The Gloucester Chamber of Commerce has called for protocols to be put in place to ensure access to the Barrington Tops is available, if it is safe to do so.
The chamber is concerned unless action is taken the area's reputation as the gateway to the Barrington Tops could be jeopardised.
The call follows problems during the winter months with gates on the Gloucester to Scone road being locked and access to the area barred with little information being readily available about when the road will be opened and by whom.
Chamber of Commerce president Peter Markey has made representations to the Manning Great Lakes Police Command to address the issue.
In correspondence to the command he asked for protocols to be put in place to ensure that the road is assessed by the relevant authority at regular intervals, preferably early in the day, to ascertain the trafficability of the road.
He said the weekend of August 7 and 8 was a case in point.
"On this occassion the road had not been assessed by the Police either on Friday or Saturday morning.
"We believe that if the road is closed by the Police then they have an obligation to monitor the situation and take heed of the general public's need to utilise the road or the National Park.
"Failure to do so is doing irrepairable damage to our reputation as the 'Gateway to the Barrington Tops'", he said.
One visitor to the area earlier this month has taken her call for something to be done about access to the Tops to the Police Minister.
Noni Fowler and her family travelled to Gloucester from Newcastle in the hope of seeing snow.
She said they had checked in Barrington to make sure the road was open and told it was but found the gates locked at Honeysuckle.
She has requested that the Minister look at the situation.
"Gloucester and surrounding areas are fast becoming a popular winter tourist destination due to its closeness to the Tops. But at the end of the day this is useless if the gate is not open," she said.
Mrs Fowler said there were many families, couples, and groups of friends who had made the journey up the mountain only to be bitterly disappointed to find the gates locked.
She said not only were visitors looking for snow affected, but also motorists travelling through to Scone.
The Police Manning Great Lakes Local Area Command has responded quickly to the issue.
Acting area commander Inspector Tony Day said the issue was discussed last week by a meeting of the local emergency management committee.
"The point is it is a bit of a conundrum because it is a privately maintained road.
"There are areas within the snowline that present danger to motorists.
"There is a conflict because there are increasing numbers of people wanting to access the area.
"It is a conundrum that has to be balanced by the stakeholders," he said.
Inspector Day said everyone was aware of the issues and all the groups involved were working together to overcome them.
He said he expected a management plan would be developed fairly quickly that would meet everyone's needs.
Inspector Day said he believed it would not adversely restrict access to the area as people should be able to enjoy the area.
He said it did need to take into account safety issues and ensure there was minimum danger to road users.
Inspector Day said he hoped that the management plan would be signed off on by the various stakeholders within two weeks.
Inspector Day said the group had identified the need for a more structured approach towards monitoring and maintenance of the operation of the gates on both sides of the Tops.
Inspector Day said part of the road is privately owned and maintained by National Parks and Wildlife Service and State Forests and they ultimately have responsibility for maintaining that road.
He said Police and council also have a stake in the matter.
The committee has written to all stakeholders raising the need to develop an appropriate management plan.
Inspector Day said he hopes that this will result in a more effective management plan that will avoid confusion and provide for greater and safer opportunities for people to visit the area.
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff
Twitter