Marrickville Transport Action Group Inc.

Marrickville Transport Action Group has called for the Roads Minister, Eric Roozendaal to make a full disclosure of the proposed motorway tunnels revealed by an FOI request by the Sydney Morning Herald in July. MTAG has used the map produced by the SMH to identify an alignment for the tunnels, and produce a more detailed view of these proposals.

"We have produced our map because the NSW State Government has not released details about its plans. Local communities must be told what they are in for, so that they can ask questons and get answers on important issues and impacts, " said MTAG volunteer, Liz Maher.

The MTAG map is based on planning documents on the proposed M4 East, retrieved in 2005, via two calls for papers on the M4 East and F6. These documents revealed the existence of plans for an 'extension' to Victoria Rd, a tunnel across Marrickville and another tunnel referred to as the Inner West Motorway. The Steer Report, commissioned by NSW Treasury and given limited public release by the SMH, has confirmed the existence of these plans.

"It's very concerning that we are still being told that we must wait to hear about what is being planned because nothing has been "decided" as yet," said Ms Maher.

The group is now pursuing its own Freedom Of Information request, but with local elections approaching, MTAG has decided to press the issue, asking the Roads Minister to confirm or deny MTAG's estimates for tunnel alignments and exhaust stack numbers and positions. MTAG has estimated that there would be at least seven exhaust stacks across five local government areas, on the basis that M5 East, the Eastern Distributor and Cross City Tunnels each have 1 unfiltered stack, although they cover very different distances. The Lane Cove tunnel has 2 unfiltered stacks.

"The estimates for stack positions are based upon previous decisions by the RTA. We also know from the RTA's own documents that there were two stacks proposed on the M4 East between Concord Rd and Great Northern Road. This seems to be a bit more consistent with the road building practises in Queensland, where a 5km tunnel that was recently opened in Brisbane has five exhaust stacks approximately a kilometre apart," said Leah Mason of Eco Transit who provided assistance with identifying possible stack locations.

Health concerns about the positioning of exhaust stacks is heightened by a phenomenon known as the "strike zone", which may extend for two kilometres from an exhaust stack.

"Stacks operate on the idea that the wind at the top of the stack is blowing hard enough to immediately disperse the emissions. When that isn't happening, the heavier gases and particulates drift down around the stack. This is why people need to know where the stacks are going to be," said Ms Maher.

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