MOD 2 - The Crescent overpass and active transport links

I request RMS work with the community to explore alternate design options to the proposed new car overpass design and the changed pedestrian and cyclist links. I am seeking the reinstatement of the safe, direct access from the approved EIS GreenLink to create a continuous green open space connection from the Rozelle Rail yards and Annandale to the foreshore. The GreenLink was more than just a walk way - it put people central to the design, maximising safety, and providing much needed accessible open space for the community now and into the future Bays Precinct design.
I am requesting RMS put people back into the plan – I want you to reinstate your own vision as laid out in Transport for NSW Future Strategy 2056. Work with the community to design a feasible option that brings the best elements from the approved EIS design into the modification.
My key concerns with the M4-M5 Modification are:
● The significantly reduced safety and increased risk for pedestrians and cyclists with removed access over The Crescent to Bicentennial Park and the increased traffic along Johnson Street.
● Being required to cross five sets of pedestrian lights at The Crescent as my option to reach the foreshore from Annandale or from Rozelle light rail stop.
● Removal of direct active links to the foreshore, cutting the community off from the area and the proposed revitalisation of the entire Bays Precinct, including linking the Light Rail and Bus stops to a Ferry wharf and Metro station.
● Urban and landscape design that is being built before a finalised Masterplan for the area.
● Traffic changes that limit movements around the suburb and create further congestion in the local streets of Annandale, Forest Lodge, Glebe, Lilyfield and Rozelle with no planning to deal with these.
Alongside these issues my other concerns include:
My submission is asking RMS and the Project Team to:
● Reinstate the GreenLink connecting communities and green open space from Rozelle to Bicentennial Park.
● Relocate and design pedestrian and cyclist connections that are continuous, safe and direct.
● Design the modification infrastructure and active links in response to the character of the suburbs, the location of the foreshore and it’s potential future development.
● Provide pedestrian and cyclist paths that maximise people safety and do not force us onto busier streets, unsafe concrete plazas and caged walkways.
● Integrate active and direct connections to all active transport – including the future Metro West and Foreshore Ferry Wharf.

Director, Transport Assessments Planning Services
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
GPO Box 39 Sydney, NSW 2001
Application: SSI 7485

Dear Director Transport Assessments Planning Services,
I write regarding the proposed modification to M4-M5 Link, Mod 2 The Crescent overpass and changes to pedestrian infrastructure in North Annandale, Rozelle and Rozelle Bay Foreshore area.
I request RMS work with the community to explore alternate design options to the proposed new car overpass design and the changed pedestrian and cyclist links. I am seeking the reinstatement of the safe, direct access from the approved EIS GreenLink to create a continuous green open space connection from the Rozelle Rail yards and Annandale to the foreshore. The GreenLink was more than just a walk way - it put people central to the design, maximising safety, and providing much needed accessible open space for the community now and into the future Bays Precinct design.
I am requesting RMS put people back into the plan – I want you to reinstate your own vision as laid out in Transport for NSW Future Strategy 2056. Work with the community to design a feasible option that brings the best elements from the approved EIS design into the modification.
My key concerns with the M4-M5 Modification are:
● The significantly reduced safety and increased risk for pedestrians and cyclists with removed access over The Crescent to Bicentennial Park and the increased traffic along Johnson Street.
● Being required to cross five sets of pedestrian lights at The Crescent as my option to reach the foreshore from Annandale or from Rozelle light rail stop.
● Removal of direct active links to the foreshore, cutting the community off from the area and the proposed revitalisation of the entire Bays Precinct, including linking the Light Rail and Bus stops to a Ferry wharf and Metro station.
● Urban and landscape design that is being built before a finalised Masterplan for the area.
● Traffic changes that limit movements around the suburb and create further congestion in the local streets of Annandale, Forest Lodge, Glebe, Lilyfield and Rozelle with no planning to deal with these.

My submission is asking RMS and the Project Team to:
● Reinstate the GreenLink connecting communities and green open space from Rozelle to Bicentennial Park.
● Relocate and design pedestrian and cyclist connections that are continuous, safe and direct.
● Design the modification infrastructure and active links in response to the character of the suburbs, the location of the foreshore and it’s potential future development.
● Provide pedestrian and cyclist paths that maximise people safety and do not force us onto busier streets, unsafe concrete plazas and caged walkways.
● Integrate active and direct connections to all active transport – including the future Metro West and Foreshore Ferry Wharf.

It is very disappointing that the community has not been considered in this revision.

This project does not consider the amenity of the community, our overall safety or the environmental impact.

For an area filled with children who connect at the waterside park as most homes have limited outdoor space, the proposal adds serious barriers to reaching the park. The proposed green space will not serve to replace the waterside park, and asking children to cross 5 sets of lights to reach their local park is absurd and dangerous.

This proposal will without doubt adversely affect how our community interacts, and lives daily.


Yours Sincerely,
Name: Michelle McEwen
Address: 293 Annandale Street Annandale NSW
Email: [email protected]

Director, Transport Assessments Planning Services
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
GPO Box 39
Sydney, NSW 2001

Application: SSI 7485

Dear Director Transport Assessments Planning Services,

I write regarding the proposed modification to M4-M5 Link, Mod 2 The Crescent overpass and changes to pedestrian infrastructure in North Annandale, Rozelle and Rozelle Bay Foreshore area.

I request RMS work with the community to explore alternate design options to the proposed new car overpass design and the changed pedestrian and cyclist links. I am seeking the reinstatement of the safe, direct access from the approved EIS GreenLink to create a continuous green open space connection from the Rozelle Rail yards and Annandale to the foreshore. The GreenLink was more than just a walk way - it put people central to the design, maximising safety, and providing much needed accessible open space for the community now and into the future Bays Precinct design.

I am requesting RMS put people back into the plan – we want you to reinstate your own vision as laid out in Transport for NSW Future Strategy 2056. Work with us to design a feasible option that brings the best elements from the approved EIS design into the modification.

My key concerns with the M4-M5 Modification are:
● The significantly reduced safety and increased risk for pedestrians and cyclists with removed access over The Crescent to Bicentennial Park and the increased traffic along Johnson Street.
● Being required to cross five sets of pedestrian lights at The Crescent as my option to reach the foreshore from Annandale or from Rozelle Bay light rail stop.
● Removal of direct active links to the foreshore, cutting the community off from the area and the proposed revitalisation of the entire Bays Precinct, including linking the Light Rail and Bus stops to a Ferry wharf and Metro station.
● Urban and landscape design that is being built before a finalised Masterplan for the area.
● Traffic changes that limit movements around the suburb and create further congestion in the local streets of Annandale, Forest Lodge, Glebe, Lilyfield and Rozelle with no planning to deal with these.

Alongside these issues my other concerns include:
Access to Jubilee Park for my son to play and train with the Glebe Greyhounds.
Access for my daughter to access childcare at the Crescent Early Learning Center.
Access for my daughter to attend St Scholastica High School.
Access for myself to run/ride to the CBD for work.

My submission is asking RMS and the Project Team to:
● Reinstate the GreenLink connecting communities and green open space from Rozelle to Bicentennial Park
● Relocate and design pedestrian and cyclist connections that are continuous, safe and direct.
● Design the modification infrastructure and active links in response to the character of the suburbs, the location of the foreshore and it’s potential future development.
● Provide pedestrian and cyclist paths that maximise people safety and do not force them onto busier streets, unsafe concrete plazas and caged walkways.
● Integrate active and direct connections to all active transport – including the future Metro West and Foreshore Ferry Wharf

Yours sincerely,

Clinton Guelfi
29 Gladstone Street, Lilyfield, NSW 2040

I object to the proposed modification to add an overpass to The Crescent, this is a significant modification to the Rozelle Interchange project.
If this is required it has been left off the original proposal either through poor design or in a manner to deceive the public. This proposed overpass will be visually disgusting and will isolate the Rozelle Bay foreshore from the local community. This area is an important amenity for an area that is suffering the removal of access, removal of green space and channelling of car and truck emissions from the tunnels into the air around Rozelle Bay. This overpass does not even attempt to remove emissions or divert them away from the local community.
Given the capacity constraints of the Anzac Bridge and other roads it is highly unlikely that this overpass will improve traffic flow - it will be another disaster for Sydney to suffer through for years to come.
In summary my objections are that this modification will:
• Have an unacceptable and unnecessary visual impact, and obstruct a significant local mural;
• Make it more difficult for pedestrians to access Jubilee Park from Johnston St Annandale and the Rozelle Goods Yards in Lilyfield;
• Destroy over 70 trees including the large, mature fig trees at Buruwan Park; and
• Fail to solve Sydney's traffic congestion problem

Instead of putting cars ahead of people with a cheap design come up with a solution that supports a community rather than dividing it.

To whom it may concern.
I wish to lodge my objection to the expansion of the Rozelle Bay area roadworks, from 'underpass' to 'overpass'. As a resident of the area I believe it is completely out of step with development in this part of Annandale and will provide only minor and temporary benefits to congestion, which, given Sydney's accelerated population growth, would only last a year or two anyway before we are left with no trees in an otherwise beautiful 'cool spot' near Rozelle Bay light rail stop.

It will increase pollution in this area substantially by removing barrier tree cover and thereby increase the heat island effect in the forthcoming summer heatwaves. There is already a huge amount of exposed asphalt at this intersection and the plans you have submitted look just horrific.

Consider that communities are already extremely angry with the lack of consultation and hideousness of this road, which flies in the face of everything we know about road building: that it simply encourages more cars, ie, it is without end until someone has the guts to say 'no more'. People are already cynical about the motives behind the project and by going back on parts of the project used as community 'buy in' you encourage a high degree of frustration and loss of faith in the way development is handled in this city. What happened to the genuine 'green link'? That looked okay to me when I first looked at the plans. Now I find myself writing this submission; case in point!

The Rozelle Bay light rail stop is a little oasis in a sea of concrete. It is on the fringe of Annandale and the trees there provide a barrier to the City West link for residents, many of whom are perched precariously at the end of Pritchard street.

I plead with you not to to destroy this little pocket of remaining bushland. It will be lost forever for the sake of a couple of lower congestion years on this road, or any at all.

Sincerely.
Ben Carew

I object the proposed modification of the project for the following reasons:
IN GENERAL
1. No consultation with the community and no apparent consideration of the amenity of residents, cyclists and pedestrians.
2. Prioritising motor traffic over the safety, lifestyle and wellbeing of local residents and other users of Bicentennial Park, (for what apparently will be a short term solution to traffic problems)
3. No regard for permanent objectionable visual and ascetic impacts (for what apparently will be a short term solution to traffic problems)
MORE SPECIFICALLY
4. Bicentennial Park and its immediate surrounds are an important part of the lives of people living in the neighbourhood - childrens' playgrounds, rollerblading, light rail, dog walking, school activities, walking, picnics, sports oval, childcare centre, New Years Eve fireworks. It is incomprehensible that the government is even considering making access to the park so difficult and dangerous for so many residents.
5. It seems inevitable that the proposal will increase traffic in suburban streets, causing congestion and further risks to pedestrians, particularly school children.

The Premier alleges that Sydney is a world class city. Despoiling an attractive liveable inner city suburb by the erection of a huge obtrusive structure in order to feed cars into the CBD is not something seen in world class cities.
PLEASE REDESIGN THE OVERPASS, REINSTATING THE GREEN LINK AND TRANSPORT LINKS. PLEASE, FOR ONCE, ALLOW RESIDENTS - THE VOTERS AND TAXPAYERS - TO HAVE SOME DIRECT INFLUENCE ON DECISIONS WHICH HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THEIR LIVES.

The proposed MOD 2 contemplates the addition of an elevated vehicle overpass that results in an unacceptable impact to the original GreenLink design and to the ecologically sustainable development principles approved in the original project. The proposed intensification of road development on The Crescent from the Johnston St to City West Link intersections results in the removal of a direct green link between the local community and the Glebe Foreshore, an important and much loved local natural asset, and replaces the existing single direct pedestrian crossing (a heavily used crossing by our local families and primary schools) with four sets of pedestrian lights. This level of impact is proposed in order to allow traffic to bypass *a single set of traffic lights*. This proposal has lost sight of the community as a stakeholder in the design, and is unjustifiable for the very modest benefit to traffic flow - the requirement of which is unclear. These points are elaborated in the attached submission.

I find the "MOD 2 - The Crescent overpass" to be a terrible option for the residents of Annandale, Lilyfield and Leichharde. It takes a lush green corner of Annandale and replaces it with unsightly concrete. I would rather wait for traffic lights than add more concrete to this dense inner city suburb. It is mirrored in the song "Big Yellow Taxi - They paved paradise and put up an overpass.
Further I think an overpass on the crescent will be regretted for decades to come. It will be like the Cahill expressway at Circular Quay, A blight that sixty years later still haunts Sydney's main port.
It seems that the expedience of the new interchange is not about the community but shaving a few dollars of costs and seconds of time. The current park is highly trafficked by walkers and cyclists who utilise Railway street to access the city.
I would hope that we see poor design not ruin on of the very few parks in the Annandale boundaries.

Director,
Transport, Assessment Planning Services
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
GPO Box 39
Sydney NSW 2001


Re: Application: SSI 7485

Dear Director,

In the short timeframe that has been made available, I am writing in relation to the proposed modification to M4-M5, Mod 2 The Crescent overpass.

The new proposal suggests significant and negative changes to the previously approved “Greenlink” pedestrian and cyclist access to the Glebe foreshore.

This will finish the ready accessibility and safety in movement to the foreshore by locals. Easy movement of people will be blocked by a large, noisy, and polluting exposed roadway. People who want to access the area and park will now have to negotiate multiple sets of traffic lights and will be made to travel in a circuitous way along an unattractive raised concrete walkway.

This will be an unpleasant and potentially unsafe cramming together of pedestrians (including young children and the elderly), hundreds of light rail commuters, families with prams, dog walkers and their dogs, joggers, and cyclists, who obviously should not be huddled together in an elevated walkway.

The approved EIS Greenlink was intended to create a continuous green open space from Rozelle and Annandale to the foreshore. Pedestrian and cycle connections need to be safe and direct. However, the new proposed changes will end this vision and also erode the whole attractiveness of the heralded green “Bays precinct”.

The Transport for NSW Future Strategy 2056 has suggested that people are central to the design of change, and that open space for the community would be a top priority. That vision is not respected or taken seriously in the newly proposed changes.


Sincerely.

Stephen Tomsen


11 Breillat St,
Annandale, NSW 2038

Comments contained within attachment.

Comments contained within attachment.

Please find attached submissions objecting to this project from Afonso Portugal and Ronald C. Heather, residents at 142 Annandale Street, Annandale NSW 2038.

My comments are on the submission attachment