Sydney CBD Light Rail

To Whom it may concern,

I would like to support option 1B for the light rail project as together with option 1A it will cause the least amount of impact to residents ie, It would mean the state government would acquire the least amount of homes if they chose these options.

Light Rail Stabling

In the last few months, the ATC has sold off many of the houses on Doncaster Avenue (which were previously owned by them and tenanted to workers on the racecourse) and now they are owner occupied. As a new resident to Doncaster Avenue, I would like to present my concerns about the Light Rail Stabling.

The impact of having the Light Rail stabling situated behind residential housing on Doncaster Avenue will include:

1. Noise and air pollution
2. The removal of mature, beautiful tress of significant heritage value
3. Removal of protected native species (flying foxes)

It is for these primary reasons that I would like you to re-consider Stabling to SE of the racecourse.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration

Salmon Bros Electric has been located in Devonshire Street Surry Hills since 1970. operating an electrical wholesale business. The client base is mainly electrical contractors, who purchase electrical equipment for installation in retail and commercial premises in the Sydney CBD.
The light rail passes our promises in Devonshire Street and will result in all parking spaces being removed from the front of our premises.
Eastbound access from Devonshire St.to Nickson Street will be prohibited under the proposed light rail policy of not allowing motor vehicles to travel on the light rail tracks. Vehicle traffic is planned to be one way on Devonshire St. in an easterly direction.
This access exclusion policy and the loss of parking spaces in Devonshire Street will have a very serious effect on our business. As the majority of our clients approach our business from the city via Devonshire Street and Crown Street.
I propose access from Devonshire Street to Nickson Street, to the side access of our premises, by a right hand crossing of the light rail track at the junction of Devonshire Street and Nickson Street.
I further propose the inclusion of a loading zone in Nickson Street , allowing for four loading spaces adjacent to our business, for use by our business and the other businesses operating in Nickson Street adjacent to Salmon Bros Electric.
I applaud the Light Rail Project to improve access to the City and the major sporting venues in Moore Park. The two matters submitted in my proposal will enable our business to continue operating in Surry Hills.
I request you give these matters your consideration
Yours Sincerely
Peter Salmon
Managing Director and owner of
Salmon Bros Electric.

. .

I am writing to show my support for the option 1b that has been proposed for the light rail project in the CBD and south east. I think 1b is the better option because it makes the least amount of impact to residents and goes through a Government owned car park - the Langton Clinic car park. Why take an extra house when you can take a car park.

Light Rail Stabling

I am writing to you to reconsider the Light Rail Stabling to the SE location of the Racecourse.

In the last few months, the ATC has sold off many of the houses on Doncaster Avenue (which were previously owned by them and tenanted to workers on the racecourse) and now they are owner occupied. As a new resident to Doncaster Avenue, I would like to present my concerns about the Light Rail Stabling.

The impact of having the Light Rail stabling situated behind residential housing on Doncaster Avenue will include:

1. Noise and air pollution
2. The removal of mature, beautiful tress of significant heritage value
3. Removal of protected native species (flying foxes)




Thank you for your time and consideration

The Randwick area is well serviced by buses and if additional services simply adding additional buses at key peak times would resolve any short falls.
The proposed Light Rail would only disrupt and cause unnecessary dissection of Randwick area which is pedestrian friendly. People walk to the shops, cinema, hospital and university.
I oppose the proposed terminal at high cross park. it would destroy an outstanding landmark and a tranquil retreat for hospital staff and residence. The majestic stand of Cook Pines are part of the Randwick landscape where the hospital used to have its Christmas lights. If the university needs a light rail it should terminate at Anzac parade and better service the university and numerous apartments in this area. Please save the Randwick community a lot of money and disruption for a service it does not need. surely the State Government could use this money on better services to South western Sydney where transport is scarce.

South East Sydney Community Transport (SESCT) provides services to the aged, people with a disability and transport disadvantaged residents who live in the Local Government Areas of City of Sydney and Botany Bay. Our service has been operating for over 30 years. We have tailored our transport services to assist those for whom mainstream Public Transport is no longer an option and more recently to fill some of the gaps in local Public Transport bus services. Please visit www.sesct.org.au for further information.
We write to express our concern regarding 26 current clients who live in the Social Housing apartment's 147-163 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills. The CSELR Environmental Impact Statement fails to address the needs of the frail aged and younger people with a disability who are dependent on door to door Community Transport to access their community for weekly food shopping, health appointments and socialisation.
TfNSW has stated that all Public Transport should be focused around the needs of the passenger. In your supporting documentation you state that `The Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) aims to eliminate as far as possible, discrimination against persons on the ground of disability in areas including access to premises and the provision of facilities, services and land. The CSELR proposal will be designed to be independently accessible and DDA compliant where topography permits'.
While this statement may be true in terms of access to the light rail carriages, the clients with mobility issues that SESCT currently enables will struggle to reach the light rail platform.
SESCT clients living in Devonshire Street will not be able to use the CSELR for the following reasons:
* They need door to door assistance
* The CSELR does not go where they need to go
* There is a perceived concern that the service will be expensive.
As a strong supporter of Public Transport South East Sydney Community Transport welcomes the CSELR Project.
SESCT believes that this additional Public Transport service will provide environmentally sustainable transport opportunities to the growing population of Sydney. We also hope that some of our existing clients who have greater mobility may be able to use the CSELR to access the Prince of Wales hospital and to go shopping in China Town.
However, we ask that you take into consideration the transport needs of the current and the future very frail and disabled residents of Devonshire Street. Please provide a set down zone for Community Transport, Disability Taxis and non-emergency patient ambulance transport vehicles to provide safe access to homes at 147-163 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills.
The set down zone needs to be positioned between Waterloo Street and Little Riley Street and opposite 166 Devonshire Street. The set down zone must be long enough to provide space (8 metres) for a 24 seat Mitsubishi Rosa Mini bus. The bus will need to stay parked in the zone for up to 20 minutes while the bus assistant helps the passengers on and off the bus and then on the return trip he takes them one by one into their homes with their shopping. The driver remains in the bus with the other passengers.
The other type of Community Transport service vehicle that picks up clients in Devonshire Street is the Wheelchair accessible minibus (6 metres). The driver will leave the vehicle go into the clients home and assist him/her out of their home using a wheel chair belonging to SESCT. The wheel chair hoist is lowered and the passenger is lifted into the rear of the vehicle.
Perhaps you can consider current signage in use by the City of Sydney Council in other challenging parking areas which reads - No Parking City of Sydney Community bus zone excepted Mon to Friday.
Yours Sincerely,

Jane Rogers
Manager
12th December 2013

Dear NSW Planning

It is imperative that the Light Rail Project has minimal adverse environmental impact. However, the current plan to make High Cross Park a stabling area is in direct conflict with our obligation to both the community and the environment.

High Cross Park is a Heritage Conservation area classified in the Randwick LEP and by the National Trust of NSW. The trees in High Cross Park ought to be preserved. Let's not "pave paradise to put up a parking lot".

Further, leading researchers have found connections between quality of life and trees/vegetation. Removing trees in this area will result in lower property values and erode the historical character of this suburb.

Rather, I respectfully submit that the alternative stabling point be the Royal Randwick racecourse car park. Since this development will directly benefit the racecourse (indeed, they did lobby for it), a portion of their existing car park could be utilised for Light Rail stabling instead of the heritage area High Cross Park.

This would also further encourage commuters to the racecourse to use the Light Rail system.

Instead of "paving paradise" to put up a parking lot, let's use a (car) parking lot for the (rail) parking lot.

Kind regards
Ann Kayis
Lawyer

My understanding is that part of the current plan for the CBD and South East Light Rail will involve the demise of High Cross Park in Randwick, making way for a transport interchange. Green spaces in our city are an easy target when it comes to such projects and over the years they have become few and far between. Let us not see this one disappear too.
I urge you to find a more suitable place for this terminus.

With such an interchange planned at Randwick one can only assume that the Express Buses from Coogee to the CBD will also become a thing of the past, resulting in longer travel times for commuters, who will have the inconvenience of an interrupted journey and no doubt, having to stand for the Randwick / CBD portion of their commute.
Retention of some express transport, direct from Coogee to the CBD, should be considered.

You cannot destroy the High Cross Park in Randwick to make way for the light railway. A corridor was set aside for this and over the years successive governments and councils have sold it off. Now the public loses a recreational space because of poor public policy decisions. It is environmental vandalism of the highest order and beggars belief that a park with 100 year old trees should be sacrificed for the poor decisions of governments of both persuasions over the years who have failed to understand the growth of this area of Sydney and it's transport needs.
Please find another way!

Once complete, all school children will cross Anzac Parade, as well as the existing bus lanes and new light rail tracks, to access transport. Suggest solution:A well-designed and positioned pedestrian bridge across Anzac Parade, bus lanes and light rail tracks to ensure the safety of all students

I would like to Firmly Disagree with the proposal for building a Light Rail from Randwick/Kingsford to the City for the following reasons:

1) Mature aged trees will be destroyed in the Randwick and Moore Park area.
2) The Royal Hotel Park and mature trees will be destroyed
3) loss of car spaces
4) loss of lanes which will increase traffic congestion
5) No longer City buses therefore people will be getting on a shuttle bus from Coogee taking them to the Royal Hotel which will majorly increase traffic problems around the spot especially with Brigidine College being right there and people dropping off and picking up there children via car.
6) Disabled/elderly/Pregnant people use public transport just to go to the shop so perhaps need to just jump on and jump off the bus but all this will make it more difficult for the people we should look after the most!

I am strongly against the Light rail scheme and would like to suggest that an underground train tunnel linking with Bondi going down to la Perouse would seem a better scheme for the long term future.

Anything destroying nature that has been here longer than our great great grandfathers shouldn't be touched but should be respected. Sydney is known for it's beauty, lets leave it looking beautiful.

God Bless

I welcome the implementation of a light rail system linking the Sydney CBD to the south eastern Sydney area. This will provide an overall reduction in air and noise pollution and improve public transport to an area that lacks services from the existing railway system. I am writing to support the Randwick City Council proposed changes to the current light rail plans.
As a local resident, I have specific concerns in regards to construction of the tram stabling facility directly behind our property on Doncaster Avenue. I am particularly concerned about the removal of several large Morten Bay Figs and Canary Island Date Palms which are planted in the 19th century and are more than 100 years old. These trees are listed as part of the registry of significant trees by the Randwick City Council in 2007. As a local resident, I am able to appreciate the wide array of local wildlife, including flying fox and many species of birds such as Kookaburra and Magpies, relying on these trees.
In the current proposed tram stable location, it is at extremely close proximity to local residents at Doncaster Avenue. As per your environmental impact report, this will introduce excess noise that does not comply with the usual restriction for residential areas (10dB). Randwick City Council has proposed an alternate location for the tram stable which will result in the majority of the stable facility facing high street and UNSW. This will reduce the impact of the new infrastructure on local residents.
Finally, I would like to put through concerns around the possibility of increased traffic through Doncaster Avenue as a result of reduction in number of lanes on Anzac Parade. This may pose significant risks to students attending Kensington Public school as the main gate is on Doncaster Avenue between Bowral Street and Todman Avenue. I suggest mitigating these risks via traffic calming measures along Doncaster Avenue such as limiting through traffic movements and creating physical limitations such as Chicanes.
I would greatly appreciate your consideration of my comments as a concerned local resident.

I support the light rail project but I am very concerned that so many trees will need to be cut down. Could a better design be made? It would almost certainly be more expensive but the tree lined streets of Randwick offer enormous benefits to the residents, like shade, and aesthetic value. Areas without trees are quite grim and antisocial. Tree lined streets improve the mood for everybody.

I have lived in Coogee for over 30 years and object to the light rail proposal as it stands. I rely heavily on buses to get to other suburbs and having to get a bus from Coogee then transfer to a light rail to then transfer again to another bus just to get to my destination will be a huge expenditure in time and money. Also High Cross Park is a place where many locals working in the Randwick area go to sit and have lunch or meet with friends. To take this away will destroy the community spirit that is very strong here. I am not alone in this thinking.
Below is a piece by another local who has expressed it better.

The EIS proposal for High Cross Park is devastating. The trains will terminate there and rail lines cut through it. Two sides will become large bus bays serving passengers as they transfer to and from buses and the tram. The rest of the Park will be concreted. The majority of trees will go as will the lawn.

Many of the trees are in the Randwicks Significant Tree Register which states that for instance the Cook Pines are "oustanding Iandmark specimens of high visual, aesthetic, historic, cultural and botanic significance to this location. Their prominent position, exagerated vertical height and combined group impact create a dramatic sense of scale to this civic space" (p.52). It is believed they are 100 to 120 years old. They are in good condition and would have many more years to go. The beautiful shade-giving Moreton Bay fig trees are also important components of the historic planting scheme. Other mature trees include Brush Box and various eucalypts. These trees are a vital habitat and food source for birds and other fauna. Black cockatoos use the tall trees as stopping places in their travels. These trees give this tiny park its peaceful, restful ambience despite being bounded by three busy streets.

The War Memorial will be stranded in the middle of concrete and crowded out by buses and trams. The peacefullness and gravitas of its lawn setting will be gone. The stately trees will no longer be there to stand silent witness to the names on the Memorial especially on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day and other days when people come to to honour those who died. Instead there will be buses and trams every few minutes and hundreds of people rushing to catch the bus and/or tram.

The Park is used by hospital patients and their visitors. It is not unusual to see people in wheelchairs sitting in the shade with their friends and family. Patients can also be seen with their drips attached sitting in the park. High Cross Park provides a precious respite from hospital for these people and a welcome place to rest and relax at lunch time for the workers in the area. This all has significant value which a concrete plaza with buses, trams and people moving here and there does not.

The Park is a heritage area classified in the Randwick LEP and by the National Trust of NSW. It is a Heritage Conservation area "..widely recognised by the community as a central and identifying element of Randwick's historical landscape. High Cross Reserve was an early focal point for social gatherings in the village". [High Cross: Heritage Conservation Area - Council website]

Council has an excellent submission on its web site which canvasses many concerns. In that it suggests relocating the tram terminus closer to the hospital (thus providing a stop for the hospital which the EIS does not) and leave High Cross Park for the people to enjoy.

Some 700 trees will be destroyed to make way for the Light Rail to Randwick and to the Anzac Pde roundabout. As well as the trees in High Cross Park the row of magnificent Morton Bay and Plane trees along Allison Rd thought to date back to the 1930s will fall victim. So too will the Moreton Bays along Wansey Road which are described in the Significant Tree Register as being " an outstanding single species row plantation and one of the finest examples in the Randwick LGA" (p.115). Trees along and in the mddile of Anzac Pde will be sacrificed.

There has to be more thought gone into this South Eastern Light Rail. There has to be a way to save the trees and keep Randwick green. The planning as evidenced in the EIS appears to be the result of moving models around a board without any awareness of the real situation. Surely not even the most gung-ho planners would support destroying 700 mature trees. If you assume conservatively that the average age of these trees is say 60 years, then 700 trees represents 42,000 years!!

I'm concerned about a number of things in the proposal.

Firstly, the carrying capacity of the proposed light rail seems not only to be less than what we have now on the buses, but also to be non-expandable for future needs.

Secondly, the reduction in utility. Currently, it's easy to hop onto a bus for a couple of stops, say from Kingsford IGA to Middle Street, The proposed stops on the light rail require much more walking with heavy shopping bags.

Thirdly, the increased traffic congestion around the route. I may have missed it, but didn't see any real modelling of traffic with the proposed changes.

I would urge instead of a light rail system, extension of the Bondi heavy rail line underground to Port Botany, via Randwick Junction, the Hospital, UNSW, Kingsford, Maroubra Junction, Long Bay, and Prince Henry.

The numerous, beautiful & historic trees around Randwick racecourse and in High Cross Park deserve protection.

High Cross Park is a significant heritage area for Randwick. Without it, many residents, hospital workers and patients will lose an important and much-loved area in the community.

Cutting down the trees near the Royal Randwick Racecourse will be detrimental to the currently endangered grey-headed flying foxes which use these massive fig-trees as habitat.

Our current bus system is more flexible, has more stops and works great. We can put on or take off buses as per our future needs.
Our bus system can drop people off safely at the curb, the proposed light rail has people crossing traffic at more intervals more likely for an incident to happen.
The light rail system is proposed for thousands of people a day to get of the bus and compete for a spot on the light rail. The process and time to Escort people children elderly mothers with prams of a bus and on trams will be like a school bus process, the Journey will take longer than a light rail exchange type bus to tram.

The fact is that with buses you can keep parking for businesses and customers along Anzac Pde, with light rail the parking will be lost. The fact that light rail is linked to the UAP and high rise and increase densities and also breaks Council zonings to pay for the light rail to come together shows that there is to much baggage that will come at cost to our environment for the light rail.

What will the street scape look like with the light rail, many say awful. A shuttle bus type system may be a better option to get to the City..

You be better spending the money in other places. Light rail is inflexible. There is not one resident i have spoken to think its a good idea they actually think its a step back ward in transport. That's why they took trams away in the 1st place as they cause pedestrian and traffic problems and were not as flexible as buses. More research is needed, more detail is needed to show that light rail will be a benefit rather than a burden or a congested nightmare to our streets, what if the are break downs, what will be the impact, will it move more people around than the Buses. What will be the impacts on our local communities, street scape, roads, noise, pollution etc. many including myself now believe the light rail is linked to the UAP and that is where the money for the light rail project is coming from. I,We don't support the UAP, We support the LEP. For now NO to the light rail. Carlos

Please move the terminus from High Cross Park to the top of High Street. High Cross park is vital as a resting and recuperating green space for patients, staff, country visitors and local shoppers. The park is home to our War Memorial which is the site of the Anzac Dawn Service every year. It is the only green space for several hundred metres in the Randwick City which is already very short on useable green space. It is not unusual to see families and others having picnics there. High Cross park is a place of beauty and well worth preserving. It is worth noting that the White Ribbon walk has started from the park each year.
It is also vital that the bus services which start from Coogee Beach are not touched in any way. It is unreasonable to expect the high number of elderly, disabled, mothers with prams and young children to change from a bus into a tram after a short distance. It is difficult enough for these people as it is. Residents rely on and are very happy with their current bus services into the CBD.
It is apparent that the sole purpose for the trams is to service the racecourse, Randwick TAFE, University of NSW, and the Prince of Wales Hospital. The residents of north Randwick and further south in Randwick are not catered for at all by the tramway. Please - no change to our very reliable and helpful buses.
I believe there are some 45,000 plus students currently using NSW University, the trams alone are not going be sufficient to move this number of students (at the rate of 9000 an hour as stated) - it would take 9 hours of tram services to move this number of students once each day. I trust they would expect to be able to go home again at the end of classes?
Are the trams going to augmented by buses to help carry just the students?
Otherwise it looks like a good service for these particular places, however it does not take into account the needs of Randwick residents.
Please Save our High Cross Park and do not touch our very efficient and reliable buses.

Dear Sir/Madam,

With reference to the EIS for application SS6042, CBD and South East Light Rail Project I wish to make the following submission.

The light rail currently has a station planned for the Moore Park precinct. As a regular user of The Entertainment Quarter entertainment and leisure precinct I am concerned the station is located beyond any suitable access point to the precinct and offers no solution for weather-protected cover to the stadiums, cinema or restaurants (rain or sun). As a part of the development there needs to a covered access walkway provided from the proposed station to the Hordern Pavilion/Royal Hall of Industries Driver Avenue entry.

I currently use my vehicle to access the precinct to attend the cinema. I can currently attend the cinema without any detriment as a result of weather. I would not use the light rail if I was not provided some degree of weather protection to the entertainment venues. I would propose crowds for the stadiums would likewise be severely impacted without any covered access path.


Sincerely,