Sydney Metro - Chatswood to Sydenham

I am writing regarding the tunnel route proposed for the Sydney Metro City & Southwest Corridor and Twin Tunnel Route to Barangaroo.

I was surprised to learn that train tunnelling will occur directly under.

I attended the information session at , but was not reassured. Indeed, I was told there was no guarantee that train noise would be inaudible at the predicted levels of 30-35 dB - particularly at night in a quiet bedroom. As the agent explained "it depends on the person".

I also note the complex has an extensive garage area that is far lower than the surface level of, so the estimated depth of the tunnel 50 meters below does not reflect the depth of the tunnel below the garage of.

Our strong recommendation is to tunnel under the, rather than under a The building contains no residents, and is unoccupied at night, over weekends, or on public holidays. We do understand such a minor re-routing would not eliminate train noise entirely, but it could reduce it to below the threshold of audibility.

As residential taxpayers and ratepayers, we purchased a because of the quiet location both day and night. We are concerned that metro trains every few minutes traveling directly under our complex will negatively impact on the quiet environment of , and would urge you to re-consider the routing of the tunnel

I am currently an owner of an and am shocked to learn that the Sydenham to Chatswood train line will be built underneath my apartment. The apartment has 20 metres of under ground car spaces underneath of which technicians were not aware. This would result in a 10 metre buffer between my building and the train line. I spent my whole childhood living adjacent to a train line. We were 20 metres from the train line and the train line is 15 metres below ground level. Despite this we constantly had the noise from the trains passing. The vibrations from the trains are so significant that mirrors have fallen off cupboards. I do not want to suffer from noise pollution when I have purchased an apartment in a location which I expected to be quieter than the centre of the city.

The train line would much better be built under. There would be a much larger buffer between buildings and train tracks.

Rubber wheels and tracks would also reduce noise.

The construction of tunnels underneath the building can also result in structural problems with the building. Who will pay for these?

There has also been reports of removal of spoil 24/7. Once again this will result in noise pollution.

I believe the buffers and levels of noise are grossly underestimated.

Obviously, all of the above factors will affect

There has been limited public information on this proposal and the time given for objections has been limited.

I hope that you take the time to consider my objection

I am very concerned about the Blues Point Temporary Retrieval Site, particularly the plan to remove waste material and deliver concrete using trucks.
The noise, dust and disruption caused by the movement of 6 trucks an hour, almost every day, every week, every month, for 18 months (!) would be an unnecessarily harsh imposition on residents and visitors to this popular scenic picnic spot with its views of the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Blues Point Road is narrow, and many of the heritage buildings could easily suffer damage from the vibration of the heavy truck movements.
Given the length of the disruption involved, it is only reasonable that barges be used instead of trucks, so as to minimise the noise, vibration, traffic chaos and dust as much as possible.
While I accept that some discomfort is needed to create progress for everyone's benefit, I repeat that 18 months of discomfort for Blues Point Road residents and visitors is unreasonable, particularly when a viable alternative exists.
I respectfully request that the less disruptive option, ie barges, be adopted, instead of trucks.

CHATSWOOD TO SYDENHAM METRO
Attention: Director, Infrastructure Projects

Dear Sir, Madam.

I am Martin Richards: the Owner of 3/33 Mitchell Street, McMahons Point, NSW 2060.
I can be contacted at:
(M) 0417 653 713
Email: [email protected]

Chatswood to Sydenham Impact of Sydney Metro City & Southwest Corridor and Twin Tunnel Route. Application number SSI 15_7400:

I am writing to object to the route that is being proposed for the Sydney Metro City & Southwest Corridor and Twin Tunnel Route as it crosses from Victoria Cross Station to Barangaroo Station.

I have examined the documentation (see Appendix E of volume 2b, p. 6 and Appendix H1 of volume 2b, p. 10) of your seven volume Environmental Impact Report, and believe the permanent noise and vibration levels arising from the proposed route may negatively impact on our residential complex of 13 townhouses situated at 29-33 Mitchell Street, McMahons Point.

My suggestion is to adjust the routing.

Currently, the proposed route swings west from Chuter Street toward our residential complex, but I recommend that the routing continue under the Corporate Head Office & NSW Operations Office of Compass Group Australia at 51-35 Mitchell Street, McMahons Point.

As planned, the noise level for most units in Mitchell Gardens units has been assessed as 31-35 dB. In contrast, the non-residential office complex at 51-35 Mitchell Street (the old Pacific Magazines building) is less affected even though it remains unoccupied at nights, weekends and public holidays.

It would be sensible to tunnel directly under 51-35 Mitchell Street, and not under Mitchell Gardens.

As taxpayers and ratepayers, local residents have a right to the uninterrupted, peaceful enjoyment of their homes. We are concerned that "in 2024, there will be capacity for a metro train every two minutes in each direction under the city."

The character of our 13 units on Mitchell Street could be negatively and irreversibly impacted.

With thanks for your attention to my objection.

I have read relevant sections in the Sydney Metro, City & Southwest, Chatswood to Sydenham, Environmental Impact Statement Summary dated May-June 2016 referring to the Blues Point Temporary Retrieval Site.
Your description of the works involved as stated on page 60 refer to three (3) major events, namely excavating the site, removal of spill and subsequently backfilling the site and the removal of the cutter heads and shields.
My concern is specifically to do with the transportation of the spill, both the excavation and backfilling, and the transportation of the cutterheads and shields.
My concerns are as follows:-

1. It is clear to see that Blues Point Rd and Miller Street are not particularly wide and given the oversize loads being carried could create significant bottlenecks for local traffic.

2.The EIS proposes that the number of truck will be in the order of 78-102 per day ( I assume an 8 hour day which equated to something like one (1) truck every six (6) minutes. And that is on good days otherwise it could be more like every four (4) minutes. This would be a great inconvenience to the locals bearing in mind it is really the only way in and out of McMahons Point.

3. The demographic of McMahons Point consists of a significant proportion of people of pensionable age who need either public or private transport. A congested road is a severe disadvantage.

4. The ability for emergency vehicles to have ready and urgent access to McMahons Point will be compromised.

5. As the extraction site is at sea level, all the trucks will need to climb uphill with very heavy loads to get to North Sydney and beyond. Apart from the significant increase diesel soot (particulates), the fairly constant loud noise of the heavy trucks labouring up Blues Point Rd doesn't bear thinking about.

6. No doubt that as a result of the constant heavy traffic on Blues Point Rd and Miller St, these roads will fairly quickly deteriorate and based on past observations repairs will not be a priority. Particularly as the heavy traffic continue for some time.

7. There is also the increased risk of pedestrian accidents as McMahons Point and North Sydney have very heavy pedestrian traffic as it is a busy commercial centre as well as an educational destination.

From reading the on page 60 of the EIS, it appears the the wharf at the end of Blues Point road only needs an upgrade in order to accommodate the removal of the cutterheads and shields. From that I surmise that the spill could be transported by barge. That would be a far more acceptable option for McMahons Point and North Sydney residents than the road alternative.

The proposal to site the Chatswood to Sydenham Metro line under Towns Place will be too close to our apartment which is situated at the most north-westerly corner of the apartment block at the corner of Towns Place and Dalgety Road in Millers Point.

Our apartment is at street level near the new roundabout at this junction and will have the maximum negative effects of the new line if it proceeds as drawn. All concrete structures are sound sensitive and we are worried about the train noise and vibration if the new tunnel is below us.

The effect of train vibration can be felt already in some CBD buildings [e.g. Theatre Royal] and potentially the new line will reduce our amenity and the free enjoyment of our living space.

Please consider moving the line slightly to the west to avoid any problems with the residents of our apartments.

Please also use the best available methods for noise abatement and attenuation for the parts of the track that pass close by this area.

On the whole I am extremely supportive of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest.

1. Pedestrian Access

I do however have some comments on pedestrian access to and, more importantly, through station precincts. Particularly in the tightly packed Sydney CBD it is important to provide access to the city that doesn't involve waiting on the sidewalk. This has the benefit of generally providing better all-weather access and also preventing car/ passenger conflict given the predilection of Sydney siders for jaywalking.

The State Government and Barrangaroo developers are spending large amounts of money on similar pedestrian friendly connections to Barrangaroo - it would be a shame if similar thought is not given to the Sydney Metro.

Unfortunately the EIS doesn't provide full information on exits and interconnections, so these comments are provided with respect to the limited information provided.

1.1 Martin Place

1.1.1 33 Bligh Exit
Fully supported.
My preference would be for an exit on O'Connell St being the furthest point from main Northern station portal, and also provide access down to Australia Square/ Pitt St area via the existing pedestrian walkway accessed through Swire House on O'Connell St

1.1.2 Chifley Tower
I would also suggest another North-Eastern tunnel to reduce pedestrian traffic crossing Hunter St and provide better pedestrian access to Chifley,GPT,GMT,Aurora (which are all very large towers). Suggestion would be for a tunnel diagonally across Hunter St with an exit near the existing glass wall on Chifley Square.. A small exit could be installed here with limited changes to the overall visual amenity of the square - possibly as just a single stair case or escalator (running up in mornings, and down in evenings) as pedestrian traffic would be expected to be fairly unidirectional. Whilst not a fully accessible entrance/exit this is provided at the main portal.

1.1.3 MLC Centre
It is not clear whether this existing entrance is to be closed. I would strongly argue on retaining it as it forms part of one of the true cross-town paths in Sydney. At present you can move from Colonial Building on Phillip St (nr Hunter St) to George St (nr Wilmot St opposite Cinemas) via Colonial Building, Martin Place Station, Glasshouse, Westfield,QVB,Town Hall Station, Pavillion.
Losing this all-weather route would be a substantial loss for pedestrian traffic in Sydney

1.2 Pitt Street Station

The render for Pitt Street Station shows both an M and a T roundel, suggesting some connection to the existing Sydney Trains network, but how is not described.

1.2.1 Town Hall connection
The most obvious connection, and one which I support is a tunnel underneath Pitt St to Galeries Victoria/under Citi Building. This provides the closest connection and also links up to the cross-city path described above.

1.2.2 Museum connection
I would also support consideration of a diagonal link across Park St/ Castlereagh St to the existing Foodbase Foodcourt, which would link up with an underground path along Elizabeth St, and ultimately providing access to Museum Station

2. Other comments

2.1 University of Sydney v Waterloo
While I support the selection of Waterloo, limited consideration as part of the planning for the Metro appears to have been given to the alternative of adding a station to the existing Airport line, which passes through Waterloo, slightly to the East of the proposed Metro line

This would have enabled both a Waterloo and a University of Sydney station to be constructed.

In any event I would suggest that consideration be giving to potential pathways that might connect to an Airport Line Waterloo Station if it is ever constructed

2.2 Temporary pedestrian bridge at Central

The large bridge appears overkill. Connectivity could be maintained at the Southern end via a smaller bridge from Platform 12 to Platform 16/17 only, connecting up to the existing underground passageways.

From observations there appears to be limited usage of these southern passageways in an event. Access would be improved if the stairs on the proposed bridge are closer to the stairs for the existing underground passageways

Many thanks for your consideration

The proposal to use Blues Point Reserve for the removal of waste material and for the delivery of concrete related to the tunneling for the Sydney Metro is unsound on environmental , community health and well being grounds. The McMahons Point
Peninsular has basically only one access road, being Blues Point Road. This is a standard suburban two lane road passing through a number of pedestrian heavy zones. The movement of large trucks both to and from the proposed retrieval site will present safety,congestion and pollution issues. These large trucks will need to pass through the North Sydney commercial area.
To avoid these issues ,the alternative of using barges for the removal of waste material and delivery of materials is a preferred common sense approach.
During the remediation of the HMAS Platypus site in North Sydney the Federal Government used barges to remove the waste material in recognition of the adverse impact of trucking this material through North Sydney. Economics should not outweigh the well being of the local population.
One would hope that the New South Wales Government would have the same level of concern for the residents of
McMahons Point/North Sydney.
Yours Sincerely,

I think the Waterloo to Sydenham section has been inadequately planned. There is a large volume of existing and planned development between those two stations which will be bypassed if no additional stations are added.
These developments include the Ashmore housing estate - 6000 new residents, the CBA tenancy at Australian Technology park + 11000 workers, and the new high school at Alexandria. This is in addition to already established communities of Erskineville & Alexandria.

My suggestion is for two additional metro stations. One at the corner of Erskineville Oval & Mitchell Road, to service the previously mentioned new developments in Erskineville & Alerxandria. The other at St Peters station to cater for the existing and planned developments in Newtown, St Peters & Enmore.

Additional metro stations will also service to take traffic off local streets that will be adversely affected by the West-Connex to the south. (for example the lanes flowing off the proposed west-connex interchange onto Euston road - which is an already congested thoroughfare).

Opportunities to positively affect many residents lives through the careful placement of public transport amenities appear rarely, so it behoves the department to give suggestions such as the above due consideration.

Blues Pt Temporary Retrieval Site

There are a couple of inaccuracies in your EIS Summary. The corner of Blues Pt Rd & Henry Lawson Ave hasn't been drawn accurately. There is no ferry wharf (as mentioned) at the end of Blues Pt Rd.

Our apartment block is the closest building to the excavation site. The noise generated is going to be unbearable. The noise barriers are useless to us as all of our apartments are higher than the proposed barriers.

Could you please place the retrieval shaft as far south as possible and away from our block and neighbouring houses?

Low grade blasting is preferred. Rock hammers are extremely repetitive and irritating as are compressors and idling trucks.

We don't want the extra spoil from the Sydney Harbour site coming our way either. Trucks struggle to accelerate up the hill outside my balcony on Blues Pt Rd. I constantly hear the struggle with the gear changes, squeeking brakes and idling engines. To multiply this by over 50 times per day is crazy. Blues Pt Rd (particularly near the village) is way too narrow for large trucks to be constantly passing each other. It will destroy the business of the outdoor restaurants. The road is already in relatively poor condition.

Removing the spoil and TBM parts by barge is the only sensible thing to do. It could mean constructing a temporary wharf/conveyor belt.

Two years (and maybe more) is a long time to ruin a famous park. How can the excavation take a whole year? Who is going to break the news to the 120 000 visitors (many from overseas) on NYE that one of the most popular free sites won't be available? Every weekend there are large numbers of visitors having a picnic or celebrating weddings.

What are we not being told? Yesterday a drilling rig and a large fence suddenly appeared in the park close to our block. We were given no notice. What will the quality of the new fence be like? I had to call the police a few weeks ago when the cyclone fencing around a drilling operation was blown across Blues Pt Rd and blocked it. Don't underestimate the gale force winds that can blow through this area.

Where will the mobile phone transmitters be located? We don't want one in the tunnel below us. Will we feel vibrations every few minutes when a train roars through?

I have been hospitalised for nearly 1 month out of the last 4 with serious heart and lung problems which are ongoing. The constant high noise levels, dust and diesel particle pollution will make living in my apartment unbearable. I am not in a financial position to move out for 2 years. What compensation is being offered to move out during this operation?

The Metro station between Martin Place and Central should be called 'Park Street' not 'Pitt Street'. Pitt Street is too long and runs from one end of the city to other paralleling the new line. Park Street is only 500 meters long and runs east-west like Martin Place. There are Pitt Street exit signs in the Central Station concourse. Pitt Street is even at Waterloo. In the vicinity of the new Metro station Pitt Street is a narrow one way street. Park Street is three times as wide and carries over ten times the volume of traffic because it is a major east-west bus route. The main entrance to new station even faces Park Street. I endorse the whole project but calling this station 'Pitt Street' is ridiculous and akin to calling Town Hall Station George Street Station.

I am writing to respond to the Chatswood to Sydenham metro passes. I note there is only 1 x planned metro station at Waterloo on the 6km Central to Sydenham section.

I believe there should be an additional 2 x metro stations provided at both Alexandria and St Peters. This will account for the massive population and residential/commercial development growth. This includes Ashmore 8,000 new residents, Australian Technology Park 11,000, Alexandria park super school 2,200. These new metro stations would relieve over crowding at Erskineville train stations and take pressure off the Westconnex car increases. These new metro stations would provide valuable train to bus interchanges.

My main concern is the lack of integrated planning on this new rail corridor to match the burgeoning growth of the inner south region.

I am writing because I am concerned by the lack of stations on the new metro line within the inner city areas.... In Alexandria and Erskineville particularly there are thousands of new apartments being built and already very congested roads. Which will become further congested by the close proximity of output points of the future Westconnex (well documented by the planning proposal of that project). There is already over crowding on all trains that stop at the closest station Erskineville and that is before over 2000 new dwellings are built within walking distance.
This area really needs extra transport options that are not road dependant already. This is the perfect opportunity to improve this situation and keep up (and possibly get ahead of) the fast growing needs in the area.

I have become aware that NSW Transport has selected the block behind our building for the construction of the metro? I believe that construction is to last 24 hours a day for 4 years?

I understand that they intend on construction day and night for 4 years and will turn Clarke Lane into a two way street, blocking it off at Hume St.

This will subject all residents to:

- construction noise of at least 90 decibels 24 hours a day. Humans normally sleep in bedrooms of 30 decibels maximum, yet all residents with bedrooms backing onto Clarke St will have constant noise at 90 decibels. That the proposed acoustic shed that is intended to deaden this noise will not be built until after initial escavation that will be through blasting and when it is built that it would bearly cover the width of our building with a massive opening at either end.

- Block off our driveway with construction traffic of over 200 truck per day and increase the danger of exiting due to us not being able to clearly see traffic entering from Oxley st.

- Subject us to increased traffic noise with construction and garbage truck trying to turn around, or more likely just reversing back out of a narrow two way lane.

This will all be for an undefined period of time that is currently estimated at four years.

Further, I believe the metro is only to be placed at 25 metres below ground upon completion, instead of like other stations at 40 metres, with no underlying rubber to deaden the noise subjecting us to constant vibration noise.

a) Inadequate protection for residents with regards to night works;
b) The significant impact of construction traffic and increased danger to residents using Clarke Lane
c) The extensive time frame for construction
d) The affect of construction on building stability
e) The ongoing impact on current residential sanctity with increased noise from train and station operations

Apart from this being AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE, the least you could do is compensate us by double glazing our windows, place rubber under the tracks to reduce the ongoing noise and define for us how long we will have to put up with the construction.

I would like to see more metro stations on the Chatswood to Sydenham metro line, particularly in the more densely populated areas such as Alexandria and St Peters/Erskineville. The metro plans include reducing train services at Erskineville station, one in which usage is increasing due to the growing population of the area.
More stations can only help reduce the ever growing congestion on the roads, particularly in these densely populated areas. More cars and less public transport will only make living in the inner city harder.

Attn: The Director, Transport Assessments

RE: Project Number SSI 15_7400 Sydney Metro

Objection to the Blues Point Retrieval Site 23 June 2016

Dear Director

As a local resident living close to Blues Point Road and a frequent user of its facilities, I write to strongly OBJECT to the proposal to excavate Blues Point Reserve for a Metro Retrieval Site.

I believe the impacts on the quality of life of the local residents will be considerable, and urge your organisation to find an alternative (see below).

The impacts include the following:

 A devastating impact on Blues Point Reserve. This park is used throughout the year by visitors from all over Sydney, as well as local residents.
 People living close around the Reserve will be impacted hugely by noise, sound and atmospheric pollution, causing a sudden and catastrophic drop in their quality of life.
 The proposed removal of waste material from the excavation site and the delivery of concrete will result in frequent and persistent truck movements, which, I believe, the EIS has quantified. This will not only dramatically and catastrophically impact Blues Point Road, including local residents, shop owners, businesses, restaurants and diners, but will spread right into the heart of North Sydney, which already has a significant amount of weekday traffic. Trucks will bank up, tying up the road, making access to homes on and off Blues Point Road almost impossible. In fact, it would be hard to dream up a worse idea.
 Other impacts from the truck movements include: noise and vibration (causing much potential damage to surrounding heritage protected buildings and homes), pedestrian safety (especially for children and the elderly), general road safety, extended delays, and a significant amount of pollution heralding many potential poor health consequences.
 Removal of local parking (also impacting local business).
 All severely impacting a key historic area of Sydney.

There must be a better alternative than this. Surely it's within your department's capabilities to come up with a better plan?

For example, since a huge amount of work is going to be done at Barangaroo (where nobody lives) and Victoria Cross Station. Surely the boring heads and dirt/concrete exchange can happen there?

Or perhaps use barges from the harbor site instead of trucks?

I urge a rethink of this proposed retrieval site, as it has significant and catastrophic shortcomings.

the excavations the Sydney metro tunnel would appear to be unnecessary and a great invasion on the lives of people in mcmahons point and the visitors that come to take in the views of the harbour Sydney has become a city of construction and unnecessary infrastructure development that is not always necessary and that appears to be a motivated by money for those that are proposing it. The irreparable damage done to the site at blues point will be devastating and the weight of the trucks will be devastating to the whole of the precinct and structurally what will the impact be on properties in the area this is a shocking and horrific notion being planned for the blues point reserve.

I would like to object to use of Blues Point Reserve as a Temporary Metro Retrieval Site and the removal of waste material by trucks along Blues Point Road as it is the only access artery to much of McMahons Point and is a two lane road, very narrow in sections. The planned truck heavy movements over two years will no doubt
- damage the road
-affect pedestrian and motor vehicle safety
- Remove resident and business parking
-increase dirt,,noise and exhaust pollution

I suggest the waste should be removed at some other site by barge as was done in remedial work at HMAS Penguin after public uproar at the use of trucks. .State and Federal Governments should be approached to contribute to the use of barges.

My submission relates to the construction of the Crow's Nest metro station which will be situated directly behind our apartment building. I would like to know what provisions are being made for the following:

Entry to our carpark - Clarke Lane is our only access to our carpark. We are concerned about trucks and other equipment blocking the small laneway. We require 24/7 access.

Hume Street - We need this street to get into Clarke Lane. Will any part of it be closed to traffic?

Noise - Evey unit in our block has bedrooms facing the construction site. We believe that construction will take place 24 hours. How will the noise be contained so that residents will be able to sleep ?

Is the metro going to be built deep enough so that we do not hear it going through under our building? We believe that it will be built 25 metres underground only, unlike other subways that are built at 40 metres. Will this affect the foundation of our building?

Privacy - with increased activity around the area, how will this impact the privacy of residents?

I own an investment property in the "Lyall" on Clarke Street, Crows Nest. I have a strong objection to the level of disturbance that will occur during the construction of the above works.
Key points are:
a) Inadequate protection for residents with regards to night works;

b) The significant impact of construction traffic and increased danger to residents using Clarke Lane

c) The extensive time frame for construction

d) The affect of construction on building stability

e) The ongoing impact on current residential sanctity with increased noise from train and station operations


and ask that they look to compensate us by double glazing our windows, place rubber under the tracks to reduce the ongoing noise and define for us how long we will have to put up with the construction.

This will affect the residents quality of life enormously as they are used to a peaceful & reasonably quiet place to live.