HAMILTON SOUTH residents living along Parkway Avenue are stepping up their fight to stop heavy vehicles and speedsters using their street as a thoroughfare.
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For more than five years, the residents have been petitioning the council for change.
They say more trucks and cars travelling towards the CBD and the beach are using the backstreet to bypass heavier traffic.
Residents thought the matter was resolved in September 2013, when Newcastle councillors voted in favour of a new traffic plan for Hamilton South.
The plan recommended the speed limit between Parkway Avenue and Stewart Avenue be reduced from 50km/h to 40km/h.
It also recommended speed humps be installed outside Newcastle High School.
However, more than 18 months have passed and the council is yet to act.
Parkway Avenue resident Jim Todhunter said it was dangerous for residents using their driveways.
He said truck drivers were ignoring the five-tonne limit signs and motorists were driving excessively fast in a residential area.
A council spokesperson said no funding had been allocated to install the speed humps outside Newcastle High as it was only of "medium priority" compared with other projects around the city.
The spokesperson said changing the speed limit was up to NSW Roads and Maritime Services and the council had requested in February last year a 40 km/h speed limit in Parkway Avenue between Stewart Avenue and Darby Street.
A Roads and Maritime Services spokesperson said it would complete a speed limit review of Parkway Avenue in response to the council's request.
Factors including traffic volumes, crash statistics and roadside development would be considered as part of the review, the spokesperson said.
They said Parkway Avenue was a local road managed by the council and traffic calming measures were a matter for the council.
