Long walk: Monica Hayes, Ingrid Novosel and Pat Crotty want a new bus route at Indented Head.
MICHELLE HERBISON
ELDERLY Indented Head residents are remaining housebound rather than attempting walks of up to two kilometres to reach bus stops, according to a community group.
Indented Head Community Association secretary Ingrid Novosel said the group was fighting to have the route diverted.
Ms Novosel said elderly residents and families without cars had to walk long distances to The Esplanade to catch McHarry’s bus.
The community association wanted the route to turn onto Batman Rd, Henderson St and unsealed Pigdon St, she said.
The proposed route change would service residents in new and planned residential estates.
“All the development happening in Indented Head is going further west. A lot of people are now walking one to two kilometres to catch the bus on The Esplanade yet 80 per cent of the houses along that road are vacant.”
Ms Novosel said she ran a survey finding that 96 per cent of residents backed the route change.
She was worried council plans for a footpath on The Esplanade could stop buses turning into Pigdon St.
But a council spokesman said engineers believed the footpath would allow sufficient turning space “with only minor modifications to the street”.
McHarry’s Buslines’ Ben Sangster said the proposed diversion would be “a minor change”.
But roads and infrastructure must be suitable for buses before the route change, he said.
“Diverting a bus isn’t an easy process. For the community’s sake, there are lots of players involved.”
Mr Sangster said feasibility studies into a diversion were underway.
“Indented Head is growing and it’s important we continue to service the needs of the growing community.”
