West Connex M4-M5 Link
WestConnex is already chewing up many suburbs in Sydney. There is now a proposal to build an M5-M6 which will involve an F6 extension. This will damage the Illawarra in a number of ways, including making us pay a toll to drive to Sydney, and destroying valuable environments.
Read what we have written and sign our petition if you agree that we do not want this to happen.
If you want to submit your own objection, just copy this petition and submit it here.
I call on the Minister for Planning to reject this Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the WestConnex M4/M5 EIS, project number SSI 16_7485. I am alarmed that this EIS has been prepared without a specific design for the project. I am especially concerned about the consequences of the toll roads for the people of Wollongong and the South Coast.
Sydney has more toll road kilometres than any other city in the world. The proposed additional toll roads will be a burden on our community travelling to and from Sydney, especially for people that need trade vehicles for their work. It will also make it harder for tourists to reach the Illawarra.
There is almost no analysis of the social and economic impact of toll roads in the EIS. Building new roads will also exacerbate congestion and parking in central Sydney.
The proposed new M5 extension depends on the F6 extension, which would have a substantial negative impact on the Illawarra. The F6 project has not been properly assessed. It would lead to the destruction of hundreds of homes and hectares of open space and parkland, and threatens the Royal National Park, in addition to what has already been destroyed for WestConnex.
I, like many people of the Illawarra, call for improved train services to Sydney. The WestConnex plan is intended to funnel more cars into central Sydney. A modern solution, focusing on public transport, would reduce the number of cars going into Sydney, save money, cut pollution, be more acceptable to the population, and prevent the wholesale destruction of valuable landscape and heritage.
I object to the fact that each section of the Westconnex is assessed separately so that there is never any accurate assessment of cumulative impacts.
This EIS is a rushed and incomplete document and should not be accepted by NSW Planning.
I urge the Secretary of NSW Planning to advise the Minister to reject this EIS, which is incomplete, outdated, and damaging.
Greens call for proper costing of road and rail
Greens councillor Jill Merrin gained the support of the whole of Wollongong Council when she proposed that upgrading the South Coast rail line should be considered alongside the F6 upgrade
Read the article published in Illawarra Mercury 8 June 2017
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