MOD 2 - The Crescent overpass and active transport links

I object to the project of the Crescent overpass and active transport links as what was promised in the original plans has been changed without consultation with the community. My concerns are as follows:
1. the reduced safety and increased risk for pedestrians and cyclists due to the removed access over The Crescent to Bicentennial Park, as well as the increased traffic along Johnson Street.
2. Being required to cross five sets of lights at The Crescent to reach the foreshore
3. Removal of direct access to the foreshore, which affects the wider community
4. Traffic changes around the community, causing disruption to many people
5. Landscape design that is being built before a finalised masterplan for the area.

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

Bicentennial Park is an integral park of Annandale and the surrounding communities, and this project will disrupt and ruin this beloved place.

I am also objecting to the significant impact that the car overpass (as opposed to an underground tunnel) will have on our neighbourhood. City of Sydney has promised us a greenway, and safe direct walking and bike riding spaces - and spent significant time consulting with the community about how to achieve that. All of that investment will be lost if we have a huge overpass instead. The addition of the overpass meaning that the Johnston St right turn is lost means that we the local residents lose even more than the proposal already took away - and our local traffic is going to be severely impacted - adding to our pollution impacts. We already have massive bottlenecks along the Crescent, not to mention many near misses at the Bicentennial Park roundabout where cars and trucks take the intersection at speed without giving way. This is not considerate, and it is not balanced.
Cutting down the historic strangler figs at Burawang Park to add more concrete is awful. Taking out the firs along the City West Link already was enough. Removing the views of the historic mural on the Crescent is yet another impact on our local area's history - this proposal was meant to not impact on local residents, or at least attempt to ameliorate the impact. There's no amelioration here. I've already made one submission about the pedestrian bridge being not created with pedestrians in mind - this also applies to the proposed lack of direct connection between Johnston St and the foreshore. The foreshore is a major part of the community - for kids, for dog walkers, for the elderly, for fitness groups. Where's the consideration for community and public health with this proposal? Saying that pedestrians can still connect with the foreshore when they will now need to use multiple pedestrian connections is not a solution. Finally, I have a real concern with the heat impact of all the concrete, cars and roadworks. It's already a hot place to walk in summer - this proposal suggests that pedestrians should be happy to walk further distances to get to the park, with less shade cover - actually, none at all. That's a real consideration for people deciding whether to use this 'greenway'. All this concrete will increase the heat impact on the local area, let alone the pedestrians.
I urge you to reconsider this amendment to the initial proposal and refuse (or if too late withdraw) consent for this amendment. It will have a significant and lasting negative impact on our local area and community for little positive impact on Sydney as a whole (let alone on our local area and community). Sticking with the original tunneling plan would be a better solution.

Dear Sir/Madam,
Application number SSI 7485

I am very concerned regarding the propsed modifcations for WestConnex M4-M5 Link –Modification 2 The Crescent overpass.

The following was promised:
1.At grade traffic lighted intersection
2.Single safe, direct pedestrian and cycling access from the former Rozelle Goods Yard at Lilyfieldto the Glebe foreshore and Annandale via a vegetated ‘greenlink’over the City West Link
3.Maintained right turn from Johnston St into The Crescent
4.Shared user pathways considerate and connected into the Bays Precinct MasterPlan
5.Preservation of the‘people’s mural’ on The Crescent

However, these are PROPOSED CHANGES that you are trying to get through:
1. New Massive imposing overpass and loss of at grade pedestrian connectivity
2.Relocation of the green link to the west which will no longer directly connect the former Rozelle Goods Yard with the foreshore at Glebe
3.Addition of a new footbridge between the Rozelle Goods Yard at Lilyfield and the Glebe
4.A tortuous four traffic lighted pedestrian crossing to get from Johnston Street across The Crescent.
5.Obstruction of the‘people’s mural’on The Crescent
6.No right turn from Johnston St into The Crescent sending local traffic through local streets in Annandale.

Myself, along with many other concerned residents of the Inner West, have solutions. I will outline them below:

1. Change the overpass to a short tunnel
We oppose the proposal to build an overpass at The Crescent in Annandale. The plan for an overpass should be replaced by a short (less than 120m) tunnel under the City West Link with slot trench approaches. An underpass provides the best visual and urban outcomes and should allow the retention of the green bridge in a location to best connect the parklands together.This underpass needs to be designed to also facilitate the single pedestrian crossing at Johnston Street. The overpass solution is not our preferred outcome but if it is adopted, the bulk and scale must be reduced. One way to do this would be to reduce the allowed speed limit to reduce the curve of the proposal. Lowering the height of the overpass should also be considered.

2. Maximise pedestrian connectivity including:Simplification of the Johnston Street crossing of the Crescent to a single traffic light crossing in the current location on the Northern side of Johnston Street as currently exists.Ensuring provision of easy at grade access from Railway parade to the Glebe Foreshore with a direct connection to the simplified Johnston Street/The Crescent intersection.Provide for the direct grade separated connection between The Glebe Foreshore and the new Rozelle parklands via the green bridge.

3. Retain and protect trees adjacent the light rail station as per the EIS consideration The road design needs be altered to provide protection of mature vegetation including Sydney blue gums, and Moreton bay figs. These will provide some immediate pedestrian and visual amenity given that most of Buruwan Park will be removed.

4. Reinstate the right hand turn lane at the Crescent from Johnston Street. This will limit traffic through local Annandale streets to Glebe and key local destinations such as The Tramsheds.

5. Protect the people’s mural Careful consideration is needed to protect this much loved local artwork.

The following will provide you with further details of the impact these inappropriate modifications will have on the environment and the living conditions of Inner West residents:

Review of the new overpass
The above ground road overpass is what has primarily changed from the original EIS design,with multiple flow on effects. It has led to the relocation of the green link, the addition of a new pedestrian bridge, and associated visual impacts and destroys pedestrian connectivity. All these negative impacts are being driven by the exclusive focus on improved vehicle movements (level of service).


Improvements to pedestrian connectivity.
This modification prioritises the needs of motorists,trashing the experience of local pedestrian traffic and making harder for residents to access the public waterfront.In line with the urban design principles in the EIS, pedestrian connectivity needs to be greatly improved. This unequivocally demonstrates the incredible bias against pedestrians by the RMS and worship of private motor vehicles by this agency. Pedestrian access toBicentennial Park and Jubilee Parkat Johnston Street Pedestrians walking from the Western side of Johnston Street will have to use an astonishing four pedestrian crossings in order to reach Bicentennial Park(seediagram below).This pedestrian arrangement should be returned to the existing arrangement and the EIS scheme to allow pedestrians to cross direct from Johnston Street to the Park via The Crescent with a single traffic light

This proposal could be replaced with a slot cut and cover trench running under Whites Creek to push traffic underground instead of overground and avoid the massive imposition of an overpass and obscuring of the‘people’s mural’. The Modification reporti n table 4.1 identified that alternate options, includingThe Crescent underpass –option 2. This option provided the greatest urban design outcomes and is the preferred community solution. This option needs to be carefully re-evaluated with the following criteria.The intention should be to maximise the open slot trench to ensure the underpass section itself is no longer than 120m, so that it does not need to be mechanically ventilated.This will greatly reduce cost and complexity. This might include the ramp from the centre lane, which may require the relocation of the bus stop location.The gradients of the down ramps should be considered so that the ramp allows the existing pedestrian crossing at Johnston Street to remain. Concerns about constructability should be reviewed to investigate alternative construction options –e.g.pre-cast or other technology and temporary traffic diversions through the goods yard site.


Relocation of the green link
This modification alters one of the centrepieces of the original design: a pedestrian and cycling green link to connect the Glebe foreshore and Bicentennial Park to the new Rozelle parklands in the former Rozelle Goods Yard. The green link was originally intended to provide a seamless grade separated connection for pedestrian between the Glebe foreshore parkland and the new Rozelle parklands. The relocation of the green link to the west due to the overpass now necessitates the crossing of the Crescent. The Option 1 and Option 2 in table 4.2 of the Modification Report allow for the single green link to still serve that function. Relocating that green link to the west of the intersection of The Crescent and City West Link puts the needs of motorists ahead of pedestrians and cyclists.By having it on the western side, you now need to cross the four lights at the Crescent rather than no road crossings at all. The original intent was safer and allowed for greater connections in and around the parklands.To overcome this lack of a direct link, the modification has added a second pedestrian bridge. As this has to get over the new vehicle overpass, it is another three metres higher than a direct connection. This is adding about 120m length to the walkway to meet accessible grades. An undergrounded tunnel connection would avoid the need for this second bridge


Destruction of mature fig trees at Buruwan Park
This EIS proposal and this design modification rips up Buruwan Park and all the vegetation at that site including over 70 trees and several beautiful mature figtrees.Removing this vegetation impactson the liveability of our suburb by removing shade, making our local area warmer and destroying the green barrier it provides between the City West Link and residences. The visual impact is this will be considerable as evidenced by the removal this week of trees in the park along White Creek canal. The Modification design should make every possible effort to save these trees and vegetation immediately beside the light rail line, including the large fig tree to the west of the Rozelle Bay station stairs. At a bare minimum, these trees should not be removed until a full Urban Design and Landscape Plan has been completed.


No right turn at The Crescent will lead to increased local traffic in Annandale
This modification would remove the option to turn right out of Johnston Street into the Crescent which will increase traffic through local streets including Piper Street and Booth Street.These changed conditions will mean increased noise and emissions for residents in Annandale. Intersection redesign should investigate the ability to easily turn right to access Glebe, The Tramsheds and other local destinations


Visual impact and obstruction of ‘people’s mural’
This modification will impose hugely on the local landscape in the inner west. The new elevated overpass is completely at odds with local development standards and will have a significant negative visual impact on Annandale and its surrounds. The over pass will also partly obstructs Rodney Monk’s heritage mural which decorates the northern side of the light rail viaduct along The Crescent. That mural was commissioned by the Leichhardt Council in1980 and inspired by political and social movements in the inner west. It is a dearly loved and historically important local artefact that should be protected

I do hope that you listen my concerns, along with the other submissions that are opposed to the propsed modificaitons.

On Friday, hundreds of thousands of school children protested regarding climate change, not only here in Sydney but around the world. I do hope you listen to them and the submissions opposing the proposed changes. If you don't do it for yourself, then do it for your children or grandchildren.

regards
Sandra

This modification is a cost cutting response not a smart and sustainable response. It is very disappointing that the RMS is going against the precedent project that they have had approved and marketed to us the local community. The rms has failed to proceed with their own urban design guidelines known as Beyond the Pavement - to provide a smart city response. This modification is not green, negative visual impact, will increase the heat island effect and fails to provide the active pedestrian and cycle connections.

Do not approve this planning nightmare as this is not a reflection of what a smart city should be - this is an opportunity to build a benchmark project ! Don’t destroy this gateway to the city,

I am writing to object to this proposed amendment, given that it is completely different to the indicative design proposed in the original concept design, which promised an unobtrusive underground tunnel to avoid the traffic lights we were told WestConnex was designed to circumvent.

As a community, we were promised safe, direct pedestrian and cycling access across the Crescent by means of an above ground, vegetated green link. Walking to the city in a safe, clean and convenient manner is critical to keeping as many cars off the roads as possible. These new plans absolutely compromise everything originally promised.

Instead, we now see — thanks to an approval without finalised or consulted design — that we will now lose all of these, including convenient green link, the destruction of trees and Burawang Park, a massive spaghetti junction with no direct route for pedestrians or cyclists, no right turn into Johnson Street. This will result in even longer bottlenecks along the Crescent as drivers are forced to turn at the Bicentennial Park roundabout, and no vegetation on the proposed footbridge.
Given how aggressively WestConnex has destroyed communities, parkland and homes, we can only expect this is likely — especially given how poorly WestConnex, Transurban and RMS have communicated with residents and homeowners.

This new, previously unexplained modification completely disregards the previous consent given to this project, and not only seriously degrades the amenity of this area and community, destroying its unique character, it does so in a completely ugly and unnecessary way, removing any greenery from the original concept, and rendering it potentially dangerous to commuters and women and children after dark, especially given it now drastically increases the walk time from the proposed metro station. As a local woman who commutes alone after dark this is extremely concerning.

Furthermore, we were told by SMC air quality experts that the entire point of tunnelling so dangerously close to our homes and schools was to ensure that emissions did not escape the tunnels. Building this ugly, unnecessary, undisclosed overpass removes this argument, or any suggestion that this project, which does not address issues of congestion on the Anzac Bridge, significantly increases traffic, exhaust emissions and costs to commuters, and the destruction of these trees, many of which are over 30 years old, and were specifically planted to create a barrier to the Crescent and WestConnex and to ameliorate exhaust emissions, mean that even if they are replaced with saplings — WestConnex's infamous "trees" — it could take decades for tree cover to return, resulting in greater heat, more local traffic and increased noise and emissions.

I urge you to please reconsider this new development and to not further destroy our community.

With great and grave concern,
G. Anine Leakey, Lilyfield NSW

I object in the strongest possilble terms to a pedestrian walkway and cycleway from Rozelle and Lilyfield not being included as an integral part of the junction at Rozelle. I live in Rozelle and commute to work in Camperdown. My children both attended Sydney Secondary Blackwattle Campus and walked or cycled there. Other children in Rozelle and Lilyfield attend that same school or St Scholastica's in Glebe and commute on foot or by bike. The park at Blackwattle is a recreational resource for many local families and many children's sports teams practise and play there. A pedestrian accessway for local people to move across the junction in order for them to carry out their normal working school or business day is crucial. I see no provision for this on the plans. How do you propose to facilitate such pedestrian access from one side of the junction to the other?

There will be significantly reduced safety and increased risk with removed pedestrian and cyclists access above The Crescent to Bicentennial Park.
Unsafe and indirect access across five sets of pedestrian lights at The Crescent to reach the foreshore/railyards. The part Greenlink and concrete plaza at Rozelle Bay light rail still requires you to cross at the five sets of lights on The Crescent.
Removal of direct active links to the foreshore (including the new skatepark and kids playground), cutting our communities off from the foreshore and the proposed revitalisation of the entire Bays Precinct. It is nonsensical and against the vision of foreshore living to separate it from the surrounding suburbs with widened roads and overpass.
The proposed modification has no updated Urban Design and Landscape Plan (or peer review ). The original EIS had both. The modification considerably changes the design intent of the approved EIS design.
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 but pushing them back on to Council. The WestConnex development that recently opened has already created an influx of traffic into the local streets of Annandale and Leichhardt. Further traffic structures such as widened roads and overpasses will make the influx of traffic even worse despite their intention to increase the flow of traffic.
The overpass will be an imposing structure on the local landscape and will obstruct the viewing of the iconic Rodney Monk heritage mural. This is viewed by the community as a welcoming landmark into the suburb.

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