CoastGirl

Landsborough Street is probably the widest in South West Rocks, and carries a moderate amount of traffic. Holiday cottages of the past have given way to flats. The Uniting Church and several small retail/commercial premises are in the street, and there is a carpark that leads through to the shopping area in Paragon Avenue and Prince of Wales Avenue.

The northern end of Memorial Avenue is lined with Norfolk Island Pines, with name plaques set into the ground at their feet. The local community planted these in memory of those from the area who gave their lives in wartime. There are several motels, holiday flats, a small group of shops here.

Just a couple of hundred meters long, Prince of Wales Avenue is home to a National Bank, 2 Real Estate Agents, the Post Office, Credit Union, Pharmacy, Hotel/Motel, restaurants and clothing shops. With the entrance to the drive through liquor shop here, it can become busy, and there is always a constant stream of pedestrians heading to Horseshoe Bay beach.

As one of the early streets of this seaside hamlet, Paragon Avenue is quite narrow and a decision was made some years ago to make it one way from Memorial Avenue to Gregory Street. There are several townhouses at the eastern end, but once past Memorial Avenue, its commercial zoning comes into effect. Newsagent, grocery story, liquor store, butcher, baker – no candlestick maker – are all located on Paragon Avenue.

Starting its life at the busy Epping Station end, surrounded by retail outlets, bus interchange area, cafes, restaurants and post office, Oxford Street then heads in the direction of North Epping. On its way it passes both Our Lady Help of Christians primary school, and Arden Anglican High School. Once past the Chester Street roundabout, Oxford Streets leaves the blocks of apartment buildings behind and gives way to lovely residences with manicured gardens. It then meets Norfolk Street where the decision is: left for North Epping, right for Epping Road.

There is just one stand-alone home left in Cambridge Street, the rest of the street (eastern side) is comprise of home unit buildings, town houses, offices and shops. Along its western side runs the train line (The Northern Line) carrying commuter trains from the Central Coast and Hornsby to the city, as well as Country Link Trains from more distant areas. Epping Station is at the southern end of the street.

Several weeks before Christmas sees Chauvel Street become a wonderland of bright lights, nativity scenes and decorations. The sheer volume of foot traffic walking up and down the street, the cries of delight from the children, make driving at this time a moot point. By day, and for the rest of the year, the homes are very ordinary, though well maintained with well kept gardens. I suspect the owners are all indoors plotting how they can out-do their neighbours next Christmas.

Despite this being a six lane, well maintained road, it still becomes gridlocked during peak times – frustrating commuters heading to the city. Quite often traffic from feeder streets are unable to break through the line of traffic. While there are some homes built facing the street, many more have been built facing the street behind, to achieve some respite from the traffic noise. There is a huge number of commercial buildings now on the Macquarie Park side of the road, with Optus having moved there in 2008, bringing 3000 workers (and more traffic). Petrol stations, home furniture stores and Officeworks all live on Epping Road.

This is a main route between Epping Road and Gladesville, and it carries a high volume of traffic that appears to run very well for such a narrow street. Flanked on both sides by bush for a lot of the time, the drive is pleasant. North Ryde RSL Community Club is the main structure at the North Ryde end of this street, and the homes that are dotted along the route are modest, but well cared for.

Especially in school terms, Cox’s Road is extremely congested as two primary schools face it – North Ryde Public School and Holy Spirit Catholic School. As well, there is a Catholic and Anglican Church, pre-school kindergarten, banks, a shopping strip, medical specialist rooms, restaurants and cafes. Towards the eastern end, Cox’s Road forms one of the boundaries of Macquarie Hospital, whose grounds are immense, breaking up the busy feel.

Wicks Road runs for several kilometres from Twin Road in the south, ending at a dead-end at the waste-transfer station in the north. Along its path it passes the Macquarie Psychiatric Hospital grounds, Catholic Church grounds, a landscaping supply and in one section several commercial operations. There are modest homes along the route as well, but the high volume of traffic, including buses and trucks, means that large expenditure on houses and gardens seems unwarranted.

Stretching between Cutler Parade in the East to the busy Wicks Road in the West, Betty Hendry Parade is purely residential, with homes in a variety of styles on either side. The more modest “war-service” homes are gradually giving way to the large two-storey numbers that modern families today prefer. Well maintained gardens, despite water restrictions.

A gently undulating residential street with a variety of dwelling styles. Originally part of a sub-division for returning servicemen after WW2, the original fibro homes are being demolished as new owners seek to build McMansions to take advantage of the good sized land blocks. A wide street with plenty of room for traffic, even if cars are parked both sides. A family-friendly vibe.

Lone Pine Avenue, named for a famous WW1 battle, contains just a handful of homes, many built around the 1930s. It is a fairly busy little street, being part of a short cut (avoiding the Pacific Highway) between Mowbray Road in the south and Fullers Road in the North. Very close to Chatswood High School.

With multi storey buildings on either side, Help Street can be a cold and windy thoroughfare, very busy in peak periods. Parking meters don’t appear to make finding a park here any easier, and because it is so close to the train station, it is often filled with commuters on their way to and from work. Several cafes are here, and The Monkey Bar is popular at night.

Both Chatswood Primary School (corner of Pacific Highway) and Chatswood High School are perched on Centennial Avenue, and as a consequence, there is a lot of activity here before and after school during term. The homes here range from the modest to several grand Federation style buildings. The quiet, western end has a lovely bush outlook and feel.

Winding its way between Centennial Avenue and Fullers Road, Park Avenue is often used as a morning short cut for traffic wanting to avoid the Pacific Highway. The homes here are all build of brick and tile, and some back onto parkland. Established gardens frame the homes that are well cared for by a mixture of young and old residents.

Stretching from Fullers road to Centennial Avenue, Edgar Street used to be loved by young people in fast cars wanting the thrill of a rollercoaster ride. These days however, traffic calming devices have slowed traffic considerably, though it is still used as a short cut between Fullers Road and Chatswood CBD. There are very nice homes here, well kept gardens, and a grassed playground for the little ones.

Jenkins Street is on the west side of the Pacific Highway running between Fullers Road and Centennial Avenue. It starts off and ends up high, with a huge dip in the middle. At its steepest section, south of Western Way it has been narrowed to one lane in an attempt to slow traffic. Some very impressive houses, many with sensational sunset views.