95 of 155online survey respondents who supported the revised concept design, 61%

0 of 14business owners or operators among them who supported it; 11 opposed, 3 neutral

45 → 30about 45 unrestricted on-street spaces removed, about 30 timed spaces added

mid-2027expected construction start, subject to final design and approvals

If you queue at the single-lane roundabout where Ocean Beach Road meets Rawson Road at Woy Woy and wonder whether anyone else wants it gone: most of the people who answered the council’s survey do. The upgrade, in the council’s June announcement, would replace the existing single-lane roundabout intersection with traffic lights, with pedestrian crossing phases on all four sides and, in the draft design, a dedicated right turn lane from each direction. Of 155 online respondents, 95 (61%) supported the revised concept design, 47 (30%) opposed it and 13 (8%) were neutral, according to the council’s engagement summary. Three more submissions came by email, and 13 people went to a drop-in session on 24 June.

One group answered differently. Of the 14 respondents who identified as business owners or operators, 8 strongly opposed the design, 3 opposed it and 3 were neutral. None supported it. The summary records that Concerns about business access and operations were a recurring theme in feedback from some nearby business owners and operators: customer and staff access, parking, property impacts and construction disruption.

One dot per respondent, to scale. Counts are from the council’s engagement summary (August 2026): 95 supported, 47 opposed and 13 were neutral; of the 14 business owners or operators, 8 strongly opposed, 3 opposed and 3 were neutral. The summary gives the split between strong and plain support or opposition only as percentages, so the dots do not show it.

It is a self-selected online survey, not a poll: it counts who chose to answer. Of the 155, 85% identified as residents and 72% said they use the intersection daily; respondents could pick more than one connection to the area, so a business owner can also be a resident.

Lights, or a bigger roundabout

Reducing congestion was the top priority, chosen by 71% of the 151 who answered that question, then improving safety at 58%. Respondents split on how to get there. Some, the summary says, wanted the roundabout kept with extra turning lanes; others proposed a hybrid of roundabout and signals similar to that used at Karalta Road, Erina. The council’s response says the lights were developed after traffic investigations and technical assessment of current and future conditions, and gives its reason for passing over the alternative:

The introduction of an enhanced roundabout was considered, however it was not deemed suitable for this intersection due to reduced capacity and increased land acquisition impacts.

Central Coast Council, engagement summary, August 2026, “Council’s response”

The case for doing something is in the draft review of environmental factors that consultants ADW Johnson prepared for the council, dated 25 May 2026. It says the intersection is operating over capacity in all peak times, with queues observed up to 400 m, the longest on Ocean Beach Road, and an average delay of 76 seconds, which it says corresponds to level of service F. Left as it is, the modelled average delay rises to 166 seconds in 2030 and 284 in 2040.

Average delay at the existing roundabout, seconds

If nothing is built; the 2030 and 2040 values are modelled

Now, per the May 2026 draft76 s
2030, modelled166 s
2040, modelled284 s

Source: draft review of environmental factors, section 2.6. Bars to scale against 284 seconds. The draft gives no modelled delay for the traffic lights.

What the draft does not set out is the comparison respondents were arguing about. It names two build options, the chosen layout with a dedicated right turn lane from each direction and a four-lane signalised intersection, and says the choice was based mainly on level of service in a traffic modelling report by Cardno, given as its Appendix C. The copy on the project page, as at 10 October, runs 67 pages and ends at its declaration and the consultant’s contact page, without the appendices. In the text we read, it gives no modelled delay for the lights or for an enhanced roundabout.

Parking, and land

Parking was the theme the tick-boxes underplayed. Only 16% picked minimising parking impacts as most important, yet the summary calls it a common theme in the written feedback, with worries about customers, staff, service providers and overflow into nearby streets. The design adds No Stopping areas and peak-period restrictions, and the project page puts numbers on the change: Approximately 45 unrestricted parking spaces will be removed, and approximately 30 timed parking spaces will be added. That is about 15 fewer spaces, on our arithmetic.

From the 2026 frequently asked questions on the council’s Your Voice Our Coast project page, which gives both counts as approximate. The net figure is our subtraction. The page does not say how many existing timed spaces stay.

Some land is needed as well. The project page says small sections of land are needed to make room for the widened road and improved intersection layout, and the draft review says the residents who may require land acquisition have been notified. It puts the nearest homes about 10 m from the works, notes that Woy Woy Hospital adjoins them along Ocean Beach Road, and expects day and night work. The council’s reply to the businesses is that keeping access open during construction will be a key consideration.

When, and how the timetable moved

The council’s June announcement said construction is expected to commence in mid-2027, subject to final design and approvals. The draft review puts the likely start at May 2027 and the build at 18 months; the project page’s timeline shows construction in 2027-28 and the upgrade complete in 2028.

It is the second timetable. The 2021 answers still on the project page said It is anticipated the intersection works will commence in July 2024 and be completed in 2026 over the 24-month period. The page now says: The project was also placed on hold for around two years while the Australian Government reviewed federally funded infrastructure projects across NSW. Costs increased in that time, it says, and the project was refined.

The 2021 answers

  • StartJuly 2024
  • Build24 months
  • Finish2026
  • MoneyFully funded by the federal $86.5M Central Coast Roads Package
  • Queues66 per cent shorter, over 360 m off the average maximum

The 2026 answers

  • Start2027
  • Build18 months
  • Finish2028
  • MoneyPart of the package: $93 million federal plus $14.3 million council, $107.3 million for 29 projects
  • Queues“reducing vehicle queue lengths”, no figure
From the 2021 and 2026 frequently asked questions on the council’s project page, both still published there on 10 October 2026. The 2028 finish is from the same page’s timeline. Neither set of answers gives the intersection’s own cost.

What happens next

The summary says the feedback will be considered alongside technical, environmental and traffic assessments as the project moves through detailed design and planning approval, and that A consultation outcomes report will be prepared and published. As at 10 October, the project page’s 2026 document library lists the engagement summary, the consultation plans and the draft review, and no outcomes report. We will read the outcomes report when it is published and report what it changes in the design.

Our view

The survey gives the council a clear majority among the people who chose to answer, most of them daily users. On those terms, the people who use this intersection want it fixed and mostly accept lights as the fix. The 14 business respondents are a small group, but what they raised, customer and staff parking, access and months of construction, falls on them rather than on the traffic passing through, and not one of them supported the design.

The council’s answer to the bigger-roundabout idea is short: less capacity, more land to acquire. It may well be right: its consultant’s own draft describes an intersection over capacity at every peak. But the numbers that would settle the argument, the modelled delay with lights and with an enhanced roundabout, sit in a traffic report that is not on the project page, and the 2026 answers dropped the 66 per cent queue figure the 2021 answers gave. We think the outcomes report should publish the modelling for both side by side, so the people who suggested a Karalta Road style hybrid can see why it lost, and the businesses can see what they are giving up parking for.