Beaches Link and Gore Hill Freeway Connection

I strongly object to the proposed Beaches Link and Gore Hill Freeway Connection.
This is an extremely damaging project to the local environment, particularly to Manly-Warringah pWar Memorial Reserve which is one of the most pristine areas of bushland remaining in urban Sydney. There are better ways to improve access to Sydney from the Northern Beaches - catering to mostly single-occupant private vehicles heading to and from Sydney CBD and other suburban hubs for employment is not one of them. The COVID lockdown along has shown that the future of work may see a reduced dependence on commuting.

DIRECT IMPACT ON MANLY-WARRINGAH WAR MEMORIAL RESERVE (MANLY DAM RESERVE)

Over 15 hectares of pristine bush are destined to be destroyed to expand the Wakehurst Parkway, including the removal of nearly 1.5 hectares of Duffys Forest Endangered Ecological Community -some of the rarest vegetation on the planet. This is listed as a serious and irreversible impact (pg 207 of Appendix S in EIS). Please look for other ways to move people to and from the Northern Beaches - including increased public transport.

Both Garigal National Park and Manly-Warringah War Memorial Reserve are important refuges for wildlife. There are 23 endangered species in Manly Dam Reserve alone, including the Eastern Pygmy Possum, the Red-crowned Toadlet, the Climbing Galaxias and the Large-eared Pied Bat and species abundance and diversity has actually increased in the last twenty years (eg the return of wallabies to Manly Dam in the 2000s after an absence of sixty years, along with the return of lyre-birds, echidnas and bandicoots) and this is due to ongoing control of feral species, particularly foxes. Both reserves are also wildlife corridors from surrounding regions and widening of Wakehurst Parkway to to become virtually an elevated freeway will curtail wildlife movement.

Wakehurst Parkway cannot be widened from two to four or six lanes without destroying the bush at the top of Manly Dam Reserve and Garigal National Park. The ridge is simply too narrow for such a wide road.

The road is too wide to have adequate runoff water treatment. The edge of the road in many places will be either a steep cliff or artificial slope full of rubble. Untreated water from the road will pour through the bush, scouring the land and filling streams below with sediment every time there is heavy rainfall. The soil profile, laid down over aeons, will be covered in runoff and affect all the bushland downhill in both Manly Dam Reserve and Garigal National Park. This cannot be repaired and native flora will also be affected. This would be a disaster in heritage-listed bushland.
Similarly, accidents and spills of toxic liquids that would pour downhill directly into Manly Dam and Garigal National Park and have significant environmental impacts.

A widened Wakehurst Parkway will be elevated above the tree-line and visible throughout Manly Dam Reserve and in a lot of Garigal National Park. One of the attractions of Manly-Warringah War Memorial Reserve is that it is large enough to for a walker to experience being in a natural area where no artificial structures are visible. One could be two hundred kilometres from the City of Sydney rather than it being less than 15km away over the bush-shrouded horizon.

Light from the road will be visible all through Manly Dam and Garigal National Park. The road is on a ridge, so light from the road will be visible for miles around.

Manly Dam is one of the last sizable refuges for nocturnal wildlife away from noise, light and other human disturbance. In the last decade or so new light installations such as at Allambie Oval and/or Tennis Courts and at Wakehurst Tennis Courts have vastly increased lighting which beams out of the surrounding darkness and already spoils the ‘wild’ amenity to some extent. (Previously only the water towers had modest lighting). Streetlights all along an elevated, four-lane Wakehurst Parkway will vastly amplify light sources. This will create a swathe of bright light between the Dam and National Parks. This is a big concern for wildlife and insect biodiversity. Light pollution is now (finally) being considered a contributor to global insect decline as bright lights are also attract flying insects away from their habitat to be fried by the intensity of the lighting. Insects play a pivotal role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem as currently exists in Manly-Warringah War Memorial Park.

Streetlights will also markedly impact on how Manly Dam Reserve looks at night, causing a significant upscaling in light pollution. It’s currently a secluded area for nocturnal wildlife with minimal light pollution (at least by Sydney standards). Viewed from (for example) Allambie Hts, bright lights will be visible along the entire top ridge and will very much 'urbanise' this sanctuary.

There will be a lot of additional traffic on Wakehurst Parkway. Heavy construction vehicles will dominate the road for the next decade. Traffic noise day and night will cause many species of wildlife to flee their territories.

Construction will destroy a large area of bushland at the top of Wakehurst Golf Course around the
two water tanks. This area was declared by Sydney Water to be rich in endangered plant and animal species and worthy of conservation.

The Aboriginal carvings along the Engravings Trail will be under threat from road runoff.

Manly Dam bushland has survived in its present high-conservation state as it was the original water supply catchment for Manly, being last utilised during WWII. Residents place a high value on its conservation and it is dismaying to see the damage the NSW Govt is proposing to do to the bushland and surrounding suburbs via this Beaches Link Tunnel.

IMPACT ON BURNT BRIDGE CREEK AND BALGOWLAH GOLF COURSE

Burnt Bridge Creek will effectively end as a naturally flowing creek. Water flowing down the creek
will be drained (flow reduced by 96%) and underground water pumped out to a depth of 11m. The creek through the golf course will be turned into an unsightly, fenced cement stormwater drain, wider than the current creek and deeper into the ground. This is to remove water more quickly to keep the land dry and prevent water entering the tunnel but it will kill trees and riparian bushland.

The bat colony will be unable to survive once the creek and water retention dam on the golf
course are removed. Other fauna will also have no water.

The quick discharge of water into Manly Creek will increase sediment and send road runoff into
the creek without the current filtering process, lowering water quality in Manly Creek and out to
Queenscliff Beach.

Balgowlah Golf Course will be destroyed. It will be replaced by:
- Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation widened to 12 lanes,
- a four lane road to connect the tunnel to Sydney Rd,
- an 8 storey high chimney to discharge tunnel fumes,
- a 3 storey service building built 8m into the ground, with sloping ground around it,
- a car park for the service building and park,
- a large toilet block,
- a stormwater drain,
- a soccer pitch,
- a small park.
• Pollution from cars all along the tunnel will be collected and discharged from an ugly 20m (8 storey) chimney on Balgowlah Golf Course, another one 26m high on Wakehurst Parkway and one on the other side of Middle Harbour.
These chimneys are close to a number of schools and will cause problems in air quality when the wind blows from the wrong direction.

IMPACTS ON MIDDLE HARBOUR

• The tunnel will pass under Middle Harbour in what is effectively an underwater bridge. The bridge will be supported on four pylons. Building these pylons will take several years and displace mud, possibly laced with toxins from industrial activity, into the harbour.

ECONOMIC IMPACTS
• The project is economically negative: the cost of investment is larger than expected benefit.
• The Beaches Link is a much more expensive project than the Harbour Bridge and Harbour Tunnel
but also much more expensive at an estimated $14 billion. Not a good value project.
• The Beaches Link will facilitate massive development at Frenchs Forest, to justify the siting of a hospital in the wrong place (despite public opposition to the location). Residents do not want this.

OVERALL DESIGN

Traversing Sydney through fast-paced underground car tunnels and tollways is grim and stressful; a public mass-transit option is far better.

• Beaches Link would be a 6-lane underground highway, 50% wider than the Harbour Tunnel but with far less traffic. It would be the deepest road in Australia with steep underground hills when a flat tunnel route is safer.
• The tunnel does not allow bicycles, electric scooters etc or pedestrians no dedicated bus lane. There is little thought about future transport that might be different from today.
• There are no side exits off Beaches Link to the Lower North Shore. This will mean some traffic
for Mosman etc will travel to the Northern Beaches and have to double back over the Spit Bridge.
• Entrances and exits to the tunnel are too wide: Crows Nest is 20 lanes, the poorly located Balgowlah is 12 lanes, and Seaforth is 6 lanes. Welcome to LA.
• The tunnel could be obsolete soon after completion as transport modes change as the world moves away from fossil fuels.

Residents live on the Northern Beaches because of the beach and bushland environment and the sense of community separated from Greater Sydney. The tunnel to Sydney will only increase, not decrease, congestion and parking issues, and inevitably lead to pressure for massively increased development. It will turn our beautiful area into a construction hell-hole for at least the next ten years.

The Sugerloaf Bridge was cancelled due to its unsuitability for this area, so too should the Beaches Link Proposal, on environmental grounds. A public transport solution remains the only feasible option.

I write to object most strongly to the planned Beaches Tunnel Link and to urge the State Government to take steps to dramatically reduce the environmental consequences of the proposed Northern Beaches Tunnel link. I am dismayed the project will even go ahead given the failure to provide the business case and with poor consideration for boosting public transport options.
However, I am gravely concerned about the following matters which in my opinion could have the potentially significant consequences:
1. An unfiltered exhaust stack in close proximity to numerous houses and local schools and childcare centres. While I know similar stacks are in use in NSW ,they do not match international standards. To my knowledge there is nowhere else in the world where a tunnel of the proposed length of this one is serviced by a single unfiltered stack. Yes, pollution will be reduced along the entire road length but that is no consolation for those under the stack.
2. The widening of Wakehurst parkway will do untold damage to the Manly dam catchment area, threatening endangered species. This may threaten amongst other sensitive fauna and flora the recently re-discovered climbing fish (galaxias brevipinnis) – thought extinct and which dates back 60 million years. Queenscliff Lagoon will have nearly half a million litres of wastewater pumped into it daily, contaminating the lagoon and beaches.
3. The traffic mitigation during the build is inadequate. The EIS cites 2.5 trucks per minute onto Sydney Rd and Wakehurst Parkway sites – such volume will bring traffic on the beaches to a standstill and all this with our public bus routes having recently been decimated and which are now unworkable. The high truck volume poses a significant risk to students at Balgowlah Boys High and to all motorists along the Spit and Wakehurst Parkway.
4. High contamination risk has been cited for heavy metals and organotoxins into Middle Harbour from tunnel dredging, polluting The Spit, Clontarf and threatening harbour species and swimming areas.
5. The tree canopy cover of our suburbs will be decimated – we know the importance of tree cover to mitigate against heat sinks and offset pollution. They are vital to soil stability and health.
Burnt Creek water flow will be reduced by 96% by the end of the project, destroying the ecosystem. Removing all tress in the Balgowlah golf course area will prevent mitigation of dust produced by the build and increase water run-off in storms. It will adversely impact our local bird life. Old trees are vital to the environment and health of regions. I urge you to take steps to retain as many trees as possible. It is lazy to plan to simply remove them all.

6. Travel time estimates were from 2017, which was prior to the introduction of the BLine and prior to all the changes due to Covid. While we are returning to work very few have returned fulltime – most have adopted a hybrid work process. The benefits are questionable.
7. The Manly dam area is also significant to our local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with important cultural areas.

We have lived in Balgowlah North for over 12 years , raising our young family here . The suburb is a real community , supporting one another and has managed to retain something of an 'old style' upbringing for the kids , who spend time on their bikes or walking to friends in the suburb . Our concerns that are outlined below are centred around the irrevocable change to the suburb as a result of many years of heavy construction , and the 'industrialisation' of the road network in the area.

Revisit the tunnel justification
Concern - The figures put forward in the EIS indicate only a minimal reduction in the traffic flowing through Mosman for a significant and disproportionate use of public funds.
We feel that many of the assumptions for traffic used as justification of the build in the EIS have not factored in changes to travel habits and working from home due to COVID-19 and into the future, treating COVID-19 as having only a “temporary” impact. The tunnel plan also does not consider , or include, any alternative public transport options to provide a sustainable , long term alternative to the need for a tunnel.
Request - There are many new data points to factor in given the impact of COVID-19 on lifestyles long term and we stand with Viable Transport solutions in asking the government to halt the development process to allow for a suitable review, and to publicly release the results of the review.

Construction Impact
Concern - The construction phase of the project will undoubtedly impact North Balgowlah residents with dust, noise, vibration, and heavy vehicle traffic in the area. North Balgowlah will have construction surrounding most of the suburb and the EIS indicates that during construction there will be.
• Over 3,000 vehicles per day across all sites.
• 1,690 vehicles per day at the Balgowlah Golf Course site alone.
• 1.5 heavy vehicles every minute or 4.5 vehicles (total) every minute.
• Over 4,000 homes subjected to excessive noise
• Construction work to proceed 24/7 for up to 7 years.

Request – Reconsider how to ensure that the impact of trucks/vehicles is not felt on the suburban streets that are already hard to navigate with local traffic and buses. Ensure areas around schools and parks are not impacted and are safe for families and children to walk or ride around the local community. Disincentivise commuters looking to use our streets as a rat run to save time from congestion and money from using the toll roads.

Ventilation stacks
Concern - Global health experts agree that pollution from traffic exhaust poses serious health risks. Emissions include nitrous oxides and particulate matter that, when breathed into the lungs, causes respiratory diseases such as asthma and emphysema, and cancer. There are several schools, preschools, childcare centres, and sporting fields within the vicinity of all the proposed ventilation stacks and from a parent's point of view, the increased level of pollution is unacceptable.
Request - If the tunnel were to go ahead that the stacks be equipped with full filtration to minimize these impacts. At the very least ensure that the air pollution is kept at the current levels.

Environmental Impact
Concern - We are fortunate to live in an area that incorporates some spectacular bush land, reserves, and beaches and would urge that further consideration is given to the major environmental impacts, including but not limited to:
• Movement of contaminated sediment to Clontarf and Middle Harbour (The Spit) potentially causing pollution of the neighbouring beaches.
• Destruction of Burnt Bridge Creek and surrounds (e.g., bushland, wildlife etc) due to a possible 96% reduction in water flow.
• Discharge of 428,000 L per day of wastewater into Queenscliff Lagoon & Beach, resulting in health hazards for people and animals who swim in the waterways.
• Pollution of Manly Dam reserve, resulting in the potential extinction of rare flora and fauna and the last remaining areas of Duffy’s Forest, and meaning that one of the only swimmable dams in NSW is no longer safe for public use.
• Loss of recreational activities with the mountain bike trails that are used for riding, walking, and running.

Request –We want assurances that future generations get to experience the natural wonders of the area in all its glory. That wildlife can live in the shadows of residential houses, not shadows of construction and pollution. What is the point of making the northern beaches more accessible if the very heart of what makes the northern beaches so special is destroyed?

We understand that in life, it is important to move forward, but not at all costs. If anything, COVID should teach us that we need to look after what we have got, each other and the environment so we can all live together sustainably. We do not beleive the tunnel is the answer.

I object to the project because the smoke stacks are currently proposed to be unfiltered and I am concerned for the health of the residents and in particular the schools that will suffer poorer air conditions as a result of the smoke stacks.

I agree that improvements need to be made to transport from the Northern Beaches to the City and to the north via Chatswood. I also understand that housing density needs to increase to accommodate population changes. My objections to the current plans for the Beaches Link are as follows:

It has not been evident what alternatives have been considered that would have a reduced environmental impact in the long term. There is no provision for a dedicated bus lane, a rail link or any other alternative to private transport. Previous tunnel projects have shown congestion has resulted on alternative roads as people try to avoid tolls which will impact any alternative bus routes, local traffic systems and residential streets. There has been no evaluation of rail links to Chatswood for example as an alternative. Other global cities are only building arterial roads where there is provision for rail or at the very least bus lanes and cycle lanes.

I have seen first hand the run off caused by development in the upper reaches of the local water catchment. A recent survey of Manly lagoon residents highlighted the local frustration that is felt with the level of water pollution that leaves the lagoon uninhabitable for many species and unusable by humans. This lagoon feeds in to Queenscliff lagoon and ultimately the ocean. The waters of Manly lagoon are fed by creeks higher in the catchment - all impacted by development at Manly Vale and ultimately development in the French's Forest area. The construction of Manly Vale public school showed the level of run off produced by a development - the local waterways were awash with sediment. This will be a mere fraction of what is to be expected with the widening of Wakehurst Parkway to 4 - 6 lanes and the Burnt Bridge Deviation to 12 lanes.

According to the Beaches Link EIS, the construction around Wakehurst Parkway will involve the removal of around 2000 trees. While the development proposes to plant at the end of the project, this overlooks the fact that the local bushland and its ecosystems have been thousands of years in the making and will not recover within any of our lifetimes. As a country that has lost more species to extinction than any other in recent years, we must protect our pockets of endemic bushland. Directly down stream from the development is Manly Dam and various endangered species such as the Red Crown Toadlets, pygmy possums and bats.

The construction and subsequent structure of the newly widened Wakehurst Parkway will be visible from most parts of Manly Dam. There will be noise and light pollution during and after the construction phase. There are many nocturnal or diurnal species in the locality that will be directly affected by this - microbats, possums, powerful owls, tawny frogmouths, galaxias fish. Currently Manly Dam is closed at night allowing these animals to be relatively undisturbed.

Research has shown that car tunnels are not a viable long term transport solution and that most are congested within 2 years of construction. The current government/ private investor model means that the private operators gain from congestion in terms of increased toll revenue. NSW residents and businesses gain little other than continued congestion and huge environmental degredation.

I strongly object to this project and request that the NSW government reconsider the local environmental impact and propose and an alternative, less invasive project based around a modern public and active transport system that links to the city network and where people will choose to use a clean and rapid train over one person per car.

Thank you for listening and I hope you will take the long term view and make changes.

Effect of freeway on Northbridge Sailing club.
I commenced my sailing career at Northbridge Sailing club with my father at the age of about 10 and I am now 78
I raced there on my own boat throughout my teenage years and again recently.
During my teenage years a considerable number of Castlecrag and Northbridge youths raced at the club creating a healthy outdoor lifestyle and community involvement with the club. The young people, their parents ,volunteers and the senior racing people all were involved including building of the Clubhouse. This has continued to this day.
The restrictions involved in the tunnelling under Middle harbour will severely affect the clubs sailing activity for a number of years which will lead to the clubs non-viability.
The clubs training at NSC has led to great success for many for many of its sailors on the national and international stage.
As a result of what I learnt at NSC I have won Australian and world championships in the 18 foot skiff championships and national titles in several other classes of yachts.
The club conducts a children's learn to sail, training and continuing racing programmes. Adult learn to sail programmes and placement in racing programmes.
It is essential for the community that the viability of the club be maintained and I urge the authority to consult with the NSC to minimise the effect off the tunnelling on the club.

- our family love and regularly use the Northbridge Baths. I understand that the Baths will be unusable for the duration of the project build and thereafter. This is a beautiful community facility which should be maintained. Measures of contamination and period of closure have not been readily provided by the government which is unacceptable

- additional street traffic in our area will be unbearable as a result of the new tunnel blocking exit routes from the cross harbour tunnel. Whilst Northbridge/Cammeray/Naremburn/Willoughby bear the brunt of the road works and ongoing traffic and pollution impact, there is no benefit to these areas from the tunnel

- the tunnel does not provide adequate public transport improvements for residents of the northern beaches. In a world where we should be reducing emissions this should be a priority - instead the tunnel will increase our reliance on private cars

BUSHLAND REGENERATION
I am concerned about removing the current regenerated bushland at the drill site. There are endangered specifies in this area that will suffer, removing that piece of bush will break the corridor of bushland for movemetn of species.
I would like to see rehabilitation of the bush included or better still use the Western side of Flat Rock drive (Baseball grounds) as builidng a new court would take 1 year but regrowning the current bush will take 30 years.
AIR
I am concerned about airquality and silicone particles during construction. I would like to see better air filtration.
WATER
I am concerned about ground water contamination and contamination of flatrock creek due to runoff.
MIDDLE HARBOUR CONTAMINATION AND USE
I am concerned about the safety of using the Northbridge baths and the water quality of Middle Harbour with the construction method.
WHAT I WANT TO SEE
I want to see plans and resources spent to ensure the air, water and flora/fauna health for both the community and the natural bushland/marine spaces though air filtration during construction, water treatment before it is disposed of into Flat Rock Creek, bush rehab after construction and reahab to ensure safe swimming at Northbidge Baths in the Marine environment both in the short and longterm. I am not happy that these have been sufficiently addressed in the current EIS.
I would also like to see some kind of consideration for public transport with this new route to the Beaches it seems crazy in an age where almost every residential tower is pushed to have fewer car spots that we are building road infrastructure without pushing a public transport option at the same time.

I write with regard to the proposed construction of Beaches Link tunnel and my objection to the highly negative impacts on the protected 4 kilometre natural Burnt Bridge Creek bushland corridor that flows from Clontarf Street, Seaforth to Manly Lagoon and which the Environmental Impact Statement confirms is ‘a vital ecological corridor…that provides a range of important habitats for a diversity of local flora and fauna’ (EIS, Appendix 0, page 45).
One of the most legislatively listed vulnerable species is the Grey Headed Flying Fox Balgowlah camp that relies on this riparian corridor as a roost habitat. This native species is required to be protected in its current site to ensure its long-term viability.
The EIS states that construction of the Beaches Link tunnel will result in the permanent loss of up to 96% of the base water flow of this creek line corridor (EIS, Appendix N, page 100, pg 116).
Amongst other criteria, the Grey Headed Flying Fox Balgowlah Camp require access to water in the form of the Balgowlah golf course retention dam in order to survive.
If there are significant hydrological and ecological impacts as a result of Burnt Bridge Creek due to the extensive drawdown of ground water resulting from tunnel construction, it would effectively result in the collapse of a range of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems along its entire watercourse.

A further impact on the Grey Headed Flying Fox that as a nocturnal feeder and vital pollinator requires rest during the day, is the noise pollution associated with this protected camp being within 120 metres of the footprint of construction works.

Cumulative, long term construction disturbances, loss of access to water and habitat will hasten the loss of this keystone species and the genetic diversity of the surrounding natural bushland catchment. The EIS fails to address this and this is totally unacceptable.

Within the last decade, the demise of native vegetation and mature tree canopy in our local area has been significant and keenly felt by the community; the construction of the Northern Beaches Hospital, the upgrade of Frenchs Forest Road and now the proposed Beaches Link Tunnel that further threatens an additional 20 hectares of native bushland including 2.5 hectares of Duffys Forest vegetation, an Endangered Ecological Community.
No local offsets to even remotely compensate for this loss are cited in the EIS and the impacts of further loss of vital habitat on the local fauna will be devastating. Again, little credence is given to their plight and state of the art, scientifically proven solutions toward addressing this.

As a local resident of over 20 years, I am aghast at the Beaches Link Tunnel proposal and the total disregard for the natural environment and I am of the firm view that the environmental, health, community and economic costs of the project are unacceptably high, totally detrimental and of no benefit to my community and to the wider northern beaches catchment.

I object strenuously to this tunnel for the following reasons:
- I do not understand how this tunnel project aligns to the Paris Agreement. The world needs solutions to bring us to net zero to stop climate change. Not another infrastructure geared at encouraging more individuals to drive their cars around an already over-crowded city. Why doesn’t the department focus on initiatives that improve public transportation and other green commuting methods?
- the unfiltered stacks add to the high air pollution levels. I worry what this will mean for the health of residents, especially our vulnerable children.
- the construction of this project will bring enormous volume of traffic to our local roads, which increases the risks of traffic accidents and incidents involving pedestrians. The construction workers will also need to park, reducing already limited capacity on our streets.
- the impact to our environment is irreparable. Manly Dam and Flat Rock Gully are very important ecosystems. Pollution in our waterways will impact our ability to enjoy our local beaches and parks
For these reasons and many more, I object to this development and encourage the department to reconsider.

Dear Premier, Minister for Roads, the Health Minister and the Minister for Planning, NSW Transport and Northern Beaches Council,
I object to the project for the following reasons: First and fundamentally I believe it will not solve the underlying traffic problems it is designed to fix. Studies show that it will save 10 minutes on Military Road and the cost to do this is astronomical - 10-12 billion dollars. It does not take into account new working conditions, as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic. Working from home is now the new normal. In fact, people are moving out of the big metropolises to regional areas in droves. This is unlikely to change, as it also benefits employers, who will no longer have to pay huge commercial rents. Many city buildings could be converted into apartments and even public housing. Yet, the government stubbornly sticks to its idee fixe, no doubt propped up by coaxing and kickbacks(?) from the tunnel stakeholders, such as Transurban. The true Cost-Benefit analysis has not been done. And the idea that it is a vote winner will not wash with Northern Beaches residents who overwhelmingly voted for the ostensibly 'Green' Federal candidate, now Federal MP, Ms Zali Steggall.
The costs to the government are an economic black hole but the costs to the residents and the community whom you all claim to represent is off the Richter scale of catastrophe. At least 4,000 residents who live on the border or outskirts of this crater of destruction will be negatively impacted. It is an environmental fiasco, with absolutely NO JUSTIFICATION. The State Government has just released an EIS(short for Environmental Impact Statement) which simply obfuscates and obliterates the truth and the facts. Five hundred and fifty trees are to be bulldozed, a creek moved, wildlife such as birds, a bat colony and other native animals whose habitat is the creek and its surrounds wiped out! Your other idle and misleading Newspeak(George Orwell) is that the community has been consulted and listened to. This is not just a cold-blooded lie but an insult TO THE PEOPLE YOU REPRESENT. We presented you with at least two far-better plans, designed by professional engineers who live on the Northern Beaches, which had little or NO impact on the environment you claim to want to save but instead you euphemistically want to turn it into 'Green Space' for children to play on, with their football, basketaball and cricket club coaches in tow. What clear-thinking parent would allow their child to play next to an unfiltered stack? It belies logic let alone denying protection of our youngest and most vulnerable. Along with this, there are at least 4 schools which wrap around these deadly playing fields and those who breathe in these particles, smaller than asbestos, which directly enter the bloodstream(Dr Nasser, 2018). This directly affects young children's lung development. Can you imagine the class action of parents from Seaforth Public School, St Cecilia's, Balgowlah Boys', Balgolwah Heights Public School and even Mackellar Girls in years to come? Add to that Kindy Haven, a child-care centre for babies and toddlers on Sydney Road, directly opposite the Link Road.
Indeed, this is a toxic project, ugly in every respect - financially, environmentally, health wise and even aesthetically. We have seen the photos of the construction site, the Copper Dams on Middle Harbour, the destruction of Clontarf Beach with a lack of safety for swimming during construction and the ripping up of the pristine, temperate rainforest that is the Balgowlah Golf Club. Paradise Lost!
You should all hang your heads in shame for giving the green light to this project in its current guise. Indeed, there will not be enough fig leaves to cover your shame or your reputations in years to come but these are the perils of development you have failed to consider or account for.

I object to the Beaches Link and Gore Hill Freeway Connection tunnel project.
My suburb, Northbridge, and other surrounding suburbs will be significantly impacted for the many years of construction and beyond - local safety, pollution, destruction of local green areas, noise, vibration, traffic. The communities which obtain the benefit of the tunnel will not be impacted at all, and the tunnel does not properly consider sensible public transport options - when we should be encouraging people to stop driving for the benefit of the environment and world more generally.
Specifically, I object to the use of Flat Rock Gully as a tunneling site. Flat Rock Gully is extremely important to the local community; it is a place for exercise, time spent with family, a connection with nature. We should be protecting green sites in urban environments, not destroying them, likely forever, to build ill conceived and expensive tunnels. As well as destroying a critical place for the local community, this will increase traffic on local roads that are already stretched, destroy the habitat of many animals, birds, reptiles and insects, and due to the history of the site, may very well release dangerous pollutants into the local area and waterways.
Protection of the marine environment is also crucial: the current design is expected to dredge up toxic chemicals and this will make Middle Harbour hazardous to sailing clubs, swimmers, other water users. We recently had seals visiting the area: what a terrible thing to lose for a tunnel.
Please, if this goes ahead (and my main request is that it does not):
1. Reissue the EIS following the phase 2 assessment, doing all testing mentioned now and release results of all testing.This should be exhibited and open for comment. This should include a full Phase 2 contamination assessment including publicly available testing data as widespread contamination has been identified but underaddressed, a big issue for both ends of Northbridge at the water side and Flat Rock Gully.
2. Complete a full risk assessment, especially of health and environmental risks.
3. Do not build the immersed tube method that will dredge up dangerous chemicals on the sea floor.
4. Do not store contaminated spoil on site at Flat Rock Gully or Cammeray.
5. All sites should be completely and fully remediated, similar to what occurred at Barangaroo; Flat Rock Gully needs to be restored to bushland consistent wtih the environmental conservation zoning and the gully action plan.
6. Air quality monitoring in real time should be implemented.
7. A proper groundwater study should be undertaken. We do not want to lose other local bushland as well because the groundwater is lowered or contaminated.
8. Even slight cracking from tunneling should be compensated for. Our house values should not be impacted, nor should we have to pay for remediation to repair cracks.
9. Properties above the tunnel route should be given a free independent assessment of property condition prior and after construction, and any damage made good.
10. Tunnelling 24/7 should not occur; people need respite from noise and vibration and nighttime and weekend tunneling should be avoided, or if have to occur, compensated for.
11. Local public transport needs to be improved to compensate for impacts on traffic; this may help keep local vehicles off the road given the significant impacts on traffic from all the truck movements.
12. Mitigate, with guidance from appropriate experts, impacts on local fauna and flora.
13. Look at comparative mass transit alternatives and ensure that the superiority of this project over all such options is demonstrable.
14. Develop and issue a business case that provides data to substantiate travel time savings estimated, reassess impacts on local traffic in line with local council concerns in North Sydney and Willoughby and more fully address the (exorbitant) costs (which could surely do greater good elsewhere: health, public transport, education for example)
15. Reassess project design with respect to climate change / emissions. Include conditions of consent that require renewable enrgy use, minimum levels of recycled materials, full lining to prevent ingress and waste water in tunnel, does not allow for a conflict clause with toll road operator to prevent development of public transport options, return more than number of trees destroyed, put dedicated bus lanes in the tunnel, treat wastewater for known contaminants, protect mangroves and seagrasses with full length silt curtains, provide real time monitoring of water quality and air quality particularly near schools, sports fields and in Middle Harbour.
16. Fully and properly consult with key groups including Bicentennial Reserve and Flat Rock Gully Committee, Save Flat Rock Gully committee, WEPA, local school parent and friends organisation, local progress associations and local environmental and community groups.

Thank you for your consideration. Please reassess this project; start again - do we really need it, and if we need something, look at better alternatives that can be proven to alleviate traffic, be better for the environment, and not provide YEARS of risks and inconvenience to communities that will receive nothing but grief from this project. Build public transport instead. It really isn't rocket science.

The project will mess up the awesome Flat Rock ecosystem that’s developed over many years, and will be impossible to revive afterwards.

As a former resident of Naremburn (I sold my house in March 2019 due to the tunnel expected to go directly beneath my house at an undetermined depth) and now a resident of Castlecrag I will be directly affected by the tunnel build.
The ecological affect on Flat Rock Gully and Middle Harbour will be catastrophic.
The traffic being forced onto Falcon Street and Willoughby Road when travelling north through the Sydney Harbour Tunnel will mean traffic going to Castlecrag will either have to drive further along Miller Street or double back from Willoughby Road. Willoughby Road will be receiving extra traffic from the apartments being build on the former Channel 9 site.
I feel the best use of the resources going toward this project would be a rail line from Chatswood to Dee Why via the Northern Beaches Hospital.

While in principal I support the idea of considering a tunnel to try to alleviate the traffic issues on the Northern Beaches I have grave concerns on certain aspects of the EIS that is now making me question my support. As a resident living in an area that will be directly impact for a long period of time during the construction I believe my and my fellow residents voices should be heard. Due to the size of the EIS my comments are mainly restricted the the Beaches Link section of the overall project. The key areas of my concern are below which has lead me to object to the project.

Environmental Concerns: The absolute devastation that will be caused to Burnt Bridge Creek, the life spring of Manly, both during and after construction with the creek becoming one of the first casualties with pollution by chemicals during the construction period and then being cut off at source after construction is complete. Our area will experience the slow death of the local fauna and flora who had made this essential water source their home. Those impacted will include the Flying Fox colony in Balgowlah, a protected and essential species and the water dragons that my dog hopes he might catch one day on his walks in the area. The Beaches Link project will cut the flow of water into lower Burnt Creek by 96% with knock on impacts to Manly Lagoon and Queenscliff. Conditions around Wakehurst Parkway will also change and not for the better. There is a significant risk of contamination in that area following construction . The displacement of the local fauna who are still recovering from the Northern Beaches hospital building project will have a devastating impact on their population. The destruction to the last remaining part of Duffys Forest should also be considered. Equally many of the beautiful beaches that we live so close to will suffer from increased pollution and contamination. Many of the residents moved into this area so that they, their children and their future generations would experience living to so close to nature. This project will rob them of this opportunity. The other local communities in other areas are also expressing concerns for the environmental issues in their specific areas.

Business Case: the business case should be released for public consideration. The figures put forward in the EIS indicate only a minimal reduction in the traffic flowing through Mosman for a significant and disproportionate use of public funds. I feel that the assumptions for traffic used as a justification of the build in the EIS have not factored in lifestyle and working life changes that have taken place as a result of the ongoing pandemic. I am asking for the development project be halted to allow for a suitable review and for that business case to be released to the public for consideration.

Construction Impact: The construction phase of the build will undoubtedly impact my suburb of North Balgowlah greatly. We will have construction on both ends of the suburb with the resulting dust, noise, vibrations and heavy traffic in the area. It is estimated that there will be 1.5 heavy vehicles leaving the site every minute. Construction work is estimated to proceed 24/7 for up to 7 years. Little is know where this spoil will be taken to and which direction and which roads will be used. The knock on impact to parking for residents in the surrounding communities will be huge also. Where are all these additional workers going to park - it will be on our local roads and streets. Previous large scale projects like this have shown the local parking becomes a highly sought after commodity. Resulting in even further congestion and an increased danger to our young school going children who have been used to be able to safely travel to school on their local streets with extra traffic entering the area from non local workers.

Ventilation Stacks: Global health experts agree that pollution from traffic exhaust fumes poses serious health risks. The emissions can cause respiratory diseases such as asthma, emphysema and cancer. There are several schools, preschools, childcare centres and sporting fields within the vicinity of the proposed stacks that will sit either end of North Balgowlah's boundaries. The increased level of pollution from what we are currently experiencing and why we moved into the area is unacceptable. We should not have to experience pollution levels similar to an inner city. Similar issues are being experienced and similar concerns being raised by other areas impacted by the overall project. The lack of filtration for these stacks is not acceptable. I don't care if no other stacks in Australia are filtered. Just becuase this is the way its always been doesn't make it right. Our current premier advocated back in 2008 when she was in opposition that she understood the health and safety implications of unfiltered stacked - nothing has changed since then so why aren't the current stacks being filtered? Or is is different depending on what side of the house you are sitting in?.

I understand what the project is trying to achieve but don't believe its current format it should be proceed because I feel the costs far out weigh the benefits. 2020 should have taught us to look after what we have, to look after and look out for one another and cherish and look after the environment that we have been blessed with. A solution for the traffic situation has to be found but I don't believe any more that THIS tunnel is the answer.

Yours sincerely
Anne-Marie Pickard
A very concerned resident

Looks to me as though Govts have lost control of toll roads

1. Why is the private sector infrastructure club reaping this benefit? This could be funded directly with public funds. The westies get a cashback offer so will silvertails get the same deal?

2.This is another option. The real solution:
Feds (and participating States, if they care to) buy out Transurban. You would need to pay a premium on their $36 billion market cap but the business case would rain money and economic benefits. Interest rates never cheaper.

Optional: Then cut-up and re-market based on a hybrid PPP/regulated asset model (sell to Industry Super funds). I am sure the ACCC would approve

This would result in far lower tolls, would allow for smart, effective and cheap congestion charges in Melbourne and Sydney and would stop jeopardising wider network planning (as an outsider it looks to me like Transurban has virtually taken over the strategy role from VicRoads, for example).

Maybe as a first step find some funds to commission experts to produce a model of a post-toll road Australian urban roads sector?

3. From my perspective I simply don't get why Bradfield's rail plan for the peninsula is not being done

I strongly object to the Beaches Link Tunnel for the following reasons;

Before we potentially decimate our valued native landscape, fauna and flora we need to consider the following;

1. Employer surveys conducted have shown that the majority of staff wish to work from home the majority of the week. A number of city employers have already reduced their property footprint to 60% of employee numbers.
2. Coupled with the heightened anxiety over climate change impacts, the community is fiercely protective of their ever-shrinking native green space.

We need to try all other alternatives BEFORE spending $10m of taxpayers’ money. For instance:
1. Congestion tax.
2. BLine bus routes.
3. Change of school start and finish times to use buses more efficiently.
4. Improved public transport.
5. Reduce spit bridge openings.


There are Design faults

1. Taking the fastest route
It is proposed that cars travelling north to Manly will exit the Balgowlah tunnel at a set of lights at the Link Road. They will then travel through 8 sets of lights down Sydney road before getting to a parking station in Manly.
A car seeking the fastest route would travel through the tunnel to Kenneth Road and travel to Manly beach having travelled through only 2 sets of lights.

2. Why the Link Road?
It is most likely that:
I. all residents from Warringah Road North are most likely to take the Wakehurst Parkway tunnel,
II. all residents South of Warringah Road to Condamine Street will take the Balgowlah tunnel; and
III. all residents of Seaforth, Balgowlah, Balgowlah Heights, Clontarf, Fairlight, Manly (Harbour side) and anyone not wanting to pay the toll will continue to use the Spit Bridge.

The question then arises why build the Link Road, especially given;
• TfNSW modelling provides for a reduction in traffic on Sydney Road and Wanganella Road;
• those from (III) Harbour side above, who would like to take the tunnel could just use Condamine Street/ Kenneth Road with fewer lights.
• Fastest route ie. Less traffic lights, for travellers going to Manly Beach is not the link road, as explained above.

3. Public Transport design thinking not included
There is no inclusion in the design on how public transport from the Harbour side suburbs ((III) above) are expected to use the tunnel. One would expect a hub and spoke junction at some point for residents to be able to access West bound public transport.

Given the communities continued request for improved public transport one would expect that this should all be included in the design phase.

4. Modelling errors and omissions
The EIS is flawed in a number of material respects. Modelling is based on 2017 traffic, doesn’t consider the effects of either the expected change of work arrangements, nor the very successful BLine bus.

Given it has omitted a study of local traffic it hasn’t considered expected rat runs that will result to bypass traffic lights and toll costs. The effect on local traffic, along with public transport design, should be considered in the tunnel design phase (not after execution) to ensure the best outcome.

C: Local traffic problems

The EIS omits an impact assessment on local roads suggesting this falls under the jurisdiction of the Northern Beaches Council (NB Council). It is not clear whether there has been any engagement with the NB Council as to how the traffic issues will be solved for.

To date the NB Council has failed to find solutions to current local traffic issues. With bottle necks at Kenneth Street, Roseberry Street, intersections of Wanganella Street and Sydney Roads, Wanganella Street and White Street, and Condamine Street around the Warringah Mall.

It is also not clear whether the NB Council had been consulted over the increase in north bound lanes from 2 lanes to 3 lanes prior to the design being included in the EIS statement.

It is expected that upwards of an extra 40,000 vehicles would descend on the Northern Beaches over summer weekends. It has not been determined how local roads will cope or where these vehicles are expected to park. Best practice would be to determine the impact and include in the design phase.

A family of four could drive to Manly Beach for an $8 toll. This is cheaper than taking a ferry or other modes of public transport, as such they are more likely to drive, overburdening our roads and compromising the patronage of our public transport.

Condition to be included as part of project:
• Tunnel Project, after engaging with NB Council, include in the design the impacts on local traffic and a public transport solution for Harbour side residents.
• NB Council/Tunnel Project include in the design, an electronic board at tunnel exit detailing real time parking availability at Manly Beach. Beach goers would then seek a beach further up the Northern Beaches and not compromise local roads should parking not be available.

D: Environmental Concerns

Our community values our very sparse native green space including Burnt Bridge Creek, Garigal National Park, Bantry Bay and Manly Dam Reserve. This has become all the more apparent since the pandemic and our concern over climate change impacts.

We need to seriously consider the future ramifications of losing waterways and ecosystems for more traffic. These native bushlands, mature trees and ecosystems need to be held in trust for our children. Felling 150year old trees is irreplaceable in our children’s lifetime.

The EIS states there will be up to 96% reduction in baseflow in the Burnt Bridge Creek with permanent loss of the fauna and flora that live off and around it, yet there is no suggestion on how this impact can be deterred, as though it is inconsequential.

Condition:
• The Tunnel Project provide a solution to save the Burnt Bridge Creek and dependant ecosystem.
• The remaining native green space on the Northern Beaches be kept in trust so as not to be further compromised at the whim of State government, and local council.

1. Local pollution and ecological damage. The exhaust pollution will fall over the local catchment in rain, low wind and fog, and concentrate in the waterways over time, causing toxic build up and irreparable damage to the ecology of affected animals including bats, grey-headed Flying fox, owls and water dragons. This will also affect the insect and mosquito balance for the worse.

2. Bad business case without stack filters. If the cost of the filters (suggested by RMS as $100 million per year) is not affordable, then the project should not succeed as it is uneconomic. If cleaning or painting or toll collection were not affordable, the project would not succeed. Likewise, if filtration is not affordable, then the project is not economically sustainable so should be cancelled. The ‘junk science’ cited as minimal pollutant emissions to the neighbouring vicinity is insulting to the intelligence of many us who live around here and research global cases of health implications caused by unfiltered stackers.

3. Precedent for filtration. Another excuse by RMS was that exhaust filtration would create a precedent. While we have been advised filtration should be on all tunnels > 2km, you could set a standard of say 4km maximum, meaning only a couple of tunnels in Sydney need filtration.

4. You have a golden opportunity to globally showcase a state of the art, intelligent solution that not only benefits the local residences and flora/fauna health; but serves as the epitome of the future emissions zero aims and aspirations of global directives and initiatives. For example, future initiatives such as green walling, and active neutral state of the art filtration is the ONLY way that a new northern beaches tunnel can be viably supported by any of us locals and would serve as a pioneering showcase to the rest of the world.

I strongly object - please refer to my attached submission for fulsome concerns and current objections to the project as proposed.
In my view, the EIS findings are technically flawed and have focused on the impacts to future construction activities, i.e. to the Proponents works and future construction workers.
The currently submitted EIS and supporting technical documents provides little assurance to me, the residents, businesses and community organisations that the effects of the planned construction activities in Middle Harbour and Flat Rock Gully and works under and immediately adjacent to the Clive Park Heritage Area can be addressed by the submitted management plans and control processes.

My objections are well stated by the submission made by the North Balgowlah Public School PNC. I am a member of this school community and have grave concerns for the effects of the proposed tunnel on nearby local schools and communities. I question how building this tunnel adequately takes into account commitments to tackle the climate crisis. I have grave concerns for the local habitat and wildlife - particularly Manly Dam and Burnt Bridge Creek.

The objections and comments made in the Balgowlah North Public School PNC submission are sound. The figures put forward in the EIS indicate only a minimal reduction in the traffic flowing through Mosman for a significant and disproportionate use of public funds. Many of the assumptions for traffic used as justification of the build in the EIS have not factored in changes to travel habits and working from home due to COVID-19 and into the future, treating COVID-19 as having only a “temporary” impact".

The construction phase of the project will have a horrific impact on me and my family and all in the community with dust, noise, vibration, and heavy vehicle traffic in the area. I don't think that this has been fully considered or can be justified by the benefits of the tunnel. Seaforth and North Balgowlah will have construction surrounding most of the suburb and the EIS indicates that during construction there will be.
• Over 3,000 vehicles per day across all sites.
• 1,690 vehicles per day at the Balgowlah Golf Course site alone.
1.5 heavy vehicles every minute or 4.5 vehicles (total) every minute.
• Over 4,000 homes subjected to excessive noise
• Construction work to proceed 24/7 for up to 7 years.

Ventilation stacks
Global health experts agree that pollution from traffic exhaust poses serious health risks. Emissions include nitrous oxides and particulate matter that, when breathed into the lungs, causes respiratory diseases such as asthma and emphysema, and cancer. There are several schools, preschools, childcare centres, and sporting fields within the vicinity of all the proposed ventilation stacks and the increased level of pollution is unacceptable. I note the criticism Gladys Berejiklian levelled at the government about the Lane Cove Tunnel when she was in opposition.

Environmental Impact
Further consideration must be given to the major environmental impacts, including but not limited to:
• Movement of contaminated sediment to Clontarf and Middle Harbour (The Spit) potentially causing pollution of the neighbouring beaches.
• Destruction of Burnt Bridge Creek and surrounds (e.g., bushland, wildlife etc) due to a possible 96% reduction in water flow.
• Discharge of 428,000 L per day of wastewater into Queenscliff Lagoon & Beach, resulting in health hazards for people and animals who swim in the waterways.
• Pollution of Manly Dam reserve, resulting in the potential extinction of rare flora and fauna and the last remaining areas of Duffy’s Forest, and meaning that one of the only swimmable dams in NSW is no longer safe for public use.
• Loss of recreational activities with the mountain bike trails that are used for riding, walking, and running.
Once this habitat is lost it can not be returned, the damage will be done.