MOD 2 - The Crescent overpass and active transport links

Please reinstate the park to park bridge connection for cyclists and walkers. In the light of recent events we need all the linkages we can get to make the most of our open space. The single ramp for bikes and people will be so crowded, as well as unpleasant, next to the noisy, polluted vehicle ramp and we will have to cross and wheel our bikes across 6+ lanes of traffic at the end. The visual impact benefit of removing 1 bridge out of 3 does not balance against this reduction in connectivity and it would have been a fantastic view of the bay!

I object to the deletion of the horseshoe bridge as we no longer have a park to park pedestrian and cycle bridge connection as part of this transport project.

We were offered this connection in the EIS (via the original land bridge) and in the last Modification (which revised the link to become the horseshoe bridge) It is not acceptable to remove this community link between open spaces. We need as many cycle and pedestrian links as possible in our transport projects.

The only remaining pedestrian and cycle link we are offered in this modification involves a ramp squeezed close to a road overpass, which will not be a pleasant experience, and crosses a road with 6 traffic lanes. This does not provide us with the open space connection the EIS offered at the beginning of this project and is a significant loss for all future users of the parks in our neighbourhood.

I am shocked the removal of the horseshoe bridge is being suggested as an official response to community objections regarding impact of the proposal. I would have imagined Department of Planning and TfNSW would be promoting active transport links as a priority in these large infrastructure projects having more regard for the broader community benefits and the improved connections of district-wide active transport links and open space networks.

An overpass will improve the local area much more than the perceived visual impact Jamie Parker claims. Traffic will be improved vs the current bottleneck from traffic lights and vehicles will have lower carbon emmissions of not needing to wait and accelerate from traffic lights.

I am a local resident living at Breillat Street in Annandale and my main concern is the addition of a new vehicle overpass as part of the Cresent Upgrade. I support the WestConnex project in principle as the city needs new infrastructure to grow and prosper, but I do not support this new unsightly overpass bridge. The original design of the Rozelle intersection allowed for all roads to go underground or at grade. While this added to the cost, it results in the best possible urban design outcome. This late addition of the overpass seems like a last minute and rather lazy design item that undoes a lot of the previous good design work on this complex intersection. The high point of the bridge will be visible from the network of existing heritage streets around Railway Parade, Pritchard St and Annandale St - introducing an extremely ugly feature into the streetscape and the associated noise and air pollution. The bridge will create a complex and ugly cluster of overpasses, bridges and other concrete structures that is visually offensive when travelling along the City Westlink road. The new overpass will be visible from much of the Glebe Foreshore and will have a major impact on the visual outlook from this important parkland area. I would strongly request that cars turning right from the Cresent towards the City and Anzac Bridge do so at grade via traffic lights and not via this incredibly intrusive and ugly overpass road. In order to achieve best practice urban design,it is important to maintain the original design features of the Rozelle intersection by keeping all new roads and upgrades either underground or at grade and not via overpasses.

I would like to go on record as being totally opposed to the revised design of The Crescent ELEVATED Overpass. I live in Annandale near this proposed monstrosity. We were promised open parkland and sporting facilities which seemed only fair after putting up with Westconnex for years. We are now presented with an ugly busy motorway right across the said ‘parkland’ which constitutes a gross violation of resident’s trust . It represents a grave imposition on my local area and prioritises traffic movement and completely ignores residents. This is to request an urgent review of this revised design.

There should be a walk way over The Cescent from Rozelle Light Rail Stop to the Backwattle Bay. As per the original plan.

It’s disappointing to think that the local government want to prioritise cars and pollution over the health of residents and cyclists. Annandale is an area loved and lived in by many wonderful families. Your proposed overpass demonstrates a lack of empathy and caring for all the amazing families and children in this area. In a world currently full of devastation, please cancel the overpass and bring some much needed joy into our community.

Dear Sir/ Madam

Re: Rozelle Interchange – Modification: The Crescent overpass and active transport link

I am a Rozelle resident and wish to express my disappointment and concern at the recent modification to the Rozelle Interchange.

It is not acceptable that the pedestrian/cycle bridge from the park to the foreshore has been removed from the plans. Foreshore access from the park area for cycling/pedestians was one of the key selling points of the early Westconnex plans, and one that swayed many sceptical locals. Removal of this access also follows the recent removal of the pedestrian/cycle bridge from Lilyfield Road to the start of the Anzac Bridge, which has caused much disruption and inconvenience to local residents.

As a result of the removal of the pedestrian/cycle bridge to the foreshore, cyclists and pedestrians, including commuters, runners and fitness walkers, will have to cross a six-lane roadway to get between the foreshore and the park and Rozelle streets. It is nonsensical and surprisingly short-sighted that a road project of this scale, in an area as densely populated as Rozelle/Annandale, is lacking such a fundamental access point for pedestrians and cyclists, and creating such a high-risk and dangerous road-crossing that will be used by hundreds of commuters and exercisers every day. It seems even more absurd when you consider the expected urban density in future years from development at White Bay and around the Bays Precinct.

I have three high-school-aged children and my husband and children and I all regularly run from Rozelle to Pyrmont and around the Glebe foreshore. It will now be impossible to access our regular running routes, let alone the new park area, from the foreshore, without a dangerous and frustrating road crossing.

I urge you to reconsider this issue and look to prioritising the needs of local residents and pedestrians and cyclists.

Yours sincerely

The latest modified design continues to defy community concerns with respect to several facets. The elevated overpass generates enormously detrimental visual and audible environmental impacts and is not in keeping with the commitment of the Westconnex project of maintaining underground traffic flow. The proposal is not in keeping with the local area and will detrimentally impact the community through significant visual and noise pollution. Views of the highly-valued mural on the Crescent will be impacted to a large degree, and access to the foreshore will be denigrated for the local community. It is clear that an underground vehicular section would be preferred by the community. This is a chance to get it right for the long term. Local residents, taxpayers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists deserve better treatment in a city like Sydney that has the capability to do things well with consideration to the urban environment.

Overall support with some suggested modifications

I write to make a suggestion in regard to the Shared User Path and whether a way can be found for the path to cross The Crescent before returning to grade.

The report says:
"One of the options considered was an elevated shared user path bridge extending south from the Rozelle Bay light rail stop along the west side of The Crescent, turning east to cross The Crescent near Johnston street and ramping down to connect with Bicentennial Park in the vicinity of Chapman Road. This option provides similar connectivity to the EIS with no at grade road crossing required. However, this option was not preferred as it would be:
• extremely challenging to construct given the limited space available between the light rail corridor and the road and the significant constraints which would apply to any construction works within or adjacent to the light rail corridor
• more visually intrusive
• likely to detrimentally impact on the adjacent heritage listed item (the railway bridge over Johnston Street) and potential heritage item (The Crescent mural) either directly or indirectly
• likely to negatively impact on the amenity of the Rozelle Bay foreshore area as a result of the long ramp structure that would be required to return to grade."

Rather than cross The Crescent near Johnston Street, I wonder whether it was considered to have the Shared User Path continue adjacent to the light rail bridge and turn east beyond Johnston Street at some point between where The Crescent turns south and the picnic ground at the Striders STaR - Emerald City. The User Path and the ramp would then have more options to return to grade including while remaining adjacent to the light rail line, or turning east and sloping down to meet the existing pathway immediately north of the touch football ground. Both of these options would be above and utilize current open land.
Thank you.

Proposed amended modification design (subject to approval) of the Crescent overpass and green link: Application number SSI 7485


This is a submission drawing attention to significant failures in the amended modification design for the proposed Crescent overpass. I object to the revised design.

1. The original approved design that we were promised had a wide, "green", direct link between the parkland on Rozelle side with the parks on the Glebe Annandale side ....so you could walk or bike ride directly across the Western Distributor without being stopped by traffic lights etc.

2. This proposed design gives a “sort of” link from Rozelle to the Light Rail station at Rozelle Bay. But to from there get to Bicentennial Park (Glebe/Annandale) we will have to descend to road level and negotiate 6 lanes of traffic via a pedestrian-crossing with lights.

This is unsatisfactory as:

(a) It renegs on a promise made to residents as to the benefits of the project (who have ‘put up’ with inconvenience for almost 6 years by the time the project is finished).
(b) As the Minister himself was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald (weekend of the 2nd/3rd May) this area of the city has limited green spaces – the result being the Bay Run being congested due to COVID 19.
(c) This is a matter of public safety – both for social distancing and for the crossing of CBD major roads.
(d) Deleting the horseshoe-shaped, shared pathway over City West Link will only be an improvement if a direct, shared, link is provided between parkland on the Rozelle side and parkland of the Annandale side. The proposed modification is not user-friendly, nor is it “green”. Nor does it deliver a solution to the community concerned as expressed in the submissions on the proposed modification.
(e) According to Response to Submissions Report April 2020 one of the main themes of the submissions was: “The community was concerned about the adequacy and quality of the proposed connections between the new park at Rozelle Railyards and the foreshore.” This modification DOES NOT address this concern.

As a resident in Rozelle I am directly affected by all decisions made currently and in the future by this project. I am not being listened to. I welcome this modification BUT it is woefully inadequate in that it still breaches what was promised.

It is unacceptable and I reject it.

I would suggest at the minimum an attractive – and large – and easy to access overpass be built to allow easy and fluid access for pedestrians and cyclists from Rozelle to Annandale between the green spaces. This will still be a disappointing result – and a breach of promise - but at least it makes more sense than this current proposal.

Anita Stuhmcke
11 Burt Street
Rozelle 2039

The overpass is still not required- it is an eyesore and the loss of trees and cycling routes and pedestrian access is a concern. I would like the roads to be under ground not as an overpass.

Hi, I regularly walk my dog at Bicentennial Park and have heard the Johnston Street going across The Crescent will be blocked.
As a resident who is being frustrated and impacted already by this project, and will be impacted for several years, I hope this isn't the case.

I continue to object to the car overpass. I now object to the removal of the pedestrian and cycle "horseshoe bridge" that crosses the City West link. Please reinstate this vital link. Concerns about visual impact were for the road overpass, which you have not removed. We need more not less connectivity in the Inner West to link our parks and communities. I thought TfNSW's remit was to connect people and communities. The removal of the "horseshoe bridge" will cram all pedestrians, dog walkers and cyclists into a tiny space on the corner of Johnston Street and The Crescent as they wait to cross a 6 lane road. Has COVID 19 taught us nothing. Everyone will have to wait for a 90 second light change with everyone bunching up and not being able to spread out. It means that you need to cross a busy 6 lane road rather than seamlessly and safely going up and over a pedestrian bridge. This is madness. It makes it impossible for people to physically distance themselves from other pedestrians, runners, cyclists etc and impossible for those with a disability.
Please also remove the down ramp to the green bridge so that an "at grade" (bay level) wheel chair accessible pedestrian path can be put in its place. Move the road overpass if it must remain to the centre lane. This provides more space for the pedestrian path. It also makes the vehicle journey more logical as vehicles will naturally get into the right lane to turn right, not the left lane. Moving the poorly sited bus stop to opposite TAFE will provide more pedestrian space.

I believe any pedestrian/cycle aspects of the project need to be completely reconsidered given the implications of social distancing on shared pathway capacity, the likely sustained increase in usage and the need for larger bus waiting areas to allow for appriopriate spacing while queuing.

In support of my submission, I am offering my observations as a regular daily user of the areas as a walker. Since the imposition of social distancing I have noted the following issues in the areas which this project will serve: massively increased daily use by walkers and joggers making appropriate social distancing either impossible or impractical especially early morning, weekends and public holidays; unsafe conditions for path sharing by walkers and cyclists due to the volume of users and the need for 1.5m between users; unsafe conditions due to use of unconventional motorised two-wheeled vehicles including skateboards/scooters and courier cycles; lack of 'please keep left' directions or signage or lane markings or dividers; unsafe conditions where fast joggers jostle walkers and assume they have right of way when running at speed on shared pathways especially at path intersections.

Even before social distancing, shared pathways in this area were often overcrowded and unsafe when combining walkers of many ages, dogs, bicycles and joggers. I have very, very rarely seen rangers monitoring speed of cyclists. A shared pathway for this project is unsafe. If we need to observe social distancing for some years, a shared pathway could be dangerous and detract from amenity rather than add to it.

The impact of social distancing on bus waiting areas and the requirement for buses to perhaps carry fewer passengers also needs to be considered. More space to wait and longer waiting times are likely. Shelter and seating will likely be needed.

I hope these comments can be used in rethinking this element of the project.

Please see attachment.

I'm worried about the lack of a seamless connection between the Rozelle Railyard Park and the Bicentennial Park. I commute daily from Balmain to Glebe by bicycle. I know first hand that the pedestrian crossing at the Crescent and Johnston can get crowded and block pedestrian and cyclist circulation. This new design creates an even bigger bottleneck at this intersection by increasing the volume of people that need to cross it. I really hope you can find a clever design alternative that connects the two parks with a pedestrian/bicycle path that does not involve having to wait for a traffic light to cross a street.

Please include the horseshoe bridge over the main road so we can have an uninterrupted walking and cycling path from Glebe foreshore into the new park and on to Balmain.

In regards to the deletion of the “horse shoe bridge” I have the following comments. Maintaining a pedestrian link that minimises interaction with the roadway is essential to our future neighbourhood.

• Thank them for retaining the Johnston Street / The Crescent crossing you have just used.

• Request that the “Horseshoe Bridge” pedestrian and cycle path be reinstated.

• Tell them we need more not less connectivity in the Inner West to link our parks.

• With COVID-19 we need options that don’t force us to be stuck at this traffic light for 90 seconds.

• Concerns about visual impact were for the road overpass they have NOT removed.

• Remind them that TfNSW’s remit is connecting people

· Remove the down-ramp to the green bridge so that an ‘at grade’ (bay level) wheelchair-accessible pedestrian path can be put in its place.

· Move the road overpass to the centre lane. This provides more space for the pedestrian path. It also makes the vehicle journey more logical as vehicles will naturally get into the right lane to turn right, not the left lane.

· Moving the poorly-sited bus stop to a spot opposite TAFE will provide more pedestrian space.