The Warren Centre's Community Values Study identified traffic congestion as the main traffic and transport concern for Warringah region residents (51 per cent of those surveyed, compared with 42 per cent for Sydney). The closer to the city, the greater the congestion, although Forest Way, in the northern part of the peninsula, is also significantly congested. The slowest car speeds are on Spit and Military roads (average of 21 kilometres per hour, five to eight kilometres per hour slower than inner routes through Chatswood and Willoughby). At weekends particularly, the Spit Bridge, which opens regularly for boat traffic, is a major congestion point. Secondly, public transport was the focus of 29 per cent of the Warren Centre's survey respondents in the Warringah region, 17 per cent identifying lack of adequate public transport (compared with 12 per cent for Sydney) and 12 per cent indicating the reliability of public transport as their main concern (compared with 11 per cent for Sydney). With no rail service in the region, Warringah region residents have fewer public transport options available to them than many other parts of Sydney. 'East-west' bus services are more limited than 'north-south' services. Bus services also are not independent of congestion on the road system, although bus priority arrangements secure a travel time advantage for bus passengers relative to car passengers over the same route. Thirdly, the Spit Bridge and Roseville Bridge routes each pass through dense residential inner areas. Conflicts between through and local traffic, which include 'rat-running' through residential streets during peak periods, have adverse consequences for the local transport environment and residential amenity. On the Spit route, where traffic is heaviest, with six traffic lanes to accommodate and less than optimal lane widths, safety is an issue with insufficient space for a Jersey (crash) barrier on the winding Spit Hill. There are also kerbside markings at Spit Junction in the northbound direction, advising pedestrians that large vehicles may 'jump the kerb'.

• Improving Transport on the Warringah Peninsula: Issues And Options
  

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