Kayak/Canoe Storage, Clareville

$5,000

Pittwater Council Currawong Reserve Dinghy Storage Facility, Palm Beach (Pittwater)

$6,000

Pittwater Council Dark Gully Park Dinghy Storage Facility, Palm Beach (Pittwater)

$6,000

Pittwater Council Dinghy Storage at Old Wharf Reserve, Clareville $22,210 Pittwater Council Dinghy Storage at Sandy Beach Reserve -

Pittwater $3,584

Pittwater Council Kayak Storage at Paradise Beach, Pittwater $2,521 Pittwater Council Palm Beach Ferry Wharf Upgrade, Pittwater $1,470,630# Pittwater Council Pontoon and Gangway Installation with Disabled

Access at Tennis Wharf, Scotland Island $84,541

Pittwater Council Rowland Reserve - Seawall Upgrade $55,486 Pittwater Council Rowland Reserve Wharf Upgrade (for Sailability) $79,500 Pittwater Council Salt Pan Cove Access, Newport $27,754 Pittwater Council Sand Point Boat Ramp Study - Woorak Road,

Palm Beach $10,774

Pittwater Council Sand Point Boat Ramp Upgrade, Palm Beach $21,450* Pittwater Council Woorak Reserve Car/trailer Parking Upgrade,

Palm Beach (Stage 1) $190,582


Pittwater Council Woorak Reserve Car/trailer Parking Upgrade, $122,995 Palm Beach (Stage 2)

Rowell Marine Group $130,000*Public Pontoon and Sewage Pump Out Facility at Newport Wharf (Pittwater)

$24,000 Royal Motor Yacht Club RMYC Broken Bay Sewage Pump Out Facility, Broken Bay Newport Warringah Council Cottage Point Public Wharf $6,560 Warringah Council Middle Creek Reserve Upgrade, Oxford Falls $127,333 Warringah Council $7,500*Narrabeen Lagoon Dinghy & Kayak Storage,

Narrabeen Warringah Council Upgrade of Boat Ramp, Fishermans Beach $120,000

TOTAL $5,791,956

* denotes Active projects as of 21/01/2014

# denotes part of Savings-funded boating safety and infrastructure initiatives announced in August 2013.

Figure 9 – Completed BBP projects examples within the region

Bobbin Head Pontoon Clareville Beach Dinghy Storage, Pittwater

Couche Park Wharf & Pontoon, Brisbane Water Pretty Beach Boat Ramp, Brisbane Water

Tench Reserve Boat Ramp, Penrith Patonga Boat Ramp



Seventy percent of survey respondents rated their satisfaction level with access and infrastructure facilities as acceptable or higher whereas 28% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

Figure 10 – Survey response–overall satisfaction with access and infrastructure facilities

2%

4%

28%

38%

17%

11%

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Acceptable

Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Not applicable

Respondents that rated the overall access of the region as ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ were typically concerned about a lack of secure parking especially in peak periods, capacity and condition of infrastructure and the need for pump outs. Overall the respondents’ results were tallied to identify the perceived importance of various access issues. The resulting rankings are shown in Table 5.

Table 5 – Perceived importance of access and infrastructure issues – survey responses

Rank Issue

1 Condition

2 General access

3 Capacity

4 Safety

5 Car parking

6 Amenity

7 Accessibility to moorings

8 Trailer parking

9 Disability access


5.3 Key findings

There are a relatively large number of waterway access points in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region. It is clear that there are four major areas in this region, these can be classified as:

Pittwater including Broken Bay;

Nepean and the Upper Hawkesbury;

Lower Hawkesbury; and

Brisbane Water.

This region has more jetties and wharves than there are boat ramps. This is likely due to the relatively large percentage of vessels over 6 m that are registered (both recreational and commercial) within the region that require access to wharves and jetties for ‘pick up and drop off’ of passengers and supplies. It is also due to the significant number of residents with waterway access only who require wharf and jetty access for commuting purposes.

Despite the large number of wharves and jetties, there is still a strain on their capacity with the competing demand for these facilities from both recreational boaters and commuters vessels. This issue of competition for access facilities is further outlined in Chapter 7. It was identified that several of the wharves and jetties in the Pittwater area require upgrading to maintain access at these locations.

Access to the waterway for trailered vessels at boat ramps is also strained with a significant proportion of the region’s boat ramps only able to accommodate a limited number of users due to:

constraints in car and trailer parking;

limited width of ramp;

depth of ramp; and/or

limited pontoon or jetty access.

The demand for many of these ramps is at capacity, if not already exceeded. In addition to the limited capacity, the condition of the boat ramps was identified to further restrict usage. This is seen to be a region wide issue although it is particularly prevalent in the Brisbane Water area.

This region has limited opportunities for creating additional public access points given the demand for waterfront property in Pittwater and Brisbane Water along with the large proportion of National Park. As such, locations for the development and expansion of car and trailer parking facilities to service boat ramps, wharves and jetties and mooring areas are scarce. Given these constraints it is vital that the existing boating access facilities are closely reviewed with the view to further optimise and upgrade.

The Hawkesbury River covers an extensive distance and has limited existing public facilities between the major hubs at Windsor and Brooklyn, which are over 100 km apart by water. Access facilities at both Brooklyn and Windsor have been identified as having insufficient capacity to meet the current demand during peak seasons. Wisemans Ferry currently provides public access facilities to service the river between these two hubs. However, this facility has been identified to be basic, in poor condition and does not provide appropriate infrastructure to support current demand. To reduce the demand at some of the major hubs, boaters can be encouraged to use alternate access facilities if there is appropriate infrastructure available. Existing alternate locations such as Holmes Drive Reserve (Cumberland Reach) and Lower Portland (Skelton Reserve) provide informal basic access with limited associated facilities and amenities. It was noted that BBP funding has been allocated to upgrade Cumberland Reach


informal ramp. Similarly, opportunities to provide jetty and pontoon access at Sackville Ferry Road would provide the only access to public toilets between Wisemans Ferry and Windsor, as well as also providing an alternate access point for pick-up and drop-off. Upgrading these facilities as well as other opportunities suggested in Chapter 8 may assist in spreading demand across the Hawkesbury River.

The Nepean River has relatively limited waterway access for the large and growing population and the range of different waterway user groups it services. The river has a rich history of rowing, however it has recently become a popular waterway for other recreational boating including other sporting groups, PWC use, towing activities and kayaking. Access infrastructure has not yet adapted and needs to be incorporated into a holistic waterway user management strategy for the Nepean River as outlined in Chapter 4.

5.4 Actions

c. Work with councils to improve the condition of key access facilities across theregion to meet current and future demand

Given the large number of facilities in the region and the fact that Regional Boating Plans are also being developed concurrently in 10 other regions across the State, a detailed analysis of each facility in the region was not undertaken. However, the consultation with councils, key stakeholders, the on-line surveys and site inspections at regionally significant waterways have identified key boating access issues and potential solutions by location. Details on these issues and potential solutions are described in Chapter 8.

In relation to Brisbane Water, stakeholder consultation and analysis indicates that the upgrading of existing smaller boat ramps and jetties would not only improve access options but would also relieve capacity issues seen at regionally significant access facilities. These upgrades may include resurfacing of ramps and surrounding areas and upgrading of the general ramp or jetty/pontoon condition. These upgrades should be considered along with other facilities such as toilets, lighting, fish cleaning tables and sewage pump-out facilities. Some locations at Brisbane Water include Ettalong Beach, Hardy’s Bay and Davistown.

Similarly, analysis also indicates that the upgrading of wharves is required at several locations around Pittwater. Some locations at Pittwater include Scotland Island and Coasters Retreat. Improvements to the condition of existing access facilities on the Hawkesbury River and the Nepean River are addressed under the Key Actions for safety in Chapter 4 above and Action h below.

The MMC will hold further discussion with councils across this region to assist in developing an approach to improve the condition of existing facilities by identifying a list of priority projects that will deliver the greatest improvement to the boating experience for the region. Other stakeholders and the general public are also encouraged to identify specific access improvement projects in the region to add to those outlined in Chapter 8.

d. Work with councils to increase capacity and capability at existing access facilitieswith a particular focus on boat ramps

Despite the large number of access points in the region, upgrading the capacity of existing access facilities in conjunction with upgrading the condition of assets is required to meet current and future demands. Upgrades to increase capacity include the widening of ramps, placement or extension of pontoons and jetties, designated queuing and approach lanes and designated ramp lanes. Opportunities to increase capacity at existing facilities are identified in Chapter 8; however, as many areas are constrained by nearby residential developments, there are limited opportunities to expand local capacity. These upgrades should be undertaken in conjunction with Action h.


Further consultation with councils and suggestions raised through submissions on this Consultation Draft will be used to inform a list of priority projects at strategic locations that will deliver the greatest improvement to the boating experience for the region and will be included in the final Regional Boating Plan.

e. Work with councils to increase car parking for recreational access to moorings and jetties, especially in Pittwater, and increase car and trailer parking at boat ramps region-wide

Despite the demand for land in close proximity to the water and the abundance of National Park in the region, a review of possible locations for parking expansion, formalising of designated parking spots and re-structuring of current parking layouts is necessary to increase parking capacity to better service existing access points.

MMC will work with councils to explore innovative ideas and potential commercial opportunities such as the provision of weekend shuttle services between alternate secured parking areas and strategic waterway locations, especially in Pittwater, to alleviate commuter congestion. This would in turn provide additional spaces for recreational boaters.


The Rescuing Our Waterways dredging program, which is administered by NSW Department of Trade and Investment (Crown Lands), provides funding to dredging projects to aid navigable access in public waterways by recreational and commercial vessels. Under the second stage of this program, $1.5 million is available for dredging projects to be delivered in 2014/2015. Under this program applicants are required to contribute 50% of the total dredging costs. While applications under the second stage have closed, continued support beyond this stage will ensure priority dredging projects for the State continue to be delivered. Stakeholder consultation and site visits have highlighted a range of locations where dredging works would be beneficial to the community including:

Half Tide Rocks;

Paddy’s Channel;

Pretty Beach;

Cockle Channel;

Kincumber Broadwater and Creek;

Sandbrook Inlet; and

McKell Park boat ramp (Parsley Bay).


Development of new public access facilities at strategic locations on the Hawkesbury River may spread waterway usage across a greater proportion of the river. This will relieve the pressure from congested access facilities at Windsor, Brooklyn and Mooney Mooney.

A review of the existing facilities at Wisemans Ferry is required with a view to develop this into a regionally significant access facility. There are currently cultural and recreational assets in the vicinity of the existing ramp, which could be incorporated into a refurbishment of the site. The facility has the potential to provide new, larger and improved services, which could in turn commercially benefit the local community. The feasibility of this would need to be assessed.

It is believed that a potential upgrade of Wisemans Ferry would likely spread existing demand away from facilities at Windsor and encourage waterway usage over a greater portion of the


river. Whilst this may be a longer term project, minor upgrades to the Wisemans Ferry boat ramp and other locations to improve waterway usage and amenity is included in Chapter 8.

Similarly, Pittwater is congested by the large amount of boating taking place. An overall review of waterway and innovative strategies to reduce congestion both on water and on land will need to be considered to meet future demand. This may include provision to identify a new location to develop a new boating facility.

The Nepean River will also benefit from such an approach as discussed in Chapter 4. In addition to this, previous Better Boating funding has been made available for projects within the National Parks in this region and MMC and Roads and Maritime will continue to liaise with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to identify potential opportunities for funding.

Figure 11 – Examples of access issues/opportunities

Opportunity to promote use by passive craft at old or

secondary Bayview boat ramp

Hardy’s Bay Wharf (Killcare Road Wharf) – inadequate

fendering system for recreational boaters



6. Storage

Key findings

• The growth in boat storage capacity across the region will need to keep pace with the forecast growth in vessel numbers.

• Identifying opportunities for additional dry storage facilities is a priority for the region.

• Increasing long-term off-street boat trailer parking capacity was identified as a priority.

• Long waiting lists for private moorings in popular areas are limiting access and storage for boaters.

• Navigation is restricted in a number of popular bays due to the current arrangement of moorings.

• There is a need for dinghy and passive craft storage across the region.

• There is a need to update dinghy management policies in Pittwater to meet increasing demand.

Actions

h. Establish a boat storage strategy for Pittwater and work with councils and other partners to help deliver projects that support strategic growth in boat storage capacity in Brisbane Water and the Hawkesbury River

i. Optimise configurations of existing mooring fields to improve access and navigation in the region and enable future growth as required

j. Provide dinghy storage for areas with high concentrations of moorings and passive craft storage in areas with high demand. Work with Pittwater Council to update existing dinghy management policies.

k. Work with Councils to improve long-term trailer parking capacity

-

6.1 Existing storage

6.1.1 Overview of existing storage types

Storage for vessels is generally provided on-land for smaller vessels (< 6 m), e.g. trailerable power or sail, and on-water for larger vessels (> 6 m); however larger vessels can also be stored on-land, for example at dry-storage facilities, for vessels up to approximately 10 m.

The main types of on-water storage for the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater, and Brisbane Water region are principally administered as follows:

Private moorings;

Commercial moorings;

Commercial marina berths;

Commuter berths; and

Domestic berths, moorings and other associated storage.

On-water storage can be at private or commercial facilities. On-water storage at commercial marinas, yacht / sailing clubs, or boating facilities, is provided at berths (floating or fixed), moorings (swing, fore and aft or other) and where space permits on-land such as a hard-stand or dry-stack. For example, the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club has space for up to 72 vessels on its hardstand area and d’Albora Marina at Akuna Bay has 169 dry storage spaces in addition to its 219 wet berths.

Storage at private facilities can be adjacent to private property and include domestic jetties, slipways, boatsheds, and berths or fore and aft moorings or through private swing moorings. Private swing moorings usually also require access to the water with a tender/dinghy and this vessel requires its own form of storage on-land. Additionally in this region there is a canal estate at St Hubert’s Island with private vessel storage spaces.

Vessels less than 6 m in length are generally stored on trailers on private property or sometimes on public roads.

Figure 12 – Examples of commercial marina berths, yacht clubs, private moorings and fore and aft moorings


Figure 13 – Examples of marinas in Brooklyn and Berowra, including hire and drive storage

6.1.2 Overview of existing storage volume

It is estimated there are at least 8,500 storage spaces on-water or at associated land facilities in the region. Additionally there are around 300 dry storage spaces in the region, including the 169 space dry stack at Akuna Bay and 72 hardstand spaces at the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club. Of the vessels stored / spaces on-water, approximately 4,000 of these are at private moorings and 1,500 at commercial moorings. These are administered by Roads and Maritime. Approximately 50% of the total number of commercial moorings are associated with marinas, clubs or related boating facilities.

As with other regions, there are numerous wetland leases administered under licence with NSW Trade and Investment (Crown Lands), some of which are included in the total storage spaces quoted above. However, it is difficult to quantify numbers and the use is usually exclusive to the property owner and they cannot be sub-leased or licensed.

As noted in Section 3.1, a large proportion of registered recreational vessels in NSW are in this region and the proportion over 6 m vessels grew considerably from 1999 to 2009, resulting in a high demand for on-water storage.

Whilst numbers provided for each category are in many cases approximate, they can be generally grouped as follows and include:


Pittwater, Cowan Creek, Broken Bay and Narrabeen Lakes

There are several marinas, large sailing and yacht clubs and other boating facilities including:

Bayview Anchorage – <60 berths and 13 moorings;

Careel Bay Marina – 96 Moorings;

d'Albora Akuna Bay – 219 wet berth and 169 spaces in the dry stack facility;

Empire Marina Bobbin Head – 200 berths and 10 moorings;

Gibson Marina – < 50 including for smaller vessels < 70 moorings;

Rowell Marine (Heron Cove Marina) – <15 berths and moorings;

Holmeport Marinas – 56 berths along with an additional two for police and fuel for a totalof 240 vessels;

Ku-ring-gai Motor Yacht Club – <10 pontoon berths for members, 84 moorings at CottagePoint for members, 14 club moorings in America and Refuge Bay and two in The Basin;

Newport Anchorage Marina – <65 berths;

Princes Street Marina – 70 berths;

The Quays Marina Pittwater – 95 berths, 70 moorings and four hardstand spaces;

Royal Motor Yacht Club Broken Bay – 220 berths and 49 moorings;

Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club – > 300 including several commuter vessel berths, 18moorings, < 72 on hardstand as well as storage for centreboard dinghies and 12additional moorings in Pittwater area for use by members;

Sirsi Marina Pittwater – <40 berths; and

Colin Beashel Marine – 25 moorings.

Sailing and other clubs in Pittwater

With a large proportion of sailing vessels on private moorings in Pittwater, there are numerous sailing and other clubs including, Avalon Sailing Club, Narrabeen Lakes Sailing Club, Palm Beach Sailing Club, Sailability at Pittwater Sailing Club, Broken Bay Game Fishing Club.

As with smaller clubs in other waterways, most of the clubs in the region offer members access to storage for smaller vessels. Generally these vessels are stored on-water or land-based, in an open hardstand area, or inside stacks in smaller sheds. This plan has not included all numbers at these sites in its overview, however generally sailing clubs and associated facilities can often store from small numbers to in excess of 60 sailing (beach-launch) craft. Those vessels stored on land are usually not required to be registered and so do not appear in those total numbers.

Hawkesbury and Nepean Rivers

There are several marinas, clubs and other boating facilities including:

Berowra Waters Marina – West Marina – 79 Berths; Cruise craft (East Marina) – 29Berths, 16 Moorings; Boatshed – 32 Commuter Berths;

Brooklyn Marina – <45 berths and small number of commuter vessel berths;

Brooklyn on Hawkesbury – < 8 berths used exclusively for holiday residents;

Dolphin Boatshed Brooklyn – <32 berths, charter vessel berthing, <20 moorings;

Fenwicks Marina Brooklyn – 58 berths, 12 trailer storage spaces and 2 moorings;

Hawkesbury River Marina – <40 berths including commuter berths;


Long Island Marina and Wharf St Marina (combined site) – < 110 berths and 70moorings;

Mooney Mooney Workers Club – <10 berths including commuter vessels;

Sandbrook Inlet Marina – 88 berths, 24 moorings; and

Hawkesbury River Houseboats <10 including for hire and drive and commuter vessels.

Brisbane Water

There are several marinas, large sailing and yacht clubs and other boating facilities including:

Andersons Marina Boatshed – <20 berths, and some boat hire and drive berths;

Empire Bay Marina Central Coast – 8 berths and 19 moorings;

Killcare Marina Central Coast – <25 berths and small number of commuter spaces;

Booker Bay Marina – <18 berths and small number of commuter spaces and moorings;

Machans Marina – <24 berths and moorings; and

Gosford Sailing Club – < 30 berths, 29 moorings and small number of hardstand spaces.

Sailing and other clubs in the Hawkesbury, Nepean and Brisbane Water

There are a number of sailing and other clubs in this area of the region including Hawkesbury River Yacht Club, Hornsby PCYC Sailing Club, Sailability Gosford, Saratoga Sailing Club, Penrith Rowing Club, Nepean Rowing Club and numerous water-skiing clubs. Most of these clubs have their own storage and access facilities.

St Hubert’s Island

There are approximately 46 pontoons in the canals, with a small number of these operating under existing use and seeking to formalise approval.

Private and commercial moorings and domestic licences

There are approximately 4,000 private and 1,500 commercial moorings including those listed for marinas, clubs and boating facilities. Additionally there are a large number of domestic licences with jetties, mooring piles, slipways or boatsheds in the waterways such as those at Booker Bay, Woy Woy and Empire Bay. The total number of these is difficult to quantify, however as noted above, they are for the exclusive usage of the licensee. Additionally, the existence of a licence does not necessarily mean there is a vessel present.

Commuter berths and other storage for residents

Several private mooring areas are restricted to residents of locations that are only accessible by water; these include Dangar Island, Wobbly Beach and Cogra Bay.

Additionally it was observed that numerous sites, for example at Church Point, Hawkesbury River, numerous marinas and boatsheds provide storage for commuter vessels. Many of the users of these types of vessels do not classify themselves as boaters. This is issue is further discussed in Chapter 7.


52% of survey respondents rated the adequacy of storage facilities as acceptable or higher and 36% as inadequate or very inadequate.


Figure 14 – Survey response – overall satisfaction of storage facilities

5%

20%

26%22%

15%

12%

Very adequate

Adequate

Acceptable

Inadequate

Very inadequate

Not applicable

Respondents that rated the overall storage of the region as ‘inadequate’ or ‘very inadequate’ were typically concerned about a lack of parking spaces, the difficulty in obtaining a mooring or marina berth and dinghy and kayak storage which was raised under physical accessibility and dinghy storage. It was interesting to note that 7% of these respondents identified themselves as non-boaters. This most likely reflects the concerns of residents living near and adjacent to the waterways, especially those with water access only, about the negative externalities that can be generated when planning for boat storage, such as a lack of available parking.

Overall the respondents’ results were tallied to identify the perceived importance of various storage issues. The resulting rankings are shown in Table 6.

Table 6 – Perceived importance of storage issues – survey responses

1 Lack of parking spaces

2 Physical accessibility

3 Cost

4 Amenity

5 Waiting list

6 Dinghy storage

Rank Issue

6.3 Key findings

The Hawkesbury River, Pittwater, Brisbane Water region includes some of the more popular waterways in NSW, in part due to its proximity to Sydney and the highly urbanised surrounding suburbs. It has over 41,000 vessels registered in the region, large number of visitor vessels throughout the year and accommodates smaller crafts that do not require registration. As noted previously, this region also has one of the highest proportions of vessels over 6 m in the State. As noted in Section 3.1.4, there is a continuing growth trend in vessel ownership of 2.9% annually across NSW. Accommodating the region’s boat storage needs as vessel registrations and the size of vessels grow will require a balanced combination of additional on-water and dry storage options. Passive boating activities are also increasing in popularity in the region. While numbers are not easily identifiable since these vessels do not require registration, anecdotal evidence suggests that the popularity of these craft is growing at an even higher rate than that


identified for registered vessels. Storage options for these vessels will therefore also need to be considered in this region.

Whilst open runabouts and cabin runabouts are still the predominant vessel type, sail vessels constitute a considerable portion of the total. This is evident in yacht clubs such as Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and Royal Motor Yacht Club in Broken Bay. These clubs have in excess of 500 berths between them. Compared to other regions, the region has a high proportion (over 50%) of private moorings licenced to hold sail craft, compared with other regions. In Pittwater this rises to over 60% of the private moorings. This is significant and demonstrates a significant presence of sail craft in the region

The demand for additional on-water and on-land boat storage in this region is demonstrated by the long waiting lists for private mooring licences and commercial sites in a number of bays, the high occupancy rates, waiting lists for dinghy storage and the prevalence of boat trailers being parked on residential streets in the region.

In addition to what was observed on site there were also a significant number of issues in relation to storage raised by stakeholders. Some feedback received was similar to that received in regions such as Lake Macquarie – Tuggerah Lakes in relation to dinghy storage and mooring “minders”, and Botany Bay, Georges River and Port Hacking region in relation to trailer storage and the need for more berths and dry storage. However, some other feedback and findings from this region included:

concern with the cost of dinghy storage as stakeholders felt that the storage was alreadyfunded from their licences and registrations,

low maintenance and minimal amenities available at boating facilities;

commuter vessels taking up on-water storage space;

impact of current mooring systems on sea grass;

lack of parking for trailers for medium and high density housing;

trailer parking fees seen as high particularly in Pittwater;

the demand for larger marina berths to accommodate larger vessels, and

the need to phase out swing moorings in favour of berths and dry storage.

Other concerns and issues are captured in Chapter 7.

In 2013, the MMC developed the Sydney Harbour Boat Storage Strategy which examined the existing capacity and forecast demand for boat storage in Sydney Harbour. The Strategy seeks to identify the best way to accommodate growth by planning for the mix of storage facilities best suited to meet the characteristics of vessels and usage in the region. Adopting similar principles in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region will help achieve a common understanding of future boat storage requirements across all stakeholder groups.

Failing to plan for boat storage growth not only impacts on the experience of boaters in the region but also risks generating negative impacts for the community more broadly. As with other regions, dry storage, private moorings and other on-water storage including commercial marinas, need to be part of an overall approach for managing boat storage in the region. For example, there may be opportunities where Government funding can assist in establishing public marina facilities that could increase storage capacity while reducing the size of mooring fields.

Analysis from the consultation feedback and site visits has identified four key issues that would benefit from a more strategic approach to boat storage:


Demand for private moorings and on-water storage berths

A number of areas in the region have a significant waiting list in comparison to the total moorings. Some of the areas identified in Pittwater include:

Horseshoe Cove;

Winji Jimmi;

Winnererremy Bay;

America and Refuge Bays;

Bayview Creek; and

McCarrs Creek.

For example at Winnererremy Bay there are 26 listed on a waiting list for 17 moorings with the last mooring issued in November 2013. Similarly for Horseshoe Cove, the Roads and Maritime website notes the last mooring was issued in 2008 and “15 years plus possible size restriction” for one of 36 moorings which are predominantly sail craft.

Waiting list data reflects the feedback received from stakeholders and supports the demand for more on-water storage in the region such as private moorings and marina berths.

At the same time, navigation and access is often made difficult in and around some bays with high mooring numbers particularly at peak times. Examples of such bays and areas include Bayview, McCarr’s Creek, Salt Pan Cove and Careel Bay all with over 200 moorings. Other locations such as Parsley Bay, Brooklyn, Berowra, Refuge Cove, Scotland Island, Gosford, Koolewong, Hardy’s Bay and Saratoga all have over 100 moorings. Clareville was noted to having over 600 moorings. Some of these bays are also in close proximity to yachting/sailing clubs and are also adjacent to designated sailboat racing areas.

While there is a clear demand for additional private mooring licences, any further increase to mooring numbers would further impact on navigation and access in and around these congested mooring areas. A balanced approach is therefore required that optimises existing mooring configurations and identifies areas where future growth could be accommodated with minimal impact. Importantly, stakeholders also noted the need to provide more on-water storage such as marinas. This is the preferred type of storage for many boaters, especially amongst the ageing population due to ease of access. This is evident as many of the marinas in the region, especially in Pittwater, Cowan Creek and Brooklyn have waiting lists and high occupancy rates.

In March 2014, MMC released the Moorings Review Issues Paper which highlighted the potential for increasing mooring capacity through policy and regulatory changes and by using alternate moorings systems such as fore and aft or multi-point moorings. In addition, there may be opportunities where Government funding can assist in establishing public marina facilities that could increase storage capacity while reducing the size of mooring fields.

It is noted that alternate mooring systems are not suitable in all areas and may be subject to planning requirements.

Further information about the Moorings Review is available at: http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/engagement/moorings-review-issues-paper.

Other issues such as concerns in relation to zoning as well as the treatment of moorings in the Pittwater Local Environmental Plan 2014 are further discussed in Chapter 7.

Dry Storage

Currently, there is a dry storage facility at Akuna Bay (169 spaces) and some hardstand storage at Newport (72 spaces) and minimal facilities in other areas.


http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/engagement/moorings-review-issues-paper

Additional dry storage facilities could assist in meeting current and future growth for all vessels particularly those between 6 -12 m depending on hull type. It will also assist in addressing the challenges associated with boat trailers being parked on residential streets (further discussed below) as well as complementing on-water storage in this region (which is the preferred type of storage for vessels over 10 m).

Dinghy and passive craft storage

Similar to other urbanised regions, a considerable majority of private mooring licence holders in this region are from suburbs adjacent to the waterways or in close proximity. Dinghies and other passive craft owned by foreshore residents are mostly stored on private land having exclusive access to waterways; this was observed at a number of foreshore residences. However for the other dinghies and passive craft, there was evidence of informal dinghy storage in several areas such as Careel Bay, along the foreshores of Palm Beach (suburb), Cowan Creek, Clareville Beach, Newport and Gosford.

Issues were identified regarding the lack of storage for growing numbers of other passive craft such as paddle craft in Pittwater, sailing dinghy storage in Gosford, rowing and dragon boats across some parts of the region. Conversely, some stakeholders noted that the provision of formalised dinghy storage modifies the character of the region and there should be some places where less formal storage methods is allowed to continue.

This region would benefit from dinghy storage systems in the areas with higher mooring density as well as for other passive craft in appropriate locations as it would also help to improve the boating experience in the region. However, feedback was received regarding the additional cost of dinghy storage on the boaters being a constraint on recreational boating.

Since 2004 Roads and Maritime has awarded 10 grants to Pittwater Council for dinghy storage projects, however the region would benefit from increased provision of such storage racks.

Long-term trailer parking

Boat trailer parking on residential streets has been identified as a key issue in a number of suburbs including around Lower Portland, Mona Vale, Terrigal, Davistown, Saratoga, Mooney Mooney, Church Point, and Palm Beach and generally around Pittwater. These are areas where trailers are being left parked on a long-term basis and also where there is limited short-term parking for trailers at boat ramps. Stakeholders also highlighted the fact that in new residential areas such as Penrith where new blocks are relatively smaller, there is little opportunity to store boats on private land.

In 2013, MMC released a report from a Boat Trailer Working Group established to investigate options to better manage long-term boat trailer parking. The report (http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/publications-reports/boat-trailer-working-group-report) highlights a number of opportunities to reduce the incidence of long-term boat trailer parking on residential streets. The Government’s response to the options identified in the Boat Trailer Working Group report is expected shortly. The response will include additional funding to assist Councils, or other organisations, in establishing dedicated long-term boat trailer parking facilities.

6.4 Actions

h. Establish a boat storage strategy for Pittwater. Work with councils and other partners to help deliver projects that support strategic growth in boat storage capacity in Brisbane Water and the Hawkesbury River

MMC and Roads and Maritime will work with Pittwater and other relevant councils to develop a boat storage strategy that seeks to identify the best mix of boat storage facilities required keep


http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/publications-reports/boat-trailer-working-group-report

pace with demand in the Pittwater to Broken Bay area (Figure 15 and Figure 16). Developing the strategy will require further consultation with boat owners, industry and the local community. Once finalised, funding assistance will be provided to help councils and potentially other delivery partners to deliver new storage projects that support the agreed growth targets.

MMC and Roads and Maritime will also work with councils in Brisbane Water and the Hawkesbury River to identify a list of priority boat storage projects that will deliver the greatest strategic benefit. Other stakeholders and the general public are also encouraged to identify specific project that will improve boat storage in the region.

Potential opportunities to improve boat storage are identified in the analysis contained in Chapter 8.

i. Optimise configurations of existing mooring fields to improve access andnavigation in the region and enable future growth as required

The boat storage strategy for Pittwater including Broken Bay will also inform the optimal number of moorings required in the region. In the interim, opportunities will also be explored to reduce waiting lists by methods such as optimising existing mooring configurations and identifying alternate areas where future growth could be accommodated with minimal impact.

As noted in the recently released Moorings Review Issues Paper, there are also likely to be opportunities to reduce waiting lists through more active compliance aimed at reducing the number of “mooring minders” in the region.

j. Provide dinghy storage for areas with high concentrations of moorings andpassive craft storage in areas with high demand. Work with Pittwater Council toupdate existing dinghy management policies.

There is an opportunity to provide dinghy and passive craft storage racks and systems in areas with a high concentration of moorings or where there is demand for passive craft storage, as detailed in Chapter 8. Further opportunities to install dinghy and passive craft storage systems will be identified during consultation on this plan and through the development of a Pittwater boat storage strategy (Figure 15).

However for Pittwater, there was consistent feedback on dinghy and passive craft storage, there may be benefit to updating Pittwater Council’s dinghy management policies as described at http://www.pittwater.nsw.gov.au/recreation/boating_facilities/dinghy_storage to match supply with demand. This together with ensuring storage facilities are effectively managed and maintained will enhance the boating experience in the region.

k. Work with councils to improve long-term trailer parking capacity

In 2013, MMC released a report from a Boat Trailer Working Group established to investigate options to better manage long-term boat trailer parking. The report (http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/publications-reports/boat-trailer-working-group-report) highlights a number of opportunities to reduce the incidence of long-term boat trailer parking on residential streets. The Government’s response to the options identified in the Boat Trailer Working Group report is expected shortly. The response will include additional funding to assist Councils, or other organisations, in establishing dedicated long-term boat trailer parking facilities.


http://www.pittwater.nsw.gov.au/recreation/boating_facilities/dinghy_storage

http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/publications-reports/boat-trailer-working-group-report

Akuna Bay dry stack

Figure 15 – Examples of storage issues and opportunities identified during regional site visits

Dinghy storage on Pittwater Alternative mooring system


Figure 16 – A map of the mooring areas in Pittwater showing large concentrations of moorings



7. Other issues raised duringconsultation

Key findings

• There are substantial numbers of residents in the community who do not have direct land access and relyon water-based transport (commuter vessels and commuter ferries) to commute to the mainland.

• There are conflicting uses between recreational boaters and commuters.

Actions

l. Work with councils, industry and the community to develop a strategy to better manage theinteractions between recreational and commuter transport users in the region.

7.1 Overall analysis of ‘other’ issues

The objective of the Regional Boating Plan is to enhance the boating experience in NSW by identifying the priority actions to be taken to improve boating safety, access and storage in each region. These actions will be used to inform funding to be provided under a new boating infrastructure partnership program and to help shape future maritime policy decisions.

In consulting with stakeholders and the general public on the development of the Regional Boating Plan a number of other issues were identified that do not fit neatly into the categories of safety, access or storage. Nonetheless, they incorporate suggestions on how to improve the boating experience and management of NSW’s waterways.

A snapshot of other issues raised for the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater, Brisbane Water region is provided in Section 7.2 below. Where relevant, these issues will be considered in the implementation of the Actions identified in Chapters 4, 5 and 6. The other issues will also be raised with the relevant Government agency or Council that has primary responsibility for the issue.

7.2 Snapshot of ‘other’ issues

Short descriptions of the other issues are listed below:

Current planning arrangements for the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater, and Brisbane Watersuch as zoning and the treatment of moorings, will inhibit the delivery of the strategiesand actions from this study, principally those related to storage.

-

The lengthy processing time of development approvals for on-water amenities withwaterfront access was seen as unnecessary and an impediment to progress.

Conflicting stakeholder views were expressed on the effect of boating numbers on waterquality.

Boaters expressed concern that it is becoming more difficult for a person of averagemeans to own and maintain a modest boat due to lack of infrastructure.

Noise from vessels, in particular at boat ramps in residential areas, is considered anuisance. The counter-view expressed is that residents should expect some level of noisenear public facilities such as boat ramps.

Better value for money in terms of revenue raised by recreational boating and returnedinvestment was expressed as an expectation, with greater transparency.

Consistent provision of storage for volunteer emergency vessels could be achieved bycouncil’s facilitating planning and providing concessions to marina operators.

Addressing the above issues is beyond the scope of projects to be funded out of the new boating infrastructure partnership program; however it will be raised with the relevant Government agency or Council that has primary responsibility for the issue.

7.3 Key findings

As noted earlier, there are complex layers of on-water interaction in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater, and Brisbane Water region. Residents who are either ‘water-locked’ on islands (off-shore / water only access residents) or in locations such as Berowra Waters, can only access the mainland by use of commuter vessels or commuter ferries or water taxis. Other residents such as those in the Central Coast also use commuter ferries for a more direct route to Pittwater for employment and accessing schools. This was evident during the regional site visits and in feedback from numerous stakeholders.

The main issues raised in relation to the complex interaction between recreational boaters and commuter transport included

The need to increase and improve land-based facilities such as parking and wharfamenity;

Competition for space - short and long-term storage of commuter vessels impacting onrecreational boating (storage and access);

Availability of ferries and water taxis;

Safety concerns for recreational boaters and commuters; and

The need to maintain water access for residents.

Specific examples include:

At Berowra there are over 300 properties with water only access, however there isinsufficient land space for parking, both on the west side and on the east side;

At a number of areas including at Church Point, Elvina Bay, Brooklyn, Palm Beach andBerowra Waters, commuter vessels use public pontoons for berthing and commuter carsare being left in spaces intended for use by recreational boaters on a daily basis;

Loss of on-water storage capacity to commuters at numerous commercial sites withsmaller berths being provided for commuter vessels such as at Bayview, Church Point,Newport, Brooklyn and Pittwater; and


In relation to commuters using services such as ferries from the Central Coast toPittwater, at Palm Beach in particular, anecdotal feedback highlighted many non-Pittwaterresidents leave cars parked in streets across the region at ferry wharves on a semi-permanent basis (mainly overnight and on weekends).

The interaction of transport and recreational uses would benefit from a more strategic approach to account for the diverging needs of stakeholders as well as councils who are responsible for the infrastructure.

In order to minimise negative impacts for stakeholders and the community more broadly, a strategic approach would need to consider safety, access (for both commercial and private stakeholders), storage along with maintenance and funding of the infrastructure

7.4 Actions

l. Work with councils, industry and the community to develop a strategy to bettermanage the interactions between recreational and commuter transport users in theregion.

The MMC is keen to explore this issue in further consultations with Councils, industry and stakeholders including through funding assistance for detailed studies and further analysis to identify infrastructure and other management solutions.

Figure 17 – Examples of commuter vessels in Pittwater


8. Detailed opportunities to support Actions

i.Summary of key actions

The waterways in the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Brisbane Water region are highly utilised and essential to public amenity, which importantly is of great economic value to the region. The current infrastructure is extensive but requires modernisation, expansion and future-proofing, which requires investment to enhance the experience of recreational boaters. As seen in Chapters 4, 5 and 6, the region will most benefit from the following:


b. Review the placement and planning of navigation aids and signage to improve navigation

c. Work with councils to improve the condition of key access facilities across the region to meet current and future demand

d. Work with councils to increase capacity and capability at existing access facilities with a particular focus on boat ramps

e. Work with councils to increase car parking for recreational boating access to moorings and jetties, especially in Pittwater, and increase carand trailer parking at boat ramps region-wide




Location Issue Category S St A

Issue Summary Description of Issue Potential Solutions and Opportunities

Lobster Beach Signage Stakeholder feedback suggests that existing signage regarding restricted anchoring in channels is unclear

Roads and Maritime to review signage on floating navigation aids regarding restricted anchoring in channel at Lobster Beach

Supports actions A and C

Half Tide Rocks Hazards Hazards, shallow and irregular channels resulting in difficult navigation and access issues

Roads and Maritime to review navigation aids

Refer issue to Crown Lands' Sustainable Dredging Strategy and Rescuing our Waterways program

Supports actions G

h. Establish a boat storage strategy for Pittwater and work with councils and other partners to help deliver projects that support strategicgrowth in boat storage capacity in Brisbane Water and the Hawkesbury River

i. Optimise configurations of existing mooring fields to improve access in the region and enable future growth as required

j. Provide dinghy storage for areas with high concentrations of moorings and passive craft storage in areas with high demand. Work withPittwater Council to update existing dinghy management policies.

k. Work with Councils to improve long-term trailer parking capacity

l. Work with councils, industry and the community to develop a strategy to better manage the interactions between recreational and commutertransport users in the region.

Key findings and actions have been identified for Safety, Storage and Access as summarised at the start of Chapters 4, 5 and 6 respectively. As discussed, these were derived through comprehensive analysis of stakeholder consultation (including BSOs, councils, clubs and organisations, online survey respondents and other individuals), combined with the review of available data, literature and site visits. These key findings and actions, where appropriate, have been identified and supported by location specific opportunities as seen in Table 7.

Note: the potential solutions and opportunities seen in Table 7 are the final intended outcomes and are in no way definitive. It is the responsibility of the eventual proponent to undertake the relevant detailed feasibility reviews including planning consent requirements, design and cost estimates prior to undertaking the projects. The issues are not arranged in any order but are instead listed logically based on their locality.

Table 7 - Location based key issues, potential solutions and opportunities




Signage Stakeholder feedback suggests that existing signage regarding the hire boat limit of operation is unclear

Roads and Maritime to review signage and review opportunities to place hire limit signage on floating navigation aids as required


Wagstaffe Condition Fendering systems are inadequate at jetties and can damage boats

Review opportunities to upgrade the fendering systems at jetties in Wagstaffe, Pretty Beach and Hardy's Bay

Supports action D

Pretty Beach

Dinghy storage Inadequate facilities provided for dinghy storage and unused dinghies currently occupying existing facilities

Review the installation of dinghy storage racks in conjunction with a plan of management for the removal of unused dinghies

Supports action K

Capacity

Trailer parking

Condition

Access to boat ramp does not meet demand

Limited car and/or trailer parking at access points

Shallow waters restrict access at boat ramp

Review opportunities to upgrade and formalise car and trailer parking at Pretty Beach boat ramp (Araluen Drive)

Refer issue to Crown Lands' Sustainable Dredging Strategy and Rescuing our Waterways program and council for ongoing maintenance of waterway access and water depth at Pretty Beach boat ramp (Araluen Drive)

Supports actions D and E

Hardy's Bay

General access Limited quantity and access to courtesy moorings

Review opportunities to provide courtesy moorings at Hardy's Bay

Supports action H

General access Insufficient access to jetties for temporary land access or waterway access

Review opportunities to impose time restrictions through installation of signage at jetties and refer issue to council for enforcement

Supports action E

Dinghy storage Inadequate facilities provided for dinghy storage

Review opportunities to install dinghy storage racks in conjunction with a plan of management for the removal of unused dinghies.

Note: BBP funding was provided for dinghy storage at Hardys Bay & Saratoga in 2011/12 and completed in 2013.

Supports action K




Ettalong Beach

Condition Condition of wharf can restrict access

Review opportunities to upgrade Ettalong Beach wharf. RMS provided funding in 2013/14 for investigation and design for upgrade of wharf.

Refer maintenance issues to council.

Supports action D

Vessels not observing correct distance

There is a high level of multi-user activity resulting in conflict and safety issues between different waterway users, in particular PWC users

TfNSW and Roads and Maritime to review on-water activities and multi user interactions and update current education and compliance campaigns


St Hubert's Island General access Limited quantity and access to courtesy moorings

Investigate opportunities to provide courtesy moorings on western side of St Hubert's Island

Supports action H

Blackwall Condition

Boat ramp surface needs maintenance and upgrading

Access road need upgrading and can be effected by high water levels

Review opportunities to upgrade Blackwall boat ramp (Blackwall Road)

TfNSW, Roads and Maritime and council to assess opportunities to upgrade the access road to Blackwall boat ramp (off Blackwall Road) along with the facilities to be more accessible during high tides

Supports action D

Empire Bay

Trailer parking Car and trailer parks being occupied by single cars

Review signage at Empire Bay boat ramp (Sorrento Road) and refer issue to council for enforcement of trailer only parking

Supports action H

Moorings Pole moorings need to be reviewed

Roads and Maritime to review pole moorings and associated licences at Cockle Channel

Supports action J


Review opportunities to install dinghy storage racks in conjunction with a plan of management for the removal of unused dinghies

Supports action K

Bensville General access Shallow and irregular channels resulting in difficult navigation and access issues through Cockle Channel at the entrance to Bensville


Supports action G




Kincumber General access Shallow and irregular channels resulting in difficult navigation and access issues to Kincumber boat ramp (off Carrack Road)


Supports action G

Davistown



Supports action K

Condition

Trailer parking

Boat ramp surface needs upgrading

Limited car and /or trailer parking at access points

Review opportunities to upgrade Amy Street boat ramp (Amy Street)

Review opportunities to extend and formalise car and trailer parking at Amy Street boat ramp (Amy Street)


Condition

Trailer Parking

Boat ramp surface needs upgrading


Review opportunities to upgrade Davistown boat ramp (Restella Avenue)

Upgrade car park surface and formalise car and trailer parking at Davistown boat ramp (Restella Street)

Review signage at Davistown boat ramp (Restella Avenue) and refer issue to council for enforcement of trailer only parking

Supports actions D, E and F

Trailer Parking Limited car and/or trailer parking at access points

Review opportunities to formalise car and trailer parking at Lintern Street boat ramp (Lintern Street)

Supports action F

Condition Poor condition and difficult access at wharf

Review opportunities to upgrade Davistown Central RSL Ferry Wharf (Davistown Road)

Supports action D

Condition Drainage issues that limit access and parking opportunities

Review opportunities to upgrade drainage facilities at all Davistown wharves and jetties

Supports action D




Paddy's Channel Navigation aids Hazards and shallow and irregular channels resulting in difficult navigation and access issues

Roads and Maritime to review opportunities to upgrade navigation aids


Supports actions C and G

Saratoga

Condition

Trailer parking

Difficult access from boat ramp at low tide


Review opportunities to upgrade and extend boat ramp surface at Saratoga boat ramp (Centennial Avenue)

Review opportunities to extend on street parking area and upgrade to designated car and trailer parking along Centennial Avenue


Dinghy storage Inadequate facilities provided for dinghy storage with residents opposing vertical storage facilities

Review opportunities to install dinghy storage racks in conjunction with a plan of management for the removal of unused dinghies.

Note: BBP funding was provided for dinghy storage at Hardys Bay & Saratoga in 2011/12 and completed in 2013.

Supports action K

Green Point Condition

Trailer parking

Boat ramp surface needs upgrading and extension to maintain waterway access at low tides


Review opportunities to upgrade Green Point boat ramp (Orana Street)

Review opportunities to upgrade car park surface and formalise car and trailer parking at Green Point boat ramp (Orana Street)

Review signage at Green Point boat ramp (Orana Street) and refer issue to council for enforcement of trailer only parking

Supports actions D and F

The Broad Water

Storage availability Limited availability of marina berths

TfNSW and Roads and Maritime to liaise with marina owners to review opportunities to increase capacity of berthing spaces at marinas

Supports action I

Capacity Insufficient jetties to enable appropriate access to moorings and to provide deep water access

Review opportunities to provide strategically located jetty and pontoon system that allows deep water public access at all tides and appropriate access to moorings.

Note: BBP funding provided in 2011 for new pontoon at Masons Pde boat ramp, Gosford, completed in 2012.

Supports actions E and H




Signage Stakeholder feedback suggests that 8 knot zone aqua markers are too small and that the restricted zone is too small

Roads and Maritime to review opportunities to update reduced wash signage in the vicinity of Gosford Sailing Club

Roads and Maritime to review opportunities to upgrade aqua marks and their placement to extend speed and wash restriction zone to Gosford boat ramp (off Central Coast Highway)


Gosford

Condition Boat ramp needs upgrade

Review opportunities to upgrade Gosford Breakwall boat ramp (off Central Coast Highway) in consideration of development plans for the region and proximity to Gosford boat ramp

Supports action D

Storage availability Limited availability of marina berths and storage space for yachts

TfNSW and Roads and Maritime to liaise with marina owners to review opportunities to increase capacity of berthing spaces at marinas

Supports action I

Koolewong

Dinghy storage

Inadequate facilities provided for dinghy storage

Dinghy storage facilities are not flexible enough to cater for the range in user demand


Review storage methods with multiple storage types to cater for alternate vessel storage

Supports action K

Condition Poor condition of Koolewong boat ramp (off Brisbane Water Drive) and surrounding car park area

Review opportunities to upgrade the Koolewong boat ramps (off Brisbane Water Drive) and associated car parking.

Note: BBP funding provided for investigation and design for new pontoons at both boat ramps in 07/08, completed in 2012.

Supports actions D and F

Correa Bay Condition Boat ramp only provides appropriate access at high water levels

Review the feasibility of upgrading Correa Bay boat ramp (off Woy Woy Road) to provide access at all tides or update signage to indicate poor access at low tides


Woy Woy Channel Condition Wharf access can be restricted and difficult due to condition of wharf

Review opportunities to upgrade Woy Woy Wharf (The Boulevard) and refer issue to council for ongoing maintenance.

Note: BBP funding provided for feasibility and concept designs for upgrade of wharf




in 09/10.

Supports action D



Supports action K

Trailer parking Car and trailer parks being occupied by single cars

Review signage at Lions Park boat ramp (North Burge Road) and refer issue to council for enforcement of trailer only parking

Supports action F

Patonga

Navigation aids Stakeholder feedback suggests that existing signage is unclear from a distance

Roads and Maritime to review placement of existing signage and update where appropriate



There is a high level of multi-user activity resulting in conflict and safety issues between different waterway users

TfNSW and Roads and Maritime to review and update current education and communication campaigns

Supports action A

Cowan Creek



Supports action K

Dinghy storage Limited facilities provided for passive craft storage in Ku-Ring-Gai National Park

TfNSW to liaise with NPWS to explore opportunities to provide a low impact, low maintenance passive craft storage facility

Supports action K

Amenity Insufficient access to sewage pump-out facilities Review opportunities to install additional sewage pump-out facilities

Supports action E

Fisherman's Bay General access Limited quantity and access to courtesy moorings

Investigate opportunities to provide courtesy moorings at Fisherman's Bay

Supports action H

Cottage Rock General access Limited quantity and access to courtesy moorings

Investigate opportunities to provide courtesy moorings at Whale Rock Beach

Supports action H




Akuna Bay

Condition

Trailer parking

Boat ramp needs upgrade and can be inundated during high tides

Limited and poor condition of car and/or trailer parking at access points

Car and trailer parks being occupied by single cars

Review opportunities to upgrade boat ramp at Akuna Bay (Liberator General San Martin Drive)

Review opportunities to upgrade car and trailer parking at Akuna Bay, improving condition and capacity

Review signage at Akuna Bay boat ramp car park (Liberator General San Martin Drive) and refer issue to council and NPWS for enforcement of trailer only parking


Storage availability

Limited availability of marina berths for larger vessels

Limited quantity of dry stack berths at Akuna Bay

TfNSW and Roads and Maritime to liaise with Akuna Bay Marina to review increasing number of large vessel berthing spaces at marinas and additional dry stack storage options

Supports action I

General access

Insufficient public access to facilities

Poor condition of Marina that limits access to facilities

TfNSW to liaise with Akuna Bay Marina (Liberator General San Martin Drive) to review opportunities to upgrade and provide public berths with time limits for pick-up/drop-off and access to facilities

Supports action E

Apple Tree Bay Amenity

Trailer parking

Inadequate/insufficient facilities


Review opportunities to improve amenity of Apple Tree Bay boat ramp (Apple Tree Bay Road)

Review signage for car and trailer parking at Apple Tree Bay boat ramp (Apple Tree Bay Road) and refer issue to council for enforcement

Supports actions E and F

Bobbin Head General access Insufficient public access to facilities

TfNSW to liaise with Bobbin Head Marina (Bobbin Head Road) to review opportunities to provide public berths with time limits for pick-up/drop-off and access to facilities

Supports action E

Gunyah Beach General access Limited quantity and access to courtesy moorings

Investigate opportunities to provide courtesy moorings at Gunyah Beach

Supports action H




Croppy Point Navigation aids

Stakeholder feedback indicates that navigation aids between Brooklyn, Dangar Island and Croppy Point are insufficient in marking the channel and hazards

Existing no wash sign at Croppy Point is not large or clear enough

Roads and Maritime to review existing navigation aids and update where appropriate

Roads and Maritime to review and update signage at Croppy Point if required

Supports action C

Brooklyn

Commuter boat storage Limited secure commuter boat and car storage and associated facilities

TfNSW to liaise with boating community to explore opportunities to provide community managed, secure commuter boat and car parking and associated facilities

Supports actions E, F and M



Supports action K

Capacity

Condition

Trailer parking

Amenity

Limited access to beach areas adjacent to ramp for holding and preparation of boat

Pontoon access is restricted at low water levels

Limited car and/or trailer parking


Inadequate security in parking areas

Review feasibility of increasing beach access on southern side of boat ramp

BBP funding has been provided for ramp and pontoon upgrades at Parsley Bay. Monitor progress.

Refer issue to Crown Lands' Sustainable Dredging Strategy and Rescuing our Waterways program for further siltation issues.

Review value of additional car and trailer parking at Parsley Bay boat ramp (George Street)

Review signage at Parsley Bay boat ramp (George Street) and refer issue to council for enforcement of trailer only parking

Review opportunities to install monitoring cameras at Parsley Bay boat ramp (George Street)


Amenity Poor access to sewage pump-out and fuelling facilities

Review opportunities to install appropriate fuelling and sewage pump-out facilities at Brooklyn

Supports action E




Sandbrook Inlet

Hazards Shallow and irregular channel resulting in challenging navigation and access issues


Supports action G

Storage availability Limited available storage in Sandbrook Inlet

TfNSW and Roads and Maritime to review the jetty limit line to allow opportunities for increased marina berths

Supports action I and M

Kangaroo Point Trailer parking Limited trailer parking with car and trailer park being occupied by single cars

Review opportunities to expand car and trailer parking at Kangaroo boat ramp (off Pacific Highway)

Review signage at Kangaroo boat ramp (off Pacific Highway) and refer issue to council for enforcement of trailer only parking

Supports action F

Spectacle Island Hazards Hazards, shallow and irregular channels resulting in difficult navigation and access issues




Mooney Mooney Condition

Car park surface is in poor condition and requires upgrading


BBP funding has been allocated for the upgrade of car park surface and increased parking capacity at Deerubbin Reserve boat ramp (Peats Ferry Road). Monitor progress.

Review signage at Deerubbin Reserve boat ramp (Peats Ferry Road) and refer issue to council for enforcement of trailer only parking

Supports action F

Grace's Shore General access Limited quantity and access to courtesy moorings

Investigate opportunities to provide courtesy moorings at Grace's Shore

Supports action H

Milsons Passage Speed Speed restriction signage (4 knot) is damaged and unclear

Roads and Maritime to review and update signage at entrance to Milsons Passage

Supports action C




Berowra Waters

Condition

Capacity

Trailer parking

Amenity

Stakeholder feedback indicates that boat ramp can be slippery

Inadequate access for passive craft users

Limited car and/or trailer parking


Inadequate security in parking areas

Refer issue to council for maintenance

Review demand for alternate passive craft launch facility at creek adjacent to Dusthole Bay boat ramp (Bay Road)

Review feasibility of increased car and/or trailer parking capacity at Dusthole Bay boat ramp (Bay Road)

Review signage at Dusthole Bay (Bay Road) and refer issue to council for enforcement of trailer only parking

Review the installation of monitoring cameras at Dusthole Bay boat ramp (Bay Road)


Condition Marina condition limits access to facilities

TfNSW to liaise with Berowra Waters Marina (Berowra Waters Road) to review opportunities to upgrade and provide public berths with time limits for pick-up/drop-off and access to facilities

Supports action E

Amenity Inadequate/insufficient facilities

TfNSW to review opportunity for commercial venture at Berowra Waters for fuelling and other facilities

Supports action E

Mangrove Creek Navigation aids Stakeholder feedback indicates that navigation aids on Mangrove Creek are insufficient in marking the channel and hazards


Supports action C

Spencer Capacity Insufficient access to jetties and pontoons for temporary land access, waterway access or potential emergency response

Review opportunities to provide pontoon access at existing wharf at Spencer

Supports action E

Wisemans Ferry Emergency response Difficult and lengthy emergency response due to isolation of area

TfNSW to refer issue to marine compliance taskforce

Supports action A




Condition

Capacity

Trailer parking


Boat ramp, car park and surrounding surfaces are in poor condition and require upgrading

Insufficient access to pontoons and jetties for temporary land access, waterway access and emergency response

Traffic congestion caused by the interaction between boat ramp users and commuter ferry users

TfNSW to work with council to review opportunities to develop a regionally significant boating access facility at Wisemans Ferry

Review opportunities to upgrade surface of existing Wisemans Ferry boat ramp (off Old Northern Road)

TfNSW to work with Crown Lands to review opportunities to upgrade existing wharf and integrate into boating facility

Review opportunity to install a secondary boat ramp facility between the existing Crown Lands Wharf and the Wisemans Ferry public wharf

Review opportunities to install pontoon systems in conjunction with the proposed new boat ramp and existing wharves

Review opportunities to upgrade access for car and trailers with consideration to ferry traffic and foreshore amenity


Lower Portland Capacity Access to boat ramps in the Upper Hawkesbury do not meet demand

Review opportunities to upgrade Colo River boat ramp (Skeleton Rocks Reserve) to provide appropriate waterway access at all water levels

Review opportunities to formalise parking at Colo River boat ramp (Skeleton Rocks)

Supports actions E and F

Lower Colo


Investigate opportunities to provide courtesy moorings at Lower Colo River

Sackville Capacity Inadequate access to toilets Review opportunities to install a jetty and pontoon to provide access to toilets at Sackville Ferry (Sackville Ferry Road)

Holmes Drive Reserve Capacity Access to boat ramps in the Upper Hawkesbury do not meet demand

BBP funding has been allocated to upgrade Cumberland Reach informal boat ramp (Holmes Drive Reserve). Monitor progress.

Sackville North Condition Informal boat ramp is in poor condition Review opportunities to upgrade Sackville North informal boat ramp (off Sackville Ferry Road) to maintain access for local waterway users

Windsor Capacity Insufficient access to pontoon facilities Review and install appropriate pontoon facility where existing pontoon structure was at Windsor




Capacity


Insufficient access to pontoon facilities

Insufficient waterway access for passive craft users

Review the inclusion of dedicated access lanes at Windsor boat ramp (Governor Phillip Park)

Review opportunities to extend existing pontoon access at Windsor boat ramp (Governor Phillip Park)

BBP funding has been allocated to install jetty between ramp and pontoon at Windsor boat ramp (Governor Phillip Park). Monitor progress.

Review the installation of a dedicated launching facility for passive craft at Macquarie Park

Upper Hawkesbury Vessels not observing correct distance

There is a high level of towing activity that can result in conflicting and congested waterway usage and poor observance of correct distances

TfNSW and Roads and Maritime to review and update current education and communication campaigns

Supports action A

Weir Reserve

Capacity Insufficient waterway access for passive craft users and conflicting waterway access at Tench Park

Review opportunities to install a dedicated launching facility for passive craft at alternate location off Tench Avenue or Nepean Avenue, noting that BBP funding to Penrith Council in 2013/14 for a dedicated kayak/passive launching facility at Tench Park Ramp to delineate access between passive/powered craft.

Review opportunities to extend launching facility for passive craft near Penrith Valley Bridge in conjunction with Rowing NSW infrastructure development plans and other sporting clubs

Supports actions B and E

Trailer parking Limited car and trailer parking

In conjunction with the development plans of NSW Rowing and other sporting clubs, review opportunities to install dedicated trailer parking at Bruce Neale Drive

Supports action F

Tench Reserve Trailer parking


Insufficient access to jetty for temporary land access, waterway access and/or emergency response


BBP funding has been provided for investigation and design of boat ramp, including installation of a pontoon, to improve access and additional car / trailer parking at Tench Reserve boat ramp (Tench Avenue). Monitor progress.

Review signage at Tench Reserve boat ramp (Tench Avenue) and refer issue to council for enforcement of trailer parking only


Camden Capacity Recreational boating feasibility study proposed to initiate appropriate boating access to the region

Pending the outcomes of the recreational boating feasibility study (BBP funding allocated) review opportunities to implement and encourage boating in the area

Supports action H




Barrenjoey Head Hazards Navigation hazards created by inadequately marked buoys used for aquaculture purposes

Roads and Maritime to liaise with aquaculture owners to relocate and enhance signage where required.

Roads and Maritime to review the use of standardised buoys for aquaculture


Palm Beach

General access Limited quantity and access to courtesy moorings with waterway users constantly mooring on emergency mooring instead

Investigate opportunities to provide further courtesy moorings at Palm Beach

Supports action H

Car parking Limited car parking facilities

Review area for extension of parking at Palm Beach public wharf (Barrenjoey Road) or alternate facilities

Supports action F

Trailer parking


Access to boat ramp becomes congested by the loading in and out of campers onto barge services

BBP funding was provided for a slight extension and armouring of the ramp in 2013/14, completed in April 2014.

Review trailer parking options at Sand Point.Note: BBP funding provided in 2009/10 & 2011/12 for increased car/trailer parking at Woorak Rd Reserve (Sand Point boat ramp). Stage 1 completed in May 2012, stage 2 completed in June 2013.

Provide signage to limit on ramp parking and refer issue to council for enforcement

Supports action E

Coasters Retreat

Emergency response Difficult and lengthy emergency response due to isolation of area


Supports action A

Condition Poor condition of existing heritage listed structure with difficult access due to stone steps

Review the upgrading of the existing Boonie Doon Ferry Wharf and review feasibility of access ramp for less abled persons

Supports action D

Moorings Placement of swing moorings has created congestion

In collaboration with the outcomes of the Moorings Review Issues Paper, review the strategic placement of moorings to decrease issues with navigation

Supports actions I and J

Careel Bay Dinghy storage Inadequate facilities provided for secure dinghy storage

Review opportunities to install dinghy storage racks in conjunction with a plan of management for the removal of unused dinghies and within the development of Careel Bay Foreshore Upgrades. Note BBP funding provided in 2013/14 for upgrade to foreshore at Careel Bay, including storage racks for 50 dinghies.

Supports action K




Clareville

Dinghy storage Inadequate facilities provided for secure dinghy storage

Review opportunities to install further dinghy storage racks at Paradise, Long and Clareville Beach, Taylors Point and Old Wharf Reserve (off Hudson Parade) in conjunction with a plan of management for the removal of unused dinghies

Supports action K

Car parking Limited car parking near mooring areas Review feasibility of extending car parking capacity in the area

Supports action F

Refuge Cove Dinghy storage Inadequate facilities provided for dinghy storage

Review the installation of dinghy storage racks in conjunction with a plan of management for the removal of unused dinghies and access from Hudson Parade to the water

Supports action K

Salt Pan Cove Dinghy storage

Unused dinghies left tied to jetties and on foreshore

Inadequate facilities provided for dinghy storage

Refer issue to council for management of dinghies

Review opportunities to install dinghy storage racks in conjunction with a plan of management for the removal of unused dinghies and access from Hudson Parade to the water

Supports action K

McCarrs Creek Moorings Placement of swing moorings has created difficulty in navigation and access

In collaboration with the outcomes of the Moorings Review Issues Paper, review the strategic placement of moorings to reduce navigation issues

Supports action J

Church Point

On-water behaviour Waterway users failing to use appropriate navigation lights after sunset

Work with council to review feasibility of the strategies deduced in the Plan of Management – Church Point Sydney Report (2009) with a focus on increasing capacity of car parking and enhancing access facilities

Supports actions D, E, F, H and M Car parking

Limited and time restricted car and/or trailer parking

Condition

Capacity

Boat ramps and jetties in poor condition and inadequate capacity to meet demand

Bayview Navigation aids Stakeholder feedback suggests that existing navigation aids are within the mooring field with moored boats obscuring visibility

Roads and Maritime to review existing navigation aids

Supports action C




Amenity

Disabled access

Inadequate lighting at fish cleaning tables

Infrastructure not providing for disabled/less abled access

Insufficient pontoon access at boat ramps for temporary land access and waterway access

Council to liaise with DPI (Fisheries) to provide lighting at fish tables

Review opportunities to upgrade existing access facilities to provide disabled waterway access at Rowland Reserve boat ramp (off Pittwater Road)

Review opportunities to install a second pontoon at Rowland Reserve boat ramp (off Pittwater Road) and/or tie-up facilities

Supports action E

Car parking Limited car parking near mooring areas Review feasibility of extending car parking capacity in the area

Supports action F

Capacity Insufficient waterway access for passive craft users and conflicting waterway access at Rowland Reserve

Review opportunities to install a dedicated launching facility for passive craft at Bayview Park sand flats (King Edward Avenue)

Supports actions A and E

Newport

Amenity Insufficient access to sewage pump-out facilities

BBP funding provided for a public sewage pump-out facility at Rowell Marine, Newport.

Note: BBP funding provided for new pontoon at Newport Wharf, completed June 2014.

Supports action E

Storage availability Inadequate hard stand storage facilities

TfNSW to liaise with Royal Motor Yacht Club (Newport) to review opportunities to increase hard stand storage facilities

Supports action I

Crystal Bay General access Siltation resulting in access issues

Refer issue to Crown Lands' Sustainable Dredging Strategy and Rescuing our Waterways program.

Refer issue to council for the provision of gross pollutant traps at storm water runoff

Supports action G

Mona Vale Trailer parking Trailered boats stored in residential streets, restricting available parking

TfNSW to review the restriction of trailered boat storage along residential streets and identify strategic locations for dry storage facilities

Supports action F




Scotland Island

Commuter boat storage Limited secure commuter boat and car storage and associated facilities

TfNSW to liaise with boating community to explore opportunities to provide community managed, secure commuter boat and car parking and associated facilities

Supports actions E, F and M

Condition Poor condition and access to wharf

Review opportunities to upgrade Bell Wharf (Scotland Island) in conjunction with the holistic management plan


Condition Poor condition and access to wharf

Review opportunities to upgrade Carols Wharf (Scotland Island) in conjunction with the holistic management plan


Dinghy storage Inadequate facilities provided for passive craft and dinghy storage

Review opportunities to install dinghy and passive craft storage racks in conjunction with a plan of management for the removal of unused dinghies

Supports action K

Narrabeen Lakes

Hazards Stakeholders suggest that hazards in shallow areas are unmarked and unknown to passive craft that use the area

Roads and Maritime to review navigation aids.



Refer to council for entrance management plan

Dinghy storage Inadequate secure storage facilities for passive craft

BBP funding allocated to provide storage facilities for passive craft on Narrabeen Lake. Monitor progress.

Supports action K

Terrigal Trailer parking



Review opportunities to expand car and trailer parking at Terrigal Haven boat ramp (off Terrigal Esplanade)

Note: council currently reviewing car parking arrangements at Terrigal Haven, including at Boat Ramp.

Review signage for car and trailer parking at Terrigal Haven boat ramp (off Terrigal Esplanade) and refer issue to council for enforcement

Supports action F




Terrigal (offshore at wreckage sites) Navigation aids

Stakeholder feedback suggests that existing navigation aids are prone to relocation and damage during heavy weather

Roads and Maritime to consult with relevant organisation(s) to ensure ongoing management


Fisherman's Beach (Long Reef) Capacity

Insufficient waterway access for passive craft users

Review the installation of a dedicated launching facility for passive craft

Supports action E

Coastal Emergency response Coordination of on water services to more effectively manage offshore incidents and emergencies


Supports action A

Brisbane Water in general

Moorings Outdated mooring ceilings applied to various parts of Brisbane Water where there are a limited quantity of moorings

Review the strategic placement of moorings at Brisbane Water to improve navigation and meet demand

Supports action J


Investigate opportunities to provide further courtesy moorings in Brisbane Water

Supports action H

Nepean River in general

Speed

Wash


On-water behaviour


TfNSW and Roads and Maritime to review opportunities to update current education and or communication campaigns

TfNSW and Roads and Maritime to review times of restricted usage in consultation with all waterway user groups

BBP funding allocated to undertaking a recreation use study for Nepean River. Monitor Progress.

Supports action B

Pittwater in general


Large vessel operators do not observe appropriate distances to sailing fleets

TfNSW and Roads and Maritime to review required training and education of operators of large vessels

Supports action A

Moorings Extensive mooring areas reduce amenity of waterway for other users

In collaboration with the outcomes of the Moorings Review Issues Paper, review the use of mooring minders and the strategic placement of moorings to reduce detraction of amenity and navigation

Supports action J




Moorings Inefficient on water storage methods

TfNSW to liaise with marina owners to investigate opportunities to increase capacity of on water marina berths and fore and aft moorings to replace existing swing moorings


On-water behaviour


Wash

Speed


TfNSW and Roads and Maritime to review and update current education and or communication campaigns

Supports action A

Review opportunities for development of alternate access facilities for specific waterway user groups to minimise conflict

Region-wide

Speed

Wash

On-water behaviour


Waterway users not acting in accordance with guidelines and safe practices

TfNSW and Roads and Maritime to review and update current education and or communication campaigns

Supports action A

Navigation aids Stakeholder feedback suggests that existing navigation aids require regular monitoring and could be enhanced with appropriate lighting

Roads and Maritime to review existing navigation aids, ensure on-going updating and provide lights where appropriate

Supports action C

Storage availability Limited available dry storage facilities Identify strategic locations for future dry storage facilities

Supports action L

Waiting List Limited available moorings due to excessive number of mooring minders

In collaboration with the outcomes of the Moorings Review Issues Paper, review the use of mooring minders and the strategic placement of moorings to decrease length of waiting lists


Moorings Stakeholder feedback suggests that moorings are not maintained to an adequate level for secure storage

Roads and Maritime to review the maintenance and management of moorings

Supports action J




General access Development of private facilities for waterway access without appropriate approval

TfNSW to work with council to identify regulatory body for the monitoring of illegal waterway access structures



9. References 1. Atleisure, (2012), Sustainable Water Based Recreation Facilities Plan, Prepared for

Hornsby Shire Council.

2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011), 2011 Census QuickStats, Australian Bureau ofStatistics, Canberra, viewed 18 February 2014,<http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/LGA14650?opendocument&navpos=220>

3. BMT WBM, (2008), Lower Hawkesbury Estuary Management Plan, Prepared for HornsbyShire Council.

4. BMT WBM, (2010), Pittwater Estuary Management Plan, Prepared for Pittwater Council.

5. BMT WBM, (2012), Gosford Coastal Lagoons Coastal Zone Management Study,Prepared for Gosford City Council.

6. Cardno Lawson Treloar, (2008), Brisbane Water Estuary Processes Study, Reportprepared for Gosford City Council and Department of Environment & Climate Change.

7. Clouston Associates, (2013), ‘Our River’ Nepean River Master Plan, Prepared for PenrithCity Council.

8. Environment & Heritage, (2012), Estuaries of NSW: Physical characteristics, tidal surveysand hydrographic surveys, NSW Government, viewed 11 June 2014,<http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/estuaries/list.htm>

9. NSW Department of Natural Resources, (2007), Estuaries in NSW, viewed 5 March 2014,<http://test.dnr.nsw.gov.au/estuaries/inventory/index_ns.shtml>

10. NSW Maritime (2010), NSW Boat Ownership and Storage Report, July 2010, NSWGovernment

11. NSW Office of Water, (2013), Basins and Catchments, NSW Department of PrimaryIndustries, viewed 11 June 2014, <http://www.water.nsw.gov.au/Water-management/catchments/default.aspx>

12. Office of Boating Safety and Maritime Affairs (OBSMA), (2012), Boating Safety PlanNovember 2012: Botany Bay | Georges River | Woronora River | Cooks River, NSWGovernment, Transport Maritime

13. Office of Boating Safety and Maritime Affairs (OBSMA), (2013), Sydney Harbour and itsTributaries – Draft Boating Safety Plan, NSW Government, Transport Maritime

14. The population experts (2014), viewed 21 July 2014, <www.id.com.au>

15. WorleyParsons, (2012), Hawkesbury River Pre-dredging Investigations between Windsorand Sackville Ferry, Prepared for Hawkesbury City Council.

Transport for NSW - Regional Boating Plan, 21/23122

www.id.com.au

http://www.water.nsw.gov.au/Water

http://test.dnr.nsw.gov.au/estuaries/inventory/index_ns.shtml

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/estuaries/list.htm

http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/L

Appendices


Appendix A – Details of Stakeholder Consultation In addition to all relevant internal stakeholders, the following external stakeholders were formally consulted as part of the consultation for this region. Some representative groups have a seat on a related advisory committee and may have been consulted through that process.

Appendix A – Table 1 – External stakeholders consulted – State-wide level


Australian Hydrographic Service (RAN)

Australian Jet Sports Boating Association

Australian Power Boat Association

Bass and Flinders Cruises

Boat Owners Association NSW (BOA)** (Also MAC member)

Boating Industry Association NSW (BIANSW)*

Captain Cook Cruises

Coastal Cruising Club of Australia

Commercial Vessel Advisory Group (CVAG)

Commercial Vessels Association NSW (CVANSW)*

Department of Planning and Infrastructure

Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries)

Dragonboats NSW

Fishing Industry Advisory Group

Harbour City Ferries

Hunts Marine

Manly Hydraulics Laboratory

Marina Association NSW (MANSW)*

Marine Compliance Taskforce

Marine Estate Management Authority

Marine Rescue NSW

Marine Teachers Association of NSW

Maritime Advisory Council



Maritime Safety Training NSW

Ministerial Fisheries Advisory Council (MFAC)

National Parks and Wildlife Service

NSW Canoe

NSW Fishing Industry Training Committee

NSW Police Force (Marine Area Command)

NSW Rowing Association

NSW Trade and Investment (Crown Lands)

NSW Trade and Investment (Fisheries)

NSW Water Ski Federation

NSW Wavesailing (as part of NSW Water Ski Federation)

Paddle NSW

Personal watercraft representative as member of Recreational Vessels Advisory Group

PWC Representative

Recreational Fishing Alliance of NSW** (Also MAC member)

Recreational Vessel Advisory Group (RVAG)

Roads and Maritime Services

Rowing NSW

Sailability NSW

Scuba Clubs Association of NSW

Seaplane Pilots Association of Australia

Surf Life Saving NSW

Sydney Fast Ferries

Sydney Harbour Federation Trust

Sydney Ports Corporation (SPC)

Transport Safety Victoria

Yachting NSW** (Also MAC member)


Appendix B – Maps

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