General notes · read before lodgement

Straight answers to the questions we hear most.

If yours is not here, ask. A two-line email usually gets you a same-day answer, and that advice costs nothing.

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Common questions

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Do I need a traffic impact assessment for my development application?

It depends on the scale of the development and your council’s triggers. Parking numbers, trip generation and land use type are the usual thresholds. Send us the site address and proposal and we will tell you whether you need a full assessment, a shorter statement, or nothing at all.

What is the difference between a CTMP and a TGS, and which one is my condition asking for?

A construction traffic management plan (CTMP) is the report. It covers staging, haulage routes, vehicle types, hours and work zone arrangements for the whole build. A traffic guidance scheme (TGS) is the drawing that shows how signs and devices are set out on the road for a specific work activity. Conditions often require both. Send us the condition wording and we will tell you exactly what it is asking for.

How much does a traffic report cost?

It depends on the scope, which is why we do not publish a rate card. What we do promise: you get a fixed fee in writing within one business day of sending us the details, and the fee you accept is the fee you pay. No hourly surprises.

How long will my report or plan take?

We agree the delivery date with you before the work starts, and we keep to it. Turnaround depends on the scope and whether surveys are needed, so the honest answer is in your fee proposal rather than on this page.

What do you need from me to give a fee proposal?

The site address, architectural plans if they exist, and the condition or council letter you are working to. From that we can scope the work and return a fixed fee within one business day.

Council sent an RFI about a report another consultant wrote. Can you respond to it?

Yes. We respond point by point to the assessing officer’s actual concerns, whether or not the original report was ours. Where the original work stands, we say so. Where it does not, we fix it.

Can you review my plans before I lodge, so problems surface early?

Yes, and it is some of the most valuable work we do. A pre-lodgement check catches parking geometry, access and servicing issues while the design is still cheap to change, which usually saves a redesign after council has seen the plans.

When does a design need a swept path analysis?

Whenever a certifier or council needs proof that a vehicle can actually make the movement: driveways, loading docks, basements, waste collection and emergency access are the usual cases. If your plans show a vehicle using a space, someone will eventually ask for the tracking.

My works need a road occupancy licence. Do you handle the ROL as well?

Yes. We prepare the TGS package the application needs and support the lodgement with TfNSW or council, including responses through the review cycle.

Which areas do you cover?

Greater Sydney, the Central Coast and the Illawarra as standard, and elsewhere in NSW by arrangement. If you are outside that area, ask anyway. The answer is often yes.

Do you appear in the Land and Environment Court?

Yes. We prepare expert reports and give testimony under the expert witness code of conduct. Our duty in that room is to the court, and we will tell you honestly beforehand whether your traffic case is worth running.

Do you supply traffic controllers as well?

No. Sightline is engineering only. We design the plans and schemes, and when implementation is needed we can refer it, including to T&S Traffic Control, the company our founders also run. We disclose that relationship every time, and you are free to use any provider.

Still wondering

Ask the question. The advice costs nothing.

Get in touch →
Contact
1800 008 782
plans@sightlinetraffic.com.au
9 Epic Pl, Villawood NSW
Mon–Fri, 8am–5pm
Notes
A two-line email is enough.
Answered within one business day.
By an engineer, not an inbox.