MOD 2 - The Crescent overpass and active transport links

The building of the Overpass connecting the Crescent and City West Link would NOT solve the congestion problem. It will attract more vehicles, particularly commuters, and there will be more cars into CBD. I am against the removal of the current pedestrian footbridge over Victoria Road. There seems to be no separate cycle and pedestrian paths on the overpass City West Link, either. Other means of easing the congestion such as introduction of a congestion tax to the CBD bound commuters should be considered and adopted. Building of the overpass or additional roads in the area would cause massive disruption for the residents and traffic. It would also be visually offensive to the surrounding area.

Hi everyone
I have recently heard about your destructive plan to create a highway bypass through the currently existing Jubilee Park between Annandale and Glebe. I totally object to the plan as this green space has been in use by the public since it has been opened and established in the late 1990's. There are even dog owners who regularly take their dogs out for a walk.

I oppose the 'project' (destruction) for several reasons. Cutting down green trees obviously can contribute to the already dangerous climate damage and invade the space that people frequently dwell on. This will ruin the routine of some regular picnic goers. Some transport experts strongly insisted that excessive road construction actually may tempt commuters to drive instead of taking public transport which is already struggling in Sydney. This increase the numbers of cars on the road. And the existing light rail would also be threatened too.

I kindly ask you for an alternative project to widen existing highways like the South Dowling Road to M5 Motorway drive around the Sydney Airport. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Yours sincerely from Patrick Li

This Project :

1. Have an unacceptable and unnecessary visual impact, and obstruct a significant local mural;
2. Make it more difficult for pedestrians to access Jubilee Park from Johnston St Annandale and the Rozelle Goods Yards in Lilyfield;
3. Destroy over 70 trees including the large, mature fig trees at Buruwan Park; and
4. Fail to solve Sydney's traffic congestion problem.
5. Destroys the economy and culture of Sydney

waterfronts are too precious to only be used for motorways, it should be a public and greensapce

First of all - I truly hope this is read and not put into a pile for shredding. This project has a direct affect on hundreds of locals and I hope that the person reading this considers how they might personally feel if this was being done in their own local suburb. We are not NIMBYs - we are wanting real, considered and sympathetic solutions to issues created by Westconnex which is already affecting us. I know that this project is being assessed by a team of real people. In the same way, I am not just one of those people waving a banner around, I am someone who is genuinely concerned by this proposal.

The current modification has given no consideration to the community this project cuts through. We already put up with the noise, pollution and increased traffic that arrived the day Westconnex opened (Seriously - even I was surprised it was that quick. Just pop over to Johnston Street between 5pm - 7pm now heading towards the Crescent from Parramatta Road. Watch The Crescent back up all the way to the PCYC from the light rail to see what I mean). We shouldn't have the only positive aspect of this proposal ripped away from us by way of a completely impractical overpass.

This is an opportunity to create something thoughtful, considerate and sympathetic to the area. Concrete and tall structures are not in keeping with the local environment. Personally I find tall overpasses quite confronting and this one will have people over 7m above the ground! You only need to see how many people avoid the one over Victoria Road and try to cross it to see how much people dislike them. It looks ridiculous - and that is because it is simply not practical or user friendly.

This modification is not appropriate and I hope that someone puts a bit more thought into its design so that what was originally promised is retained. GREEN means green. Not concrete/grey. I support the submissions made by the local foreshore action groups that what was originally promised must be retained. For this new space to be "usable", we have to be able to access it easily - otherwise it simply won't happen.

I object to the sneaky way that the original underground interchange at Annandale, which was promised to minimise disruption to residents and impact from traffic, has been changed to a massive above ground junction. This will disconnect the surrounding suburbs from each other and from the harbour, increase pollution and traffic noise, and change the character of the suburbs. This is a dramatic change to the plans, and flouts the conditions of consent for the project. If the underground interchange cannot be dug as planned it should be rerouted elsewhere underground rather than putting this hideous concrete blight on a densely populated, historic area of the city.

I AM OPPOSED TO THE ANNANDALE OVERPASS. IT IS UNSIGHTLY AND DETRIMENTAL TO THE ENVIRONMENT. IF NECESSARY, BUILD AN UNDERPASS. IN THE LONG-TERM IT WILL PAY FOR ITSELF.

Hello all,
I respectfully would like to object to this change of plans to the Annandale interchange.

The crescent is an extremely busy road as it is. Adding more traffic moving through this area is very poor planning as it is.

Annandale/Camperdown is already encumbered with the massive works on Booth/Parramatta Road. Adding further interruption, traffic, bustle and congestion is unacceptable.

I’ve lived in Annandale for 15 years. The traffic and density is rising constantly. Adding an LA style fly over will only make it worse.

The area near the city-west link and the Crescent could be beautiful. Yet it has ugly marine heavy works that ruin what would be an otherwise beautiful view of the city. An opportunity for a lovely marina is ruined by industrial work site nearly in the city limits. Adding an ugly fly over in front of this further ruins site lines to our beautiful city.

Instead of seeing sunrise and a city waking up, all residents will see is traffic, an elevated road, and horrible boat works.

Please go back to the under ground plan.

We the tax payer have already paid for such roads so commit and build it properly and don’t take the cheapest way out.

Thank you

I live at 2/215 wigram road Annandale and also own 1/215 wigram road so am heavily invested in this lovely suburb.



Kind Regards


Emilio Abbonizio

The proposed Annandale overpass is totally unacceptable and unnecessary.
It will ruin Buruwan park and will destroy over 70 trees.
Westconnex is destroying our green spaces and public access to foreshores.
What happened to the original plan of an underground underpass?
You have given us public consultation until Sept 18th.but we notice work has already started and trees are being destroyed.Once again pedestrians lose out to cars.What happened to democracy?

Application: SSI 7485

Regarding the proposed modification to M4-M5 Link, Mod 2 The Crescent overpass and changes to pedestrian infrastructure in North Annandale, Rozelle and Rozelle Bay Foreshore area.  
 
My key concerns with this modification are:

— Pedestrian access to Bicentennial Park and Jubilee Park
This modification prioritises the needs of motorists, trashing the experience of local pedestrian traffic and making harder for residents to access the public waterfront.

Pedestrians walking from the western side of Johnston Street will have to use an astonishing four pedestrian crossings in order to reach Bicentennial Park.

I am most worried about my daughter’s future walk to get to and from school in Glebe every day. This will become significantly more dangerous, navigating 4 major road crossings rather than one (or none via the original green link). We are not eligible for a student transport pass, a safe walk to and from school is a priority.

My son’s safe access to weekend cricket and school sporting events has also been compromised with this modification. Requiring teachers to navigate 20 - 30 children through 4 sets of traffic lights is unreasonable and irresponsible.

I have also used the walk around the foreshore for my commute to and from work. This modification, adding four more road crossings, has the potential to add significant time to my journey. Particularly given the prioritising of vehicle flow above pedestrian movement in the current design.

The risk to pedestrians trying to speed up their journey by crossing The Crescent outside of the four proposed crossing zones is increased with this modification.

This pedestrian arrangement should be modified to allow pedestrians to cross direct from Johnston Street to the Park via The Crescent. Keeping a direct crossing from Johnston St into Chapman Rd and the foreshore park is essential to maintaining a safe commute and would not compromise traffic flow.

— Increased local traffic in Annandale and reduced access to Glebe
This modification would remove the option to turn right out of Johnston Street into the Crescent which will increase traffic through local streets including Piper Street and Booth Street.

Not only will my daughters walk to school become more difficult, it is now more difficult to drive her to school without having to join the traffic already clogging up Annandale village.

These changed conditions will mean increased noise and traffic for residents in Annandale. This will negatively impact on people wishing to travel to school in Glebe or the Tramsheds requiring a significant change in access and forcing traffic through an already busy Annandale village.

— Losing the direct connection between Rozelle and the Foreshore
This modification would abandon one of the centrepieces of the original design: a pedestrian and cycling green link to connect the Rozelle Goods Yard to Bicentennial Park.

Relocating that green link to the west of the intersection of The Crescent and City West Link ignores the original conditions of consent given for this project and puts the needs of motorists ahead of pedestrians and cyclists.

The proposed pedestrian bridge further north up the City West Link creates an unnecessarily long walk for pedestrians and an unnecessarily high climb of 5+ metres.

This modification is not conducive for families accessing the foreshore or commuters walking / riding to work in Glebe, Pyrmont or Ultimo. The Rozelle community might be able to get to the Rozelle Bay light rail via the green link but not then safely, directly onto foreshore. Even cyclists are being considerably disadvantaged by the length and location of the overpass.

RMS and the contractors must reconsider other design options for a continuous green link from Rozelle Goods Yard, across the City West Link into Jubilee Park, including a link to Annandale and the Rozelle Bay light rail stop.

In summary, my submission requests that the RMS:

1. Relocate and redesign pedestrian and cyclist connections to the Foreshore that are continuous, safe and direct.

2. Maintains a right turn from Johnston St into the Crescent to avoid diverting more traffic through the Annandale.

3. Reinstate the GreenLink directly connecting communities and green open space from Rozelle to Bicentennial Park

Yours sincerely,
Juanita Ford

The US approach to transportation is an example of how NOT to do - there had been enough evidence that increasing roads throughput increases congestion rather than decreasing it. Why are we so dedicated on doing it wrong? Why do we even need that ugly overpass? It looks cool only on aerial photos, but for regular people down there it is just an ugly confusing contraption.

The NSW Government should install on all current and future motorway tunnels, filtration systems in order to reduce the level of pollutants emitted from ventilation stacks. Science is continually evolving. Whilst we may believe that the levels of Volatile organic compounds (VOC) are safe with current medical and scientific knowledge - this may change. My daughters school Abbotsleigh at Wahroonga is close to a ventilation stack. Please do not use my daughters life to gamble on being right.

I am horrified by the potential impact of this proposal on our community. This plan completely ignores the conditions of consent given for this project. It will also completely damage the landscape and liveability of our local area.
The proposal will have a negative impact on the health of our community in Annandale, making it significantly more difficult for pedestrians and cyclists to access Jubilee park from Johnston Street. As any design specialist or public health specialist will tell you - needing to cross so many sets of traffic lights and/or walking over an overpass will present a significant barrier to daily exercise for our community members who currently run/ walk/ cycle straight across to the beautiful parkland. As a local parent I am particularly concerned by the safety implications for young tweens and teens wanting to access this shared space but perhaps not having the patience to wait for so many traffic lights. Barriers to safe practice (several traffic lights, overpasses) result in unsafe practice.
It is well established that building more roads does not ultimately solve congestion problems - in the short term it adds more cars to the road, in the long term congestion remains the same.
The community mural on The Crescent is a local cultural icon and defining feature of the Annandale community - past and present. Obstruction of this icon is appalling and adds to the damage to our local landscape and community.
The destruction of 70 local trees, particularly the large, beautiful and mature fig trees that attract a lot of bird wildlife, is devastating and appears to be in direct conflict with the intent behind NSW government's own policies supporting biodiversity.
I implore the State Government to ensure that the original project promises are upheld, including: Unobtrusive traffic flow along The Crescent and through the
City-West Link; Safe, direct and continuous Greenlink connecting Rozelle Railyards,Annandale and Glebe foreshore; Shared user pathways considerate
and connected into the Bays Precinct Master Plan; Maintained right turn from Johnston St into The Crescent; Preservation of the ‘people’s mural’on The Crescent.
Without upholding these promises, the State Government is demanding that local residents of Annandale, Rozelle and surrounds bear the brunt of all the disadvantages of this project (eyesores, worse congestion, higher pollution levels, higher traffic noise, poorer health outcomes due to increased pollution and reduced accessibility of public recreation spaces to name a few) but without a single compensatory benefit.

The connection for cyclists and pedestrians of Annandale to the Glebe foreshore is now hindered and is across 5 sets of tragic lights now the green link is moved.

I wish to make a submission regarding the WestConnex M4-M5 Link, # SSI 7485

The original plan was to construct an underground tunnel allowing traffic from the Crescent to cross the City West Link. This plan also included a single safe direct pedestrian and cycle access from the Rozelle Goods Yard to the Glebe foreshore and Annandale via an above ground vegetated link.
The new plan will have in lieu a huge overpass with the loss of the green link and result in no direct route for pedestrians between the Annandale and Glebe foreshores.

Such a change will result in loss of over 70 trees including mature fig trees along with the retrograde step of the loss of well designed pedestrian and cycle access in the area. Such a loss of green vegetation AND reduction of pedestrian friendly urban design will have negative impacts of people’s physical and mental health and would also contribute towards more use of cars, leading to more traffic and CO2 production.

There is overwhelming evidence that cities have to be designed around people, not cars, so in the development and design of any new works such as this, then the health and safety of the people that live in the area must take precedence.

I strongly urge you reconsider and not adopt this new proposal and look again at how such road works can be built in order to help us all live in a healthier and better urban environment.

I am writing to object to the changes from the approved design for the M4-M5 Rozelle Interchange that directly impacts residents of Annandale and others who use the Glebe foreshore. The approved design included a safe, direct, continuous pedestrian and cyclist Greenlink from Rozelle over the City-West link to the foreshore. With the changes proposed, the greenlink will be lost. This change will directly affect residents of Annandale and other pedestrians and cyclists using the Glebe foreshore, who will be cut off from the Glebe foreshore by the proposed car overpass located on The Crescent. Residents, such as myself, who use the right turn onto The Crescent from Johnston Street to get to work will no longer be able to do so. The proposed changes will also have a significant impact on the character of Annandale, a heritage neighbourhood of Sydney, with the removal of proposed green space from the Rozelle Railyards to the Glebe foreshore, and the imposition of a concrete ramp obstructing the longstanding mural at the entrance to Annandale on The Crescent. For these reasons, I strongly object to the proposed changes and urge the NSW Government to return to the original approved design.

This is in regards to application number SSI 7485

I am objecting to the proposal overpass at The Crescent and City West Link instead of the originally proposed underground connection.
This modification is completely different to the conditions of consent for this project.
The consequences will be negative for users of the local landscape and affect the amenity of residents and visitors. It will increase noise and air pollution.
It will destroy Buruwan Park, a lovely respite from the traffic containing over 70 mature trees. This is unacceptable vandalism.
It is already difficult for pedestrians to access Jubilee Park from Annadale - this new proposal makes it even more difficult, with the imposition of four pedestrian crossings.
There should be direct access from Johnston Street to The Crescent.
In the original design there was a green link from the Rozelle Goods Yards and Bicentennial Park. This was one of the conditions of consent and has now disappeared.
This destroys amenity for walkers and riders, and just encourages cars with attendant air and noise pollution.

This submission is in regard to application number SSI 7485.
The initial design had an underpass for the Rozelle interchange, under The Crescent and City West Link (WestConnex 3b). The review proposes a two lane overpass instead at this intersection.
I oppose this change in design. I object to any elevated overpass in this area, which is of historical significance to Sydney.
This proposal for an overpass would impose an unacceptable visual impact on this area as well as imposing limits on pedestrian access to various facilities via visually pleasant streets (other then the city west link itself.
The overpass would make it more difficult to access Jubilee Park from Johnston st and Lilyfield, whilst destroying numerous well-loved mature trees.
I often walk through this area, to access Victoria Rd, The Tramsheds, Jubilee Park and the Light Rail service. An overpass interferes with pedestrian access and visual aesthetics in the whole area. Vehicle traffic would be excellently served by an underpass, an overpass is not necessary for this purpose.

I would appreciate the State Govenment decision to retain the initial design design for the underpass at this intersection.

Very simply, the addition of an overpass to circumvent any traffic lights will encourage further traffic to already congested local roads. We will see more cars on the Crescent and Johnston Street. There are two schools and a strong family community which will be negatively impacted by the probable surge in traffic. The interchange should not be seen as an opportunity to push further traffic to the area. The point of this tunnel is to connect M4 and M5. It now seems that the expectation is that this will be a huge entry and exit point for traffic onto small single lane local roads. Where is the proof and modeling that shows a positive impact on traffic conditions? Overall this is an I’ll conceived scheme that ignores the will and needs of local residents. This needs to be reconsidered with pedestrian access to parklands and the foreshore kept open for all. Less roads, more walkways!

Submission opposing NorthConnex Modification 3 to condition E 11.
The approval conditions with an allowed VOC concentration of 1mg per cubic metre were the subject of extensive public consultation and debate. To now amend the conditions by merely claiming that the original standards were a typographic error makes a mockery of the planning process. Which other standard might be worsened by 400% on the same pretext over future years?
The tunnel has no systems to trap or contain pollutants arising from the traffic, the ventilation plan is merely to pump the air pollution over the surrounding suburbs either at the ends of the tunnel or via the two ventilation shafts. NSW is making no progress on improvements to the burden of air pollution from vehicle exhaust.
• There is a smokey vehicle reporting system that only sends warning notices.
• There is no strategy to remove old and highly polluting vehicles from the roads.
• There is no strategy to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles.
• There is a plan to improve the quality of fuel sold in Australia but it does not commence until 2027.

Specific features that make this tunnel dangerous to users and local residents include
• There is no strategy to block highly polluting vehicles from entering the tunnel.
• The tunnel operations plan does not include blocking vehicle entry at times of dangerously poor air quality.
• There is no mechanism to enforce anti idling advice if traffic is stopped in the tunnel.
• There is no in tunnel air standard for PM2.5, which is the air pollutant with the worst health effects.
Evidence presented in the form of a letter dated 28-sept 2015 describing the results of dispersion modelling does not establish the safety of the 4mg/m3 level, as it does not mention which receptor locations are reported, nor does it establish the validity of the criterion values used.

Initial promises made for WestConnect included:
1. Unobtrusive traffic flow along The Crescent and through the City-West Link
2. Safe, direct and continuous Greenlinkconnecting Rozelle Railyards, Annandale and Glebe foreshore
3. Shared user pathways considerate and connected into the Bays Precinct Master Plan
4. Maintained right turn from Johnston St into The Crescent
5.Preservation of the ‘people’s mural’ on The Crescent
As a resident of Annandale I want these promises to be keep as part of the development.
I strongly object to the following redesign amendments that have been approved.
1. Imposing car overpass located on The Crescent, cutting Annandale off from the Glebe foreshore
2. Relocation of green link splitting the connection from Rozelle to Glebe foreshore
3. Addition of an unvegetated, shared pathway from the Rozelle Railyards to Glebe foreshore, disconnected from Rozelle Bay light rail as this will cut off access from Annandale to the foreshore
4. Pedestrian and cycling route now across 5 sets of traffic lights between Annandale and Glebe foreshore
5. Obstruction of the ‘people’s mural’ by a concrete ramp
6. No right turn from Johnston St into The Crescent as this will limit access across Annandale and to our street .