Transport Issues
This section of the site is devoted to looking at transport issues, both good and bad. The Marrickville area is one of the most densely populated areas in Sydney. We have a lot of public transport available to us as residents, but there is also a lot of industrial and freight traffic in amongst the passenger cars on our roads.
We know there are many more transport issues in the Marrickville area, but these are a good start. If there is something really important missing - tell us about it! See our contact page for details.
Click on the headings below to get information on the issues that interest you.
Getting Around Marrickville
The Marrickville area is one of the most densely populated areas in Sydney. We have a lot of public transport available to us as residents, but there is also a lot of industrial and freight traffic in amongst the passenger cars on our roads. MTAG does its best to keep residents informed about these options, as well as the ways and means of dealing with the nastier aspects of traffic.
Marrickville Council's Active Transport Map
This great map shows public transport, cycling & walking routes in the Marrickville Local Government Area. You can pick one up from the council offices or your local library, or call 9335 2222 and ask to have one sent to you.
Bike It!
Need to get from Marrickville to the North Shore by bike? Didn't think it was possible? Fear Not! Bruce Ashley has put together a great resource for people wanting to get on their bike more often for health, fitness or environmental reasons. See http://www.woodslane.com.au/woodslane/searchresults.asp?ISBN=0975798804 for details and order info.
RTA Bike Maps
Yes! Something that we can all use from the government department that brings us those great big roads.
See www.rta.nsw.gov.au/usingroads/ bicycle/bicyclemaps/index.html
Go Get
Do you find that you only need a car once a week? Maybe once a month? Then why go through the hassle of maintaing a car all year round? Check out the local Go Get program and have a range of different vehicles at your beck and call, whenever you need one. See http://www.goget.com.au/ for more info.
Inner West Motorway Mess
Inner West Motorways Map
Although several motorways in the inner west have apparently been in the planning of the RTA for several years, we are no closer to a serious public discussion of these plans.
So, with the material that we've been able to access, through two calls for papers on the proposed M4 East and the proposed F6/M6 and the recent revelation (SMH) of more recent plans in the Steer Report, we have pulled together a conservative estimate of the alignments of these motorway tunnels. Most importantly, we have provided some sense of the truly horrifying magnitude of the proposals, including the array of exhaust stacks that are likely to be part and parcel of any new motorway development in the densely populated inner west. Marrickville Transport Action Group has produced the above speculative map of the motorway tunnels apparently proposed by the NSW State Government.
Get a better look at the map by downloading the pdf version, and see the map from the article on the Steer Report (SMH). You can see the health effects of the air pollution created by traffic courtesy of the EcoTransit Sydney Website, and their document archive on the M4 East* , the F6 and Johnstons Creek Extension Road (also known as the Campbell Street Corridor).
*The RTA document "M4 East Ways Forward (Pages 1 & 2)", accessible from the Eco Transit web site, indicates the estimated cost for these motorways, tolling implications including for the M4, and areas in the inner west expected to have major impacts from the Marrickville Motorway Tunnel (MM), Inner Western Motorway (IWM) PRLT and M4 east extention (M4E).
Latest News:
See the proposal put forward by Evans & Peck as published in the SMH (Jan 2010).
See the SMH story here.
Archived News:
$5b secret road under Sydney - March 01, 2007 (Daily Telegraph)
SMH story on "Super Tunnel"
SMH story on ALP plan to starve the debate of oxygen
www.innerwestweekly.com.au/article/2008/08/13/2686_news.html
http://inner-west-courier-city.whereilive.com.au/news/story/tunnel-stack...
M5 Corridor Expansion Adds to the Motorway Mess in 2010
With the passage of 24 months since a Labor government minister said the public would be provided with a discussion paper about the M4 East, no further official information has been forthcoming. Now, however, the RTA has brought out another proposal for an innercity motorway which puts in place the launching points for both the M4 East AND the F6/M6 motorways (see more detail of the Evans & Peck proposals being considered for the state government's 'Transport Blueprint').
Another motorway?!?
The proposal to 'expand' the M5 corridor is aimed at taking advantage of the federal governments interest in improving the movement of freight in the M5 corridor.
MTAG is concerned about this proposal for a number of reasons, each of which should play a significant role in changing the direction that the Department of Transport and Infrastructure takes on this project.
The M5 Corridor Expansion is premised upon projections, estimates and objectives outlined in planning documents that are in the process of being revised. Our understanding of the State Plan 2009 is that it is likely to present quite a different picture to that of the existing State Plan. This is most likely to be seen in the objectives for transport planning in Sydney, particularly with respect to reducing green house gas emissions. For this reason, and in light of current discussions regarding an emissions trading system or carbon tax, MTAG would like to suggest that options that will reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by a significant margin be prioritised.
It is also a concern that while this study appears to have been prepared for release over the Christmas 2009 period, the approach to evaluating the various options outlined seems to pre-date the amalgamation of the NSW state transport agencies. There is little or no detail on public transport options in the study documents that the public is supposed to provide comment upon.
With respect to the specific terms of the report MTAG advises that it has concerns about the following matters.
The study prepared for the RTA claims that the options prepared will address both state and federal goals for a range of important indicators. Far from harmonising national or state goals outlined in the study, the options which receive the most attention are more likely to have a negative impact on both sets of the indicators, particularly those concerned with urban amenity, air pollution, and climate change mitigation.
Justifications for road expansion, based on potential developments of either employment centres or residential areas, appear to be quite speculative. In either case, the investment of funds in additional roads space would be wholly inadequate to the tasks outlined. Therefore it is difficult to see how such developments can be used to justify the costs of the RTA's preferred option.
Most importantly, this project states clearly that the main reason for pursuing the road expansion option over other means of reducing congestion, specifically improvements to public transport options in this corridor and improvements to rail freight capacity, is that money will be required.
Clearly, money will be required by the RTA preferred option, and it is our view that these funds, should they become available, would be better deployed in reducing the prevalence of single occupant vehicles (SOV) through the provision of more efficient modes of transport.
Write a submission that requests a thorough exploration of travel demand management through expanded public transport in this corridor.
Comments can be submitted by:
* Email: m5expansion@rta.nsw.gov.au This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
* Post: RTA, M5 corridor expansion, PO Box 609, Pyrmont NSW 2009.
* Website: online feedback form.
Johnstons Creek Extension Road
Johnsons Creek Extension Road
Update on Johnstons Creek Extension/Campbell Street Corridor 3/9/08
We Won!
On the 17th of March 2006, the Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal and local member of Marrickville, Carmel Tebbutt announced the decision to lift a significant part of the road reservation known as the Johnstons Creek Road Corridor, which runs through Newtown, Stanmore, Enmore and Camperdown. This announcement came after almost a year of campaigning by local residents with the support of Marrickville Transport Action Group (MTAG), EcoTransit Sydney, Clr Sam Byrne Mayor of Marrickville and a number of other Marrickville Council representatives. MTAG is making contact with you now to say congratulations to all those who helped with the campaign, wrote letters and talked to others in their street about the threat posed by the road reservation.
AN IMPORTANT STEP - NOW WE NEED TO FINISH THE JOB
This victory has been very important, but it's not the end of the story, and we won't relax until the whole corridor is actually rezoned. Ministers and governments can change, as we saw with the abandonment of the F6 road corridor which was reversed by the following minister. It is important to complete the process before the next election in March 2007.
Of real concern is the fact that the RTA plans to keep the Campbell St end zoned for road widening (from the Illawarra Train Line to Princes Hwy) as well as some intersection zonings along the route. Documents show the RTA wanted to widen to six lanes the intersection of Liberty St and Salisbury Rd, and at Enmore, Edgeware and Stanmore Roads and wanted motorway connections with the M4 East to the north, and the F6 to the south.
MTAG Commends Local Member For Joining in the Campaign
MTAG wishes to sincerely thank local member Carmel Tebbutt for supporting the local community and lobbying the Roads Minister to lift the road corridor. We seek her continued support in making sure the zoning is lifted in its entirety - forever - and implementing sustainable, accessible and integrated transport for the Marrickville area. MTAG has written to Carmel Tebbutt with our thanks and seeking her ongoing support.
The Next Steps
In the meantime it is very important for the community to keep up the pressure for permanent rezoning of the entire corridor, and sustainable transport management in our area.
There are five things that will ensure an end to the threat posed by the RTA's plans:
· LIFT THE CAMPBELL STREET ZONING - this is in the electorate of Heffron. If you live in or around Campbell Street contact Kristina Keneally (9314 2339 or heffron@parliament.nsw.gov.au) to find out why you have been left out and ask for her to support lifting the road reservation there. STILL NOT DONE!- THIS HAS BEEN REFUSED
· REZONE KEY INTERSECTIONS - documents tabled in parliament show the RTA wanted to widen key intersections in Enmore and Stanmore. The entire corridor needs to be rezoned otherwise some homes remain affected.
DONE!
· CHANGE THE ZONING LEGALLY - The RTA needs to act so that Marrickville Council can change the zoning in their Local Environment Plan (LEP) and get it approved as soon as possible.
DONE!
· GET RID OF TRIGGERS - the proposals for large roads through our area are 'driven' by particular developments. A NSW government report estimates that the plan to expand Port Botany and the Airport will put as many as 40% more trucks on our streets - this is pushing the development of the M4 East and the F6. We need to put a stop to these developments to minimise increased traffic.
STILL NOT DONE - THIS HAS BEEN REFUSED - see more on the Inner West Motorway Mess
· SELL THE RTA OWNED PROPERTIES - the real guarantee that the reservation will not be resurrected is ensuring that the RTA sells the properties it has acquired in the reservation. Imagine if the government used these funds for public transport in the F6 corridor and to improve footpaths, crossings, bike lanes and accessible stations across the Marrickville area? LARGELY DONE!
How Can You Help?
Write to Carmel and thank her for her assistance in having the reservation lifted and check if your property is still affected.
Send a letter to Council in support of the re-zoning
They are taking these submisssions into consideration until the 20th of September 2007. See details at http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/csc/housinganddevelopment/draftplansa...
Contact Your Local Member
Ask her to represent your interests in cabinet by supporting the lifting of road widening zonings and to confirm the F6 Corridor for the use of public transport and recreational uses.
Carmel Tebbutt
(Member for Marrickville in NSW Parliament)
Office:244 Illawarra Road,Marrickville NSW 2204
Post: PO Box 170, Marrickville NSW 1475
Phone: (02) 9558 9000
Fax: (02) 9558 3653
marrickville@parliament.nsw.gov.au
See the current state of the Johnstons Creek Extension Re-zoning
http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/csc/housinganddevelopment/draftplansa...
M4 East
The M4 East has potentially large impacts on the Marrickville LGA, especially now that there has been an admission that will be servicing the proposed expansion of Port Botany and activities at Kingsford Smith Airport. Details are sketchy at the moment, but there is some evidence for a proposal for several tunnels.
An extended M4East, particularly a version that is put underground will be enormously expensive to build and at roughly 10 kilometres it will need a great deal of filtration. To date there has been a very poor response to calls for best practice filtration in Sydney's road tunnels, so it is important that members of the community be very clear about the realities of this development. We only have to look at what happened to those living around the M5 East to see what might happen here.