Sydney CBD Light Rail

I have serious reservations about using Devonshire St for the light rail thoroughfare through Surry Hills. Devonshire St is the main pedestrian thoroughfare to Central and it is far too narrow to accommodate the light rail, residents vehicles and pedestrian traffic. Trams had run along Oxford and Cleveland Sts for over a century and are more logical routes. This would be similar to the current light rail situation in Brunswick St, Fiztroy or Swanston St, Carlton in Melbourne that share vehicle and light rail traffic just fine.

I object to the Devonshire St section because:
1) I think Devonshire St is too steep for a light train.
2) I think destroying Olivia Gardens and making people homeless is wrong. We are already hundred of thousands houses short in Sydney.

To whom it may concern,

I am very happy with the plans moving forward for the light rail. This project will revitalize the CBD, reduce pollution and increase city life.

I fully support this great initiative.

While I am very supportive of the development of the South East Light Rail, I am concerned that there has been inadequate consideration of a route that uses Foveaux Street rather than Devonshire street through Surry Hills.

I strongly request that alternative proposals that route the rail via Foveaux street be given greater consideration, with the goal of making Surry Hills quieter and safer with improved car and bike access.

As I live in Gordon which is about one hour away from the school, I always feel catching bus is very inconvenient because it is always overcrowded and we always have to wait for a long time for the bus to come during off-peak hours. Thus, I support the idea of build the light rail as it would make our travelling experiences to uni so much better.

This is a complete waste of time and money. We should concentrate on improving existing bus services.

Instead we are treated as idiots.

Little bits of the plan are released at a time and we are told by Liberal and/or Independent Local Government people that we should be happy. The present State Government has no commitment to Public Transport, Public Education or Public Health.

From your material supplied I cannot determine:-
What will be the effect on Devonshire St Trees and street parking?
What is the remedial plan for Wimbo Park and the corridor from Bourke to Sth Dowling?
What is the evaluation of foot/road bike/ traffic congestion re traffic lights at Devonshire Bourke corner?
What is the evaluation of peaktime traffic flow on Sth Dowling?
Why is there no stop at Bourke st to cater for Surry Hills commuters who will be disadvantaged by already reprted bus cancelations??
I am in favour of light but feel you planners have ignored the citizens of Surry Hills who have no Liberal Partyvoice in your government.

I feel strongly that the government should look into the feasibility and impact of extending the proposed light rail line to Eastgardens and Maroubra Junction. It would be great help to the public transport challenges that are likely to be faced in these hubs following the proposed rezoning and high density development on the Anzac Parade corridor and the recent sale of the British American tobacco site in pagewood to a major property developer which will lead to significant increase in the population in these areas.

Above ground rail is not a solution to traffic congestion. If your serious about improving public transport put it underground like all major cities in the world. Traffic and noise will be worse.

I would like to request that all stops along the light rail have shelter provided - it rains a lot in Sydney and there are a lot of bus stops that are not under cover which causes one to get very wet during commuting times. If this can be avoided it would be appreciated.

great idea even if a little late . its imperative that the tram runs independent of the traffic and does not share the road with cars.as can happen in melbourne this causes traffic congestion .if possible but would increase costs tunnels or overpassing traffic lights in some instances would be a great benefit to the commuters

You are creating a missing link if the the LRT does not go to Maroubra or even to Little Bay where there is a extensive residential development

I object to the lightrail being routed through Devonshire Street Surry Hills. If the lightrail was routed via Cleveland St or Oxford Street, I would then support it.

I attended the community information session on the proposed CBD and South East Light rail at the Eastern Suburbs Masonic Centre last Saturday.

On the surface the project appears to be beneficial to the city but upon examination, a number of very worrying issues become apparent.

1) Research has established that once the light rail is completed, the peak hour capacity at Kensington will have only been inceased by 3 people per tram over the current existing bus system. What's the point of the proposal?
It sounds like a M5 and M2 scenario.... the things outdated by the time its completed.
When questioned about this fact staff said we'll increase the number of trams on the track in peak hours.
That will only work if the terminus at each end are big enough to handle turnarounds quickly and efficiently.

2) Anzac Parade from the Alison Road intersection through to Kingsford will loose all on street parking. A loss of almost 900 spaces.
When questioned the staff at the info session said they would look at increasing parking in surrounding streets.
I can tell you now there is currently no parking in surrounding streets. The retail strip through Kensington is already suffering and street frontage in the new residential developments remains unleased as no one wants it due to the lack of parking for potential shoppers.
As for Kingsford, we had dinner there last Saturday night and the strip was packed. We parked 2 blocks from Anzac Parade and when we left our carspace, there were 3 cars waiting for our space.
Basically no parking along Anzac Parade will spell death to the retail sector and make surrounding residential areas unlivable.

I AM NOT IN FAVOUR OF THE LIGHT RAIL GOING up Devonshire Street. I have attended meetings where the representatives from the Light Rail have not yet been able to answer - Why not Fouveaux Street .... which will not have as much impact on the community ..............

There also appear to be many inconsistencies of information in the document - would respectfully ask that the submission be extended to 90 days to allow a through viewing of the document.

Many thanks for reading this subsmission

Although I support the overall proposal of building light rail access to the eastern suburbs and along George Street, I have major concerns about the route selection through the Surry Hills precinct.
I believe that Devonshire Street is too narrow to accomodate a double light rail line. There will be unacceptable noise impact on the residents in that area. I would support that the route be along Foveaux Street using a cut-and-cover (sub-surface) as an alternative for the route to Devonshire Street - even if this is at higher cost.

You object in turning a beautiful village like suburb like Surry Hills and turning into another busy city suburb.
I love living in Surry Hills because of its unique boutique, quiet and relaxed atmosphere. Shops like Bourke Street Bakery and
the book Kitchen are very relaxing to walk to in the mornings or afternoons.
I absolutely object to the unsightly light rail coming through Surry Hills.

I object to the light rail as I chose Surry Hills to live in because of its quiet village like suburb.

The current EIS does not deal with access for residents to their car spaces. The proposed pedestrianisation between Market and King Streets will have a severe negative impact on hundreds of residents who use this part of George street and runs the risk of expropriating significant value from such people. The project needs to ensure that residents cars can drive on this street at all times and that appropriate automatically operated gates etc. are set up to enable safe entry and exit without having risk of pedestrian injury or delays. Alternatively, compensation should be paid to residents and an alternative car park made open to them.

Please would you advise whether the residents in the Tower Apartments on Market Street will have effective parking access under this project, or if alternative central parking will be provided under this project. Our car park entrance is shared with Myer and Swissotel on George Street, and I understand that George Street will be pedestrianised.