Beaches Link and Gore Hill Freeway Connection

I object to the current proposal on two grounds. Firstly I find not enough care or respect has been given to the Bantry Bay Aboriginal rock engravings that will be severely impacted. Secondly living between the two main exhaust stacks will severely impact air quality in North Balgowlah. This will heavily impact teachers and students at Balgowlah North Public School, Manly Vale Public School, Seaforth Public School and Balgowlah Boys Public School. Yours sincerely Matt Green

The project will adversely affect the health of community and longer term is bad for the environment- we need less cars on the road not more

Although the seemingly inadequate control of pollutants is of major concern, I also wish to express concern about the disruption to urban and natural environments during construction and then operation of the tunnel complex. As one of the most costly projects ever undertaken in New South Wales your own predictions indicate there will be only marginal benefit to the Military Rd corridor through Mosman with at best a 10% reduction in traffic. All this for a small population base of about 200,000 people or less ( remembering many in the Frenchs Forest area will use alternative routes and many in the Manly Balgowlah area may not find the tunnel attractive at all as they will have to travel against their principal direction of travel to access the tunnel). It is seemingly a massively expensive project with deleterious consequences for a large population base for minimal benefit

I'm concerned about Northbridge Sailing Club's sailing area being greatly compromised. All our sailing courses will be affected by the maritime exclusion zones between Seaforth Bluff and Clive Park associated with the submerged tunnel works across Middle Harbour, and the temporary re-location of yacht moorings into a zone northwest of Seaforth Bluff.
Northbridge Sailing Club(NSC) is a significant part of our life. My family loves sailing, and the works will mean sailing at NSC will become more difficult, less attractive, and even potentially completely infeasible. NSC is a jewel of a club, with an amazing history and a strong community ethos, helping people like myself to sail, a sport which is of particular importance in these Covid-19 affected times, being inherently a socially-distanced, outdoor pursuit that greatly assists with the collective mental health of the community (even in non-Covid times).
Northbridge Sailing Club is a non profit organisation and its location is frequently used at no expense to the rest of the local community for fishing, picnics, swimming and its pontoon facilities. The impact on our club and community will be profound. With the sailing courses degraded we may lose members or be less able to attract new members, which affects the club's viability. We depend on volunteers for our maintenance and improvements; if membership drops than there is simply less of a critical mass to regenerate the club following the Beaches Link construction. As well, the loss of an easily accessible location around the club will not only affect the community at NSC but the wider community who value Northbridge for its friendly community and its environment and regularly use it throughout the week.
We request TfNSW minimize the impact of maritime restrictions by urgently consulting in good faith with Northbridge Sailing Club, to help assist in retaining and regaining NSC's attractiveness and viability.

I object to and oppose the approval and construction of the Northern Beaches Tunnel (NBT) on the grounds detailed in the submission below. The case for constructing the NBT is based on flawed economic modelling, flawed traffic modelling (using pre-Covid and pre “work-from-home” traffic data). If built the NBT will disrupt the amenity, endanger resident health and disrupt traffic in Balgowlah for 7 years during construction, and in perpetuity pollute the environment with runoff, dust and unfiltered tunnel emissions. The NBT should not be built. I detail the reasons as follows:
I object to construction of NBT and Balgowlah Golf Course Access road and exhaust stack based on the negative impact on residents and local workers, specifically health risks, pollution, stress, and disruption:
To properties adjacent to Balgowlah Golf Course, it is expected that construction of NBT will cause about 7 years of disruption and negative health effects due to noise, dust and pollution starting in 2023. I object to the inevitable negative impact of construction traffic and construction employee parking, noise and dust pollution on my family at our home which borders on Balgowlah Golf Course.

Aside from the significant impact on my family during non-work hours, 4 of us will also be adversely affected in amenity and health during business hours as my husband operates his business from home and my children will also be studying at home for substantial and important periods during construction: Young adult 1: University Studies - 5 year combined degree 2021 – 2026, Young adult 2 – HSC in 2021 and University Studies - 4 year Degree 2022 – 2025. Young adult 3, HSC in 2023 and University studies 2024- 2028.

University students spend much of their time studying and working from their residence, particularly now that Covid has forced universities to deliver many lectures and tutorials via online media.

There will be significant noise, particulate and dust pollution due to projected movements of one large truck per minute from Balgowlah using the local roads daily from 7am to 6pm weekdays and 8am to 1pm Saturday also causing additional local road congestion and traffic disruption.
· underground Tunnelling is planned 24 hrs a day 7 days a week; a large number of properties will experience noise from tunnelling above 35dbA and some 45dbA when tunnelling occurs below them.
· Early hour NBT construction workers, contractors and subcontractors will park in local streets irrespective of site prohibition.
· The Balgowlah Golf Course area will be subject to excessive noise from drilling, rock crushing and earth removal.
· Uncontained Silica dust generation and exposure from release and ‘track through’ will endanger local residents and workers putting them at increased risk of respiratory illnesses such as asthma, silicosis and lung cancer.
· The residences surrounding the underwater section of the NBT will be subject to loud construction noises greater than 75db from impact piling of cofferdam walls over 12 months.
· Possible sediment disturbance generating unsafe levels of heavy metals, lead hydrocarbons etc in middle harbour including the Sandy Bay area and Clontarf beach.

NBT lacks an accurate and supportive business case, and has poor environmental and social cases:

· The NBT was presented as a done deal by government. There was no community consultation on the reason for constructing a new $12- 14 billion road tunnel in comparison to the cost and advantages of rail or other public transport enhancement alternatives.
· The NBT is justified as meeting the need for an additional transport route to alleviate traffic along Military road. This provides only a 10% traffic reduction and is based on incorrect traffic modelling assumptions using traffic data that pre-dates Covid and the likely permanent shift to Work From Home and the reduction on commuter traffic.
· There is no proper business case to justify the $12-$14 billion cost estimate.
· Instead of encouraging an increased use of public transport, the tunnel encourages “Induced traffic demand” which expert modellers calculate will neutralise the promised time savings within 3-4 years, leaving Northern Beaches commuters worse off at the end of that time.

I also object to construction of NBT based on negative impact on the Environment, specifically:
· The provision of unsightly, unfiltered exhaust stacks 8 – 10 stories high exhausting polluted air containing fine particulates collected from a 7km tunnel length near schools (Balgowlah Boy’s High and several Primary Schools) and in the middle of proposed public playing fields.
· Unnecessary loss of green space such as the Balgowlah golf course (which is also used by the community for walking / dog-walking) and due to widening of Wakehurst Parkway.
· The loss of approx. 400 mature trees and potential impact of a further 150 mature trees.
· Reduction in property values of homes, including my home.
· Loss of nearly 2,000 mature trees due to widening of Wakehurst parkway.
· Detrimental effect of runoff from the widening of Wakehurst parkway into Manly Dam.
· Risk to and loss of endangered Flora and fauna, especially along the Burnt Bridge Creek which the EIS says will have 95% reduced flow during construction.

I strongly object to the building of the Northern Beaches Tunnel and proposed related access road and unfiltered smokestack at Balgowlah Golf Course, however if Northern Beaches Tunnel (“NBT”) is given planning approval despite the widespread opposition from affected local residents,
I require the following measures to be put in place to minimise negative impacts on health, amenity and property values:
Surface work and construction vehicle movements must not occur outside the times of 7am to 6pm weekdays and 8am to 1pm Saturday and must not occur on Sundays and Public Holidays.
Respite periods – especially during noisy works phases. These respite periods must be communicated in advance to the Residents to allow for planning of business calls / zoom meetings / child sleep periods etc.
• All construction traffic must be fitted with noise and pollution control devices (including ‘croakers’ or ‘quackers’ to reduce the impact of tonal reversing alarms).
• No construction vehicles must be permitted to wait or idle in Brighton St, Wanganella St, or other local roads.
• All staff, workers, contractors and sub-contractors (“Employees”) must park only in designated parking hubs (away from residential areas) with a regular shuttle service to the Balgowlah construction envelope.
• The vehicles of all Employees are to be badged for ease of identification.
• Employees must, as part of their engagement contract, be prohibited from parking outside of designated parking hubs and be required to comply with local road and traffic rules, with a suitably deterrent penalty system put in place for any breaches reported by members of the public.
• Appropriate onboarding/induction for all Employees to educate them around local road structure and school zones. This induction needs to be maintained throughout construction of the NBT.
• A site-specific construction 24/7 hotline and website (“Balgowlah NBT Website”) must be established for the receipt of complaints and breach reports from members of the public (“Complainant”). As part of this process there also needs to be a formal complaint handling mechanism in place requiring:
1. responses to be provided to Complainants within 5 business days of receipt of a complaint / breach report, detailing what investigative, remedial or penalty action has been taken, or is to be taken (and when);
2. penalties to be applied if the response time limit in 1) above is not met; and
3. a designated department within TfNSW be given responsibility for the escalation of complaints or breach reports (where a similar transparent complaints handing mechanism must be implemented).
• The emission stacks must be filtered. This is non-negotiable. This is regarded as ‘best practice’ for tunnels of similar length in Europe.
• Better health protection measures must be implemented for the control of silica dust created from the tunnelling through sandstone. The current measures proposed are inadequate. ‘Track through’ dust pollution from site vehicles will not be adequately controlled by proposed measures.
• Air Quality Monitors need to be installed and operated 24/7 at the end of Brighton Street, near Balgowlah Boys campus and Seaforth Public School, with real time readings to be publicly available on the internet and a system for text alert notifications to be automatically sent to Residents if pollutant safety levels are exceeded.
• Clear suitably deterrent penalties must apply to the NBT Construction Entity and NBT Operator for every occasion when pollution level limits are exceeded.
• All penalties relating to the NBT project that are imposed as a result of pollution, complaint time limits, parking, or other road or traffic infringements must be published on the Balgowlah NBT Website.
Improved plans for maintaining the flow of Burnt Bridge Creek must be made in order to protect endangered flora and fauna and to maintain the flow of water as far as Manly Lagoon.

END OF SUBMISSION

I am living in Cammeray for the past 4 years and recent purchased a property in Cammeray. My son has now started at Cammeray public school we love Cammeray because of the proximity to the CBD, northern beaches while being surrounded by incredible bush walk and wild life.

The Tunnel is showing devastating concerns fir our children and communities health and as per below summarised:

Long term air pollution in the area and putting children and community health at risk
Digging a polluted area
Putting animals in danger by killing their habitats
Destroying one of the most beautiful bush walks in the area
Digging up a toxic waste site and consequential run off into the harbour
Dredging of the harbour floor
Digging up and removal of green space
Loss of green space and sporting facilities
24/7 construction for 6 years, with a focus time on NIGHT time construction
The changes to the access points across the freeway
Truck movements throughout the area – 900 trucks per day putting stress on children sleep
Limited parking on local streets from thousands of construction workers
Visibly unappealing skyline due to smoke stacks, lowering property value of the area
Investment on toll road vs efficient public transport

The overall construction will not be beneficial to the Northern Beaches residents.
It will attract more people to the overall crowded places on the peninsula.
Whist military road does get busy the weekends will now become horrrendous.

I strongly object to this project for the following reasons:
- The project does not meet its primary objective to ease congestion in the Northern Beaches. It will increase congestion, with induced demand putting more cars on the road.
- It has not been properly tested against public transport options.
- The project has not justified by any publicly released business case.
- The construction impact will be unbearable for many residents in surrounding areas. The noise will have a direct and significant impact on the life, well being and mental health of surrounding residents.
- Unfiltered smoke stacks put our children at risk. Smoke stacks must be filtered.
- The environmental impact on Burnt Bridge Creek area will be devastating with the creek reduced to a trickle and significant impact on flora and fauna. Plus further significant impact to Queenscliff lagoon and Middle Harbour.
- The impact from construction traffic from the Balgowlah construction site will mean that residents will suffer from traffic, congestion, noise and dust.
- 3000 construction workers will be located at the Balgowlah construction zone. Many will park on local streets leading to congestion and no parking for locals.

I would like to voice my objection to the Beaches Link and Gore Hill Freeway Connection project as I am concerned that the impacts on the environment and biodiversity have not been fully identified and understood. One particular concern is around the potential impact of the major reduction in groundwater flows into the Burnt Bridge Creek both during and after construction. This creek is an essential part of the ecosystem in the area and any negative impact would have a catastrophic effect on flora and fauna. This combined with the planned destruction of large green areas and mature trees both at Burnt Creek and on Wakehurst Parkway to facilitate what will be an increase in car traffic is completely at odds with what the government should be doing to protect more of the natural environment to help tackle climate change. The argument of creating new green areas to offset these loses does not stack up as complex and established ecosystems like this cannot be replaced by parkland.
Damage to the environment must be fully assessed with subsequent detailed plans, control measures and pollution monitors employed as a condition of approval to ensure that at any stage if risk arises there are fail safes in place to protect flora and fauna with guarantees that waterways do not become polluted.

I write to express my strong objection to the Beaches Link Tunnel.
Firstly responding to this submission in itself is an overly complex, stressful experience. I am not an expert in understanding construction documents, assessing the impact it might have on me and thenarticulating a response that might stand up to the counter arguments from the experts that wrote them. The HUGE number of interelated documents, diagrams and tables are overly complex to navigate. My submission is the based on the time given and my interpretation of what I have read.
In reviewing the EIS, I have VERY serious concerns about the project and its impact on the lives of my family and I.

Global experience of toll road construction has demonstrated that projects like this increase air pollution, encourage more car use fill the increased road capacity they create. Additionally, these projects severely impact the lives of people surrounding the constructions zone for years. This submission lists my objections
I object to this Project as it:
• Will not achieve its stated goal of addressing long−term traffic congestion in the Northern Beaches in fact it will increase congestion particularly at the weekends bringing in up to 40,000 extra cars a day to fill the already over-crowded parking options in the NB suburbs;
• It has not been properly evaluated alternative public transport solutions or the development of more localised centres for future working patterns. No account has been included regarding the significant change in work patterns as a result of Covid-19;
• Fails to adequately address the real impacts on the community, especially noise, air quality and health impacts for local residents, particularly those closest to the construction sites and unfiltered exhaust stacks;
• Puts my home at risk of damage from vibrations, settlement and ground movement;
• Has impacted and will continue to impact the value of properties close to the construction sites. Property owners are disenfranchised in their financial life choices for the many years between this proposal being put on the table and its completion and potentially beyond;
• Does not mandate the filtration of exhaust stacks, at a risk to public health including children at local schools, day care centres, and local families. Many schools and families are situated within 500 metres of the ufiltered exhaust stack location. The health of literally 10s of thousands of children could be affected. I am extremely concerned by the inconsistencies of the modelling in the EIS with regard to the RWR receptors in BGC, which I understand is the modelled exposure to serious pollutants on the local residents from the exhaust stack in BGC. This inconsistency adds to my lack of confidence in the ability to correctly model the impact of exposure from the exhaust fumes withing the BGC valley. I believe that the NSW Government have put a value on human life when saying the cost benefits of filtering the exhaust stacks does not stand up as documented in previous brochures delivered to me by the RMS. How is that cost benefit calculated? How does it stand up against the decisions that have recently been made through the COVID experience? - The exhaust stacks in BGC MUST be filtered, if it cannot be filtered the tunnel should not be built.
• Will destroy local flora and fauna and change the ecology from Burnt Bridge Creek all the way to Manly lagoon both during and after construction. The EIS does not adequately assess the impacts to Manly Lagoon or Manly Dam from the results of construction or when in operation;
• Will pollute our harbour with toxic sediment putting Middle Harbour marine life including protected marine species at risk;
• Will have an adverse impact on greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to climate change; and
• Is not justified by any publicly released business case.
Balgowlah Golf Course site which will be used as a tunnel excavation site. Construction at this site will place the community under unacceptable pressure for 7 years or more due to:
• Excessive construction noise over at least 7 years. Excessive noise causes stress, impacts sleep and reduces quality of life. Ongoing noise could seriously impact people's mental health. I am very concerened about my ability to deal with this significant increased noise both durign and after construction. There is a reason that loud and constant noise is used as a form of torture!!
• Ineffective dust mitigation, a large amount of dust is expected to be generated by tunnelling, truck movements, earthworks concrete manufacturing and the very fact that some of the spoil is intended to be used to fill the site for post build reconstruction. I am concerned that I will not be able to open my doors and windows for the entire construction period of 7 years. Currently my doors and windows are open all year round in order to take in the fresh air, breezes and sound of the bird life;
• Increased truck movements. The project will generate 495 heavy vehicle movements and 1195 light vehicle movements per day at the Balgowlah Golf Course site both Sydney Road and Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation subject to capacity commutor traffic movements. - Increased traffic on local roads particularly heavy vehicles decreases existing residential amenity and lessens land value. It also puts the safety of locals including schools students at risk;
• The EIS does not appear to consider at all the transport routes and safety of the MANY local cyclists who use the local roads including Spit Bridge, Wakehurst Parkway as a regular commuting and route to get to their regular rides in the National Parks around Church Point and Berowra. Heavy vehicles are a particular serious risk to cyclists as the trucks often do not adopt the 1 and 1.5 metres. I have experienced this many times and my nearest misses from serious accident have been when heavy vehices have not given me enough space;
• Construction workers using street parking will significantly affect the ability of my family and I to find a place to park our vehicles - The contractor must be required to provide parking for 100% of workers on site to protect resident amenity. The Northern Beaches Council must introduce local resident parking zones and monitor illegal parking;
• Both during construction and when in operation the increased traffic on Wanganella Street will result in local residents not being able to exit from cross streets runs in Wanganella, won’t be able to get out of Westlake and Brighton and Paris Streets;
• A greatly reduced quality of life for many residents including myself during the construction phase and after due to intolerable noise; dust; ambient light; construction fatigue (BGC will have construction noise at various levels including for 7 years); all of this will result in a lack of sleep for me as well as an inability to focus on work tasks and as a result impact my mental health. I am a very light sleeper affected by neighbour hood noise such as air conditioners that run all night, illegal noisy vehicles using local streets and Burnt Bridge Creek. - Options for compulsory purchase at a current market value should be offered, significant noise reduction options implemented or a requirement for adequate compensation from the NSW Government to be offered to affected residents and included in the business case;
• Post completion the proposal is to reconfigure the current natural landscape of trees, ponds green areas and much fauna which is used by many local residents into a collection of car parks, playing fields and amenity buildings. Noise from shouting and whistles associated with many sports will negatively impact residents. The proposed configuration will introduce the noise from loud sports, ambient light and direct light at night to a me when I do not have such affects currently. I question the assumption in the EIS that the post construction configuration will be a benefit, on what basis has this been determined?
• Users of the proposed post construction sports facilities using up my local street parking will significantly affect the ability of my family and I to park our vehicles – The NSW government and Northern Beaches Council must introduce local resident parking zones with limits to less than 1 hour at weekends and to also monitor illegal parking;
• Stress of the proposal has already had an impact on my mental health and this will be even more compounded if construction commences;
• Impact on trees and visual amenity both during and after construction. – To ensure visual amenity and possible noise barrier benefits during and after construction to my property. Tree numbers and tree groups, from Appendix W part 2 of the EIS, 720, 721, 758-771, 20331-20360 all located on the Eastern side of the Golf course BL assessment area 4 MUST be relaeled as TO BE RETAINED;
• The proposal to construct amenity block East on the existing 8th hole of the golf course is unacceptable. Such a contruction will affect the outlook from my property and affect its value.
• The visuals presented in the EIS are misleading as to the impact of the exhaust stack in the BGC on my property. I should have been provided with a realisitc representation of the size, scale and outlook of the stack to real scale from my property which I believe will signifcant with the stack becoming a large part of the view from my property and those of my neighbours and community;
• Potential impacts to my property in terms of damage from vibration or changed water table. The EIS shows that my property falls into the area of suffering potential cosmetic damage from vibrations. The NSW Government or the tunnel contractor MUST offer the services of an independent specialist to prepare a report of the pre-construction state of my property prior to commencement of the project at no cost to me. I also expect that the NSW Government or construction company will pay for repaires as a result of construction damage to my property.

I am extremely concerned about the environmental impact this project will have during construction and thereafter. We’ll loose precious bushland and vegetation, increase air pollution, and have to put up with years of construction noise and vibration. Balgowlah Boys High School is adjacent to the planned building site and in close proximity to the smoke stacks. Balgowlah Oval sports ground is also impacted where many children train and compete.
I urge the government to improve public transport and cycling lanes instead of building a massive toll road project which is incentivized to increase traffic (profit). We need more sustainable solutions!

This concept moves cars - not people.

A "Metro Line" from Northern Beaches would keep thousands of cars off the road and bring people to a North Sydney junction facilitating continued travel to the City and further points passing through Seaforth, Beauty Point, Mosman and Neutral Bay. This would further facilitate vertical development such as is being created under the auspices of the New South Wales Government and North Sydney Council in Crows Nest and the Lane Cove Council in St Leonards South.

Community health is compromised by unfiltered air. None of the Government's suggested proposals convince that residents old and young will not be affected by a polluted atmosphere. I have been impressed by Community Member, Ms Larissa Penn's scientific background and her investigations and reports into the inherent dangers in this regard.

IT SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN that:
Thousands of children live, or come into the fall-out area for their education and/or recreational activities.
There should be no unfiltered emissions.

The proposals concerning curtailing traffic arrangements on the main "State" standard roads which give access to or from the suburbs north of Willoughby will cause prolonged congestion to private motorists and must impact on all City-bound Private and Government Bus Routes currently using Willoughby Road, Flat Rock Road, Sailors Bay Road, and the Eastern Valley Way through Cammeray .

On Flat Rock Road the proposed Dive Site traffic light arrangement has led to predicted blockages of Flat Rock Road. These delays would last during many years through weekdays and weekends to allow "in and out" access of semi-trailer vehicles. This virtually ensures traffic chaos in the immediately affected Naremburn/Crows Nest/Northbridge/Willoughby/Cammeray road network.

Excluding Chatswood CBD virtually all, congestion points (already identified in the WILLOUGHBY INTEGRATED TRANSPORT STRATEGY ) would be affected, as well as all traffic and Bus routes on Penshurst St, Willoughby Road, Flat Rock Road, Mowbray Rd, Sailors Bay Road, Edinburgh Rd and Eastern Valley Way. Significant traffic currently utilizing Flat Rock Road will seek alternative access to and from the city using Willoughby Rd and Eastern Valley Way through Cammeray. It is noted that the office of the Premier has been moved, thus avoiding that now imminent congestion which will result between Northbridge and Naremburn.

The Government initiative of introducing over 700 daily B-Double truck movements through those traffic lights can only initiate traffic paralysis on City-bound feeder roads .

Regardless of future plans it should be noted that the WILLOUGHBY INTEGRATED TRANSPORT STRATEGY reported that Traffic Volume Viewer count stations were reviewed to understand the already existing trends in traffic through the area and included a review of count stations on Eastern Valley Way, Willoughby Road and Penshurst Street.

Finding: That the Eastern Valley Way, designated as a Short Combination route as part of the Higher Mass Limits (HML), operates unsatisfactorily at the Edinburgh St intersection in the AM peak period with associated delays due to the vehicle demand that exceed the current capacity resulting in residual queues that don’t clear every signal cycle.
"In the PM peak and Saturday peak periods, the degree of saturation is greater than 0.9. This suggests that the intersection may experience significant decline in performance with any additional volumes."

Further,
*A Dive site in the bush adjacent to Flat Rock Road would interrupt the existing urban wildlife corridor there, and also destroy those aspects of the urban bushland area created by the local community over the years.
*Water pollution potential has been cited as potentially dangerous to users of Northbridge Baths.
*Proposed nautical movement on Middle Harbour should not impact the amenity of organised recreational activities such as the Northbridge Sailing Club.

I object strongly to the construction of the Beaches Link tunnel and don't believe the project should proceed at all.
we need to preserve our precious environment and build viable public transport solutions.

I'm a parent at Balgowlah Boys High School. I'm aware the P&C have made a submission on behalf of parents and I fully support their concerns for the safety, loss of public amenity, mental health and well- being of our boys. the EIS does not fully address concerns for the safe operation of the school and the community. this includes increase traffic in the area ( 1200 light truck movements per day and 500 heavy trucks), noise disruption and dust. the placement of the (unfiltered) air stacks next to the school are also not acceptable.

We are shown in a number of vibration diagrams from Appendix G for Balgowlah Golf Course as being within the Human Response region. As well as the potential impact from cosmetic damage to the properties from vibration for both sound and un sound properties.
The Western side of properties forms the edge of the 75DB projected noise level during site in fact it would appear these properties form part of the barrier to the sound moving further
Through the entire project the noise levels for these properties are at best deemed to have construction noise being clearly audible through to moderately intrusive including at night and outside standard hours. The construction end to end is currently shown to be 7 years. HOW CAN PEOPLE BE SUBJECTED TO THESE LEVELS OF NOISE FOR 7 YEARS?????

The EIS outlined many disturbing aspects of construction in addition to air quality concerns from the ventilation shaft.
The golf course site will be completely cleared of vegetation and native habitats during construction to allow for :
parking for some of the 3000 workers daily ; enormous road headers ; concrete batch plant ; rock crushers ; movement of double trailer trucks removing spoil ( cited as 2.5 trucks per minute onto Sydney Rd and Wakehurst Parkway sites); acoustic shed; cranes, site buildings etc.
In addition, 3000 homes are identified as being significantly affected by the 24 hour site noise,dust and vibration for 5-7 years .
Traffic will be adversely impacted by the almost constant double trailer and other trucks, cranes and heavy machinery travelling along and/or blocking intersections at Sydney Rd, Seaforth shops, Wakehurst Parkway and across The Spit as they remove rock spoil and dredged waste material.
Local streets in Manly Vale , Balgowlah , North Balgowlah and Seaforth will be gridlocked as cars Rat Run to avoid the site works . Parking in streets close to the sites will be filled with workers vehicles in addition to trucks waiting to access the sites.
The fragile ecosystems of Manly Dam are under threat by the widening of the Parkway to 6 lanes. With spoil and wastewater polluting the dam.
Queenscliff Lagoon will have nearly half a million litres of wastewater pumped into it daily ,contaminating the lagoon and beaches .
Burnt Creek water flow will be reduced by 96% by the end of the project, destroying the ecosystem.
High contamination risk has been cited for heavy metals and organotoxins into Middle Harbour from tunnel dredging, polluting The Spit, Clontarf etc .
Environmentally , this tunnel is disastrous and for what benefit ? Travel time estimates were from 2017, outdated since the introduction of B-line and COVID impacts on travel.

I wish to object to the building of the Beaches Link tunnel for a number of reasons but mostly due to serious concern about the total devastation of our local environment where the tunnel portals are being planned. We live in the middle of the two proposed portals and live here because we love the bush and the nature that surrounds us. From my research in your papers there are many concerns not addressed for mitigation or remediation and these need to be considered before such a massive expense both financially and environmentally occurs.
There will be nearly 2,000 trees cut down for the Wakehurst Parkway and not replaced in our area - this is not good enough and the offsets have to be local. Start planting now - why not?
The Burnt Bridge Creek watertable will be drawn down so deep in order to accomodate the Balgowlah portal that there can be no recovery and will remove the water source for the 10,000 plus endangered flying fox colony in Balgowlah Road. This issue is not addressed in the EIS and needs to be considered. In addition I believe that this destruction to the natural water flow of this creek will inevitably result in flooding issues further down into Manly Vale and Manly. This is not addressed. Apart from the loss of such lovely amenity of the creek and trees along a shared path.
Equally the concerns about the destruction to Manly Dam and Garigal NP in the building of a freeway on top of the ridgeline that connects the two parks. The endangered pygmy possum and lizards will not survive this. An underground tunnel is not adequate and a greened landbridge would be a minimum mitigation.
It is unclear how you will protect the Manly Dam from permanent damage.
Serious concerns for the unfiltered exhaust stacks especially at Balgowlah. There are childcare centres and two school within a short, unsafe distance from these. How will the children be protected from the toxic particulants that you advise are in an unacceptable range? The stacks must be filtered at a minimum.
The construction process is problematic in itself. The number of heavy trucks moving in and out of the two sites
I acknowledge the traffic jams on Spit Road but I cannot reconcile the destruction that will occur to fix this problem. The cost benefit analysis does not seem to be worth it. Your own traffic data seems to suggest that in a few years after opening the traffic volumes will be back to where they are now. Where is the long term benefit?There has to be a better solution that involves Mass Transit options - namely the idea of extending the Sydney Metro line from Chatswood to Dee Why as one way to improve NB connectivity to Sydney. This will also be a toll road so if people have to pay $9 or more a trip they may well keep using Military Road.
There is no going back once this starts and it goes over budget and destroys the beautiful natural environment that we are currently blessed with. According to the Premier's Priorities you are meant to be greening our city and making green spaces. There is no priority about ruining our environment at the cost of more toll roads and more cars and more pollution. If it is to go ahead there has to be more and better ways of mitigating these impacts than what is currently described in the EIS.
I currently drive to work in North Sydney every day so I am more than aware of the congestion issues. However I would choose to sit in the traffic rather than have to witness the destruction of the irreplaceable and priceless environment that will be sacrificed to accomodate more cars. This makes no sense in this day and age when we are trying to save our environment not destroy it.

I am objecting to proceeding with the beaches link tunnel in its entirety.
1) This is an extremely expensive and disruptive project
2) it will have a disproportionately large impact on residents of the lower northern beaches, from Seaforth to Balgowlah and surrounding suburbs
3) it will decimate our pristine environment, including increasing air pollution, localised traffic congestion, road safety issues, extensive school impacts (such as Balgowlah Boys) and overdevelopment of our locality. Loss of very key natural habitats, flora and fauna.
4) The project seems to have minimal impacts on traffic flow; which surely is the purpose of the project
5) this is an economically infeasible project - the cost / benefit case doesn’t stack up.
6) I would encourage alternative transport options and a much stronger focus on the environment and liveability of our region.
7) The western harbour tunnel without the beaches link should actively be considered. As a major arterial route this may make sense though I have not considered these impacts.
8) As a tax payer, I STRONGLY request a revised model of the entire proposal be initiated, with each section considered on its own merits, to reflect post-COVID/work from home transport requirements. We are in a seismic work/life shift and pausing to see how this plays out is sensible at this point.
9) the consultation with the community has been substandard - releasing an EIS of this size with such little time, communication options and genuine proactive engagement with the community and impacted groups (e.g schools) is VERY disappointing. The misleading visuals - reduced smoke stacks height and blurring of schools - is abhorrent on something so disruptive. This is not a marketing exercise, we need real and tangible examples with a clear picture of localised impacts. If it is going to have such an awful impact on us, we need to know exactly what these impacts are, not spin.

Should the beaches link be approved, I would VERY STRONGLY, request that:
1) portals and exhaust stacks be moved further away from residential areas AND exhaust stacks be filtered - it is unacceptable that toxic tunnel exhausts are released from 7+km of tunnels in our backyard and particularly so close to schools and that these are not filtered as they commonly are overseas. With an absurd cost in the first place not including filtration is frankly insulting to those of us who are directly impacted. We are personally surrounded by 2 tunnels exhausts, as are a number of schools and playing fields - the health risks are NOT minor or acceptable. Consider alternatives regardless of the additional cost - for example is it feasible to divert the Balgowlah exhaust by underground exhaust tunnel to a single stack located further north on Wakehurst Parkway equidistant between Kirkwood St and Bayview Close?
2) damage to our unique environment - e.g Manly Dam, Duffy’s Forrest, Burnt Bridge Creek, Manly Creek/Queenscliff Lagoon, toxic dredging of the spit, endangered flora and fauna - be eliminated. We are regular users of our unique and pristine environment and live in the middle of much of it. I am horrified with the current plans. For example how can reducing creek flows (e.g burnt bridge creek) to the extent proposed be remotely acceptable? It will kill our amazing and well used creek area. We MUST acknowledge the importance of our waterways and protect them - we live in an increasingly arid environment. Don’t put cars, short term convenience and development ahead of long term environmental care. Consider the extensive use of covered roadway along wakehurst pkwy to enable bush corridors for safe fauna movement and recreational use (walking, biking...)
3) localised road traffic impacts be better managed, including avoiding rat runs and the high impacts of truck and construction vehicles through local streets. Substantial upgrades in local roads must be funded and immediately implemented to handle the anticipated high volume of vehicle likely to descend on the area either to access the tunnel or avoid tolls.
4) consider better ways to manage noise and vibration impacts - 24/7 tunnelling should be avoided, route and depth options be considered to reduce vibration, and absolutely no contruction activity should be permissible outside of acoustic sheds out of standard construction hours when the majority of the community needs to rest and recuperate with extensive breach penalties for contractors.

If this project proceeds, the northern beaches will be irreversibly ruined by high volumes of visitors, particularly on weekend on roads not designed for volumes and parking not available, beaches will be overrun and the impacts on the local environment and enjoyment across all areas of the peninsula will be extreme. The benefits of a quicker trip into the city or further south do not make up for these negative impacts.

Regards
Mark O’Sullivan

I object to the project

I object to the failure to include any active transport improvement on the lower North Shore as part of this project. Transport for NSW policy (CP21001) requires the
provision of walking and cycling within the core scope of every transport project. In its public documents, the project trumpets improvements in cycle infrastructure at the Northern Beaches end of this project but provides none at the Lower North Shore end. Major opportunities for improvements in active transport on the lower north shore are missed.

I strongly object to the severe impact during construction at the Artarmon Work Site to the high-quality cycleway alongside the Gore Hill Freeway by this proposal and the
totally inadequate attention to provision of detour routes. I request that prior to any proposal approval, conditions be placed on this project to continue the pathway along the existing alignment and avoid entirely, changes to the existing pathway.

I object to the project because as a radial motorway, it will only induce more cars in the northern beaches, lower north shore and the city. There is a great need for improved public transport through this link, but a private motorway without even dedicated bus lanes will only make the problem worse. The project should be rejected and a thorough assessment of public transport options should be completed.
While suggestions are made that buses could use this motorway, this is not an adequate public transport system. Future Transport 2056 has stated that buses are suitable as feeders to heavy rail or metro, not for long distance public transport. While buses are used at times for longer journeys, this is only suitable as a temporary option until a metro or heavy rail replacement. This proposal for private vehicle transport simply reinforces that type of travel and condemns our city to an unsustainable future with increasing traffic congestion and further road projects.

I object to the removal of the pathway alongside the Gore Hill Freeway in Artarmon without provision of a safe, separated and direct cycleway. The closure of North Sydney pool and Willoughby Aquatic Centre mean that I need to transport my daughter to swimming lessons at Lane Cove. There is not sufficient parking for us to use the car and would normally cycle along the shared path. The proposal to close this path and shift cycling parents and children out onto Reserve Rd with the trucks for 4+ years is negligent.

To who it may concern
I object to the Beaches Link tunnel for the following reasons:

Traffic Congestion:
I live in the area and are already fully conversant with the vehicular gridlock that happens every Saturday morning and almost gridlock that happens every weekday day at about 4-5pm. The Northern beaches already has enough car problems. A new tunnel pumping an an exorbitant amount of additional vehicular traffic into Manly Vale and the Frenches Forest intersection is just plain madness on an logic level. On summer weekends locals and visitors cant get a park at the beach. Local residential streets are often closed as residents cannot get to their home. There is nothing wrong with people coming to share the beautiful places near where we live on the Beaches, however the cars cant fit. So bringing them in by efficient public transport will enable access without the congestion. Claims are false and misleading that in 2037 the time savings for drivers from the lower Northern Beaches will save 30 minutes to drive to the city and the airport and beyond when it currently takes less than 35 minutes to drive from Balgowlah to the City. The math behind this claim is required to be full of assumptions and verified that this tunnel is not needed.

Cost and Programme:
The NSW State Governemnet has very little credible track record on Capital Infrastructure Cost Management. At $10-14B (or considerably more given Gov track record) this project simply doesn't stack up on cost, environmental or benefits metrices. Specifically when this solution is pitch this against light rail and other transport options.
A seven year construction programme:. With the proposed truck movements at Maritimo street will render the Bally Boys students at a significant disadvantage with noise, dust and pollution, and transport logistics. General amenity and right to peaceful enjoyment whist student undertaking one of their most critical elements and stage of life, senior high, will be significantly eroded. Imagine remembering your high school years...... living in the construction zone for a massive freeway tunnel.

Project Impact:
The expansion of the ridge at wakehurst parkway will have significant impact on wild life crossing and water run off etc.
The construction zones and traffic will be intolerable to local residents and destroy our local streets, roads and community.
The project will consume and destroy Balgowlah Golf Course. More people now than ever before are playing golf. It’s good for the mind and body and many older people in the community rely on their local affordable Golf Clubs for their essential and limited weekly social interaction and if they are still good enough, a bit of fitness, fresh air and exercise. In many cases, these clubs are their whole social existence. Taking this away from this section of the community to pave it with a freeway that they cant afford to drive on, when better options are available, is destructive, heartless and absurd.
The permanent pollution outcomes for residence and a number of schools is unhealthy, unreasonable and potentially immoral. This is a project with poor environmental outcomes and significant changes of causing health issues to children.

Public Transport Options:
The transport options appear to be steadily being eroded to ensure that this tunnel stacks ups. The residents don’t want a tunnel. Everyone knows that traversing the Northern Beaches via car is a frustrating and ineffective. What the city needs is:

an effective and frequent light rail system throughout the norther beaches with links to Chatswood, the CBD, North Sydney and St Leonards;

Maintaining a decent Harbour transport capability like our Jet Cat services, existing large Ferries on the weekend etc.

This tunnel doesn’t stack up on a number of technical, commercial, physical and ESG levels and most people know that there are better transport outcomes available at far less cost and impact than this proposed tunnel. I appreciate that the Government may be trying to do the best for it’s constituents, unfortunately on this occasion the solution needs a wholesale reconsideration.

Thanks you for your time.
Regards
Craig Brighton

I object to and oppose the approval and construction of the Northern Beaches Tunnel (NBT) on the grounds detailed in the submission below. The case for constructing the NBT is based on flawed economic modelling, flawed traffic modelling (using pre-Covid and pre “work-from-home” traffic data). If built the NBT will disrupt the amenity, endanger resident health and disrupt traffic in Balgowlah for 7 years during construction, and in perpetuity pollute the environment with runoff, dust and unfiltered tunnel emissions. The NBT should not be built. I detail the reasons as follows:

I object to construction of NBT and Balgowlah Golf Course Access road and exhaust stack based on the negative impact on residents and local workers, specifically health risks, pollution, stress, and disruption:
To properties adjacent to Balgowlah Golf Course, it is expected that construction of NBT will cause about 7 years of disruption and negative health effects due to noise, dust and pollution starting in 2023. I object to the large and inevitable negative impact of construction traffic and construction employee parking, noise and dust pollution will have on my family at our home which borders on Balgowlah Golf Course.

There will be significant noise, particulate and dust pollution due to projected movements of one large truck per minute from Balgowlah using the local roads daily from 7am to 6pm weekdays and 8am to 1pm Saturday also causing additional local road congestion and traffic disruption.
· underground Tunnelling is planned 24 hrs a day 7 days a week; a large number of properties will experience noise from tunnelling above 35dbA and some 45dbA when tunnelling occurs below them.
· Early hour NBT construction workers, contractors and subcontractors will park in local streets irrespective of site prohibition.
· The Balgowlah Golf Course area will be subject to excessive noise from drilling, rock crushing and earth removal.
· Uncontained Silica dust generation and exposure from release and ‘track through’ will endanger local residents and workers putting them at increased risk of respiratory illnesses such as asthma, silicosis and lung cancer.
· The residences surrounding the underwater section of the NBT will be subject to loud construction noises greater than 75db from impact piling of cofferdam walls over 12 months.
· Possible sediment disturbance generating unsafe levels of heavy metals, lead hydrocarbons etc in middle harbour including the Sandy Bay area and Clontarf beach.

NBT lacks an accurate and supportive business case, and has poor environmental and social cases:

· The NBT was presented as a done deal by government. There was no community consultation on the reason for constructing a new $12- 14 billion road tunnel in comparison to the cost and advantages of rail or other public transport enhancement alternatives.
· The NBT is justified as meeting the need for an additional transport route to alleviate traffic along Military road. This provides only a 10% traffic reduction and is based on incorrect traffic modelling assumptions using traffic data that pre-dates Covid and the likely permanent shift to Work From Home and the reduction on commuter traffic.
· There is no proper business case to justify the $12-$14 billion cost estimate.
· Instead of encouraging an increased use of public transport, the tunnel encourages “Induced traffic demand” which expert modellers calculate will neutralise the promised time savings within 3-4 years, leaving Northern Beaches commuters worse off at the end of that time.
Aside from Induced demand from existing commuters, if the tunnel is built, it has
potential to induce demand for an additional 40,000 cars to travel to the local beaches during summer causing loss of street parking.
· In order to support the weak business case for the NBT expensive tolls $7-8 each way are proposed, this will be a significant new impost on residents of $70-$80 per week ($4,000 annually).
· Tunnel avoidance due to these expensive tolls will lead to worse traffic along Military road.
· Some of the hypothetical time saved on travel to the city during peak times will be lost due to local traffic congestion and bottlenecks.
· Introduction of traffic lights in Sydney road and at the tunnel entrance will impair current traffic flow along Sydney Road and Burnt bridge creek bypass.

I also object to construction of NBT based on negative impact on the Environment, specifically:
· The provision of unsightly, unfiltered exhaust stacks 8 – 10 stories high exhausting polluted air containing fine particulates collected from a 7km tunnel length near schools (Balgowlah Boy’s High and several Primary Schools) and in the middle of proposed public playing fields.
· Unnecessary loss of green space such as the Balgowlah golf course (which is also used by the community for walking / dog-walking) and due to widening of Wakehurst Parkway.
· The loss of approx. 400 mature trees and potential impact of a further 150 mature trees.
· Reduction in property values of homes, including my home.
· Loss of nearly 2,000 mature trees due to widening of Wakehurst parkway.
· Detrimental effect of runoff from the widening of Wakehurst parkway into Manly Dam.
· Risk to and loss of endangered Flora and fauna.

I object to construction of NBT but if it is given planning approval the following mitigation measures must be stipulated and enforced in contracts with Construction company and Operator:
I strongly object to the building of the Northern Beaches Tunnel and proposed related access road and unfiltered smokestack at Balgowlah Golf Course, however Northern Beaches Tunnel (“NBT”) is given planning approval despite the widespread opposition from affected local residents,
I require the following measures to be put in place to minimise negative impacts on health, amenity and property values:
Surface work and construction vehicle movements must not occur outside the times of 7am to 6pm weekdays and 8am to 1pm Saturday and must not occur on Sundays and Public Holidays.
Respite periods – especially during noisy works phases. These respite periods must be communicated in advance to the Residents to allow for planning of business calls / zoom meetings / child sleep periods etc.
• All construction traffic must be fitted with noise and pollution control devices (including ‘croakers’ or ‘quackers’ to reduce the impact of tonal reversing alarms).
• No construction vehicles must be permitted to wait or idle in Brighton St, Wanganella St, or other local roads.
• All staff, workers, contractors and sub-contractors (“Employees”) must park only in designated parking hubs (away from residential areas) with a regular shuttle service to the Balgowlah construction envelope.
• The vehicles of all Employees are to be badged for ease of identification.
• Employees must, as part of their engagement contract, be prohibited from parking outside of designated parking hubs and be required to comply with local road and traffic rules, with a suitably deterrent penalty system put in place for any breaches reported by members of the public.
• Appropriate onboarding/induction for all Employees to educate them around local road structure and school zones. This induction needs to be maintained throughout construction of the NBT.
• A site-specific construction 24/7 hotline and website (“Balgowlah NBT Website”) must be established for the receipt of complaints and breach reports from members of the public (“Complainant”). As part of this process there also needs to be a formal complaint handling mechanism in place requiring:
1. responses to be provided to Complainants within 5 business days of receipt of a complaint / breach report, detailing what investigative, remedial or penalty action has been taken, or is to be taken (and when);
2. penalties to be applied if the response time limit in 1) above is not met; and
3. a designated department within TfNSW be given responsibility for the escalation of complaints or breach reports (where a similar transparent complaints handing mechanism must be implemented).
• The emission stacks must be filtered. This is non-negotiable. This is regarded as ‘best practice’ for tunnels of similar length in Europe.
• Better health protection measures must be implemented for the control of silica dust created from the tunnelling through sandstone. The current measures proposed are inadequate. ‘Track through’ dust pollution from site vehicles will not be adequately controlled by proposed measures.
• Air Quality Monitors need to be installed and operated 24/7 at the end of Brighton Street, near Balgowlah Boys campus and Seaforth Public School, with real time readings to be publicly available on the internet and a system for text alert notifications to be automatically sent to Residents if pollutant safety levels are exceeded.
• Clear suitably deterrent penalties must apply to the NBT Construction Entity and NBT Operator for every occasion when pollution level limits are exceeded.
• All penalties relating to the NBT project that are imposed as a result of pollution, complaint time limits, parking, or other road or traffic infringements must be published on the Balgowlah NBT Website.

I have had numerous on going discussions with the TFNSW project team and firstly would like to state that we appreciate all of the hard work that has been done by the project team to minimise the impact to the local community. There are a number of areas however that I believe still need to be addressed not only for the Wakehurst parkway portal but across the entire project in general.
Parking for contractors/workers at the North Balgowlah BL12 and BL13 sites.
It has been noted during discussions with the TFNSW team that there will be overflow parking required at these two sites. There has not been an estimate of the overflow parking spaces that will be required as the representatives have stated that they will need to wait to provide this data once a contractor is chosen and they will then determine the parking requirements. Based on the light vehicle movement data in the EIS at this site it is clear that there is not enough parking space at BL12 and BL13 to accommodate workers and they will be forced to park on residential streets. This is an issue for the local residents for safety reasons as the roads are narrow, young children ride bikes on the residential streets, also the site lines are poor from intersecting streets and with parking congestion this will cause potential accidents. Further the loss of on street parking for residents will also create an issue for the duration of the project.
Loss of Mature trees in work zones BL12, BL13.
There are numerous large mature trees that are significant to myself and the community that exist on TFNSW land. These trees are close to the current roadway and I would like it considered to retain these trees in the worksites to buffer the impact of the land clearing further up the Wakehurst Parkway. The benefits are it will provide important shade from the Western sun and will improve the aesthetic of the site.
Emission Stack - Wakehurst Parkway
The EIS provides data that there will be no measureable impact to the air quality. I believe the stacks should be filtered to ensure air quality is not impacted. Filtering of portals is common practice in tunnel projects in other international developed cities. I moved to this area from the inner west as I have a respiratory issue and my health has improved as a result. Breathing in particulate matter at any level is detrimental to ones health and as I am susceptible to this I am concerned that this will have an impact on my health. I am currently collating all technical details regarding the statements made relating to the minimal impact to the air quality to ensure that if health issues arise for me and my family I can reference these documents to take further action.
The other issue is the size and scale of the ventilation facility as depicted in the EIS does not provide the correct image in terms of height and scale. The EIS and future documentation should provide transparent details of the true scale of this feature. The fact that this infrastructure will be located in the middle of the existing tree lined road means it will be an eyesore in this bushland setting, whichever way it is viewed. Adding to this there will need to be iron clad guarantees of the façade and treatment of this facility that should be finalised in the final EIS and not left to interpretation by the contracted party. There is no evidence anywhere in Sydney from previous tunnel projects that provide a level of confidence that this ventilation facility can be integrated into a bush setting and the concern is it will destroy the bush setting and be an eyesore for future generations.
Heavy Vehicle traffic
There is a concern with the heavy vehicle movements leaving and arriving at both the Wakehurst Parkway and North Balgowlah sites. The EIS states that there will be minimal additional traffic impact as a result of the Heavy and Light vehicle movements during the construction phase. The TFNSW representatives have stated that the routes will be dependent of the contractor and where the spoil will be required. This does not take into consideration the return journey for these Heavy vehicles . I believe that the returning trucks to site and those on their first morning pick up will use the Wakehurst parkway thus further congesting this local main road. The Seaforth/ Burnt Bridge Creek intersection is already at capacity so additional traffic through this intersection will lead to congestion. The EIS is based on a traffic study performed in 2016 with forecasted future data. It has not taken into consideration the bus changes made by TFNSW in 2020 to use Seaforth as a bus interchange area. Further to this there are some dangerous corners that trucks will need to navigate on Frenchs Forrest road and in wet. See Attachment.
Rat Runs
There are only two ways to leave North Balgowlah heading east and south. Kitchener St overpass and through Seaforth junction on Sydney road. There are concerns that once the project is completed there will be rat runs to access the tunnel entrance. There are single lane residential streets off Kitchener road that lead up to Sydney road that will encourage vehicles from North Balgowlah to turn right into the streets leading up to Sydney Road. This will block the east travelling routes down to manly. The Northern Beaches Council has also issued some concerns regarding the traffic flow data in the EIS that need to be addressed along with those of the community. These are included in their submission upon review of the EIS. Further to this with the amount of additional cars exiting the tunnels this will place pressure on Manly Vale at the Burnt Bridge creek deviation and Condamine Street. It has been stated that it will be up to council to then address the ongoing traffic issues once the project is completed.
Thank you for reviewing this submission.