I strongly object to the Beaches Link and Gore Hill extension due to the EIS and the complete lack of a business case for this project.
I have been a resident of Naremburn for the last 21 years. I know my area well and this project is not only the wrong project for Sydney as a whole but also for the health and well being of local Naremburn residents due to:

1. The known contamination in Flat Rock gully. Disturbing this old tip site that has been carefully and lovingly brought back to usability over the last 30 years poses real health risks to those living and going to school in the area. Further the EIS makes clear that contaminants have been found in the groundwater around the tip site.
2. The Health and Well Being of the local residents will be impacted. The EIS attests to this. The noise, dust and traffic will be terrible for the living in the area for at least 5 years during the project.
3. The Bushland that we as local residents enjoy will be destroyed to enable this project. Our lifestyle will be greatly hampered by this. My family and I walk through this area several times a week as do hundreds local residents.
4. The lack of the release of a business case for this project is very concerning. The numbers that have been released in terms of travel time savings do not seem to have any real basis, and with people changing their habits due to COVID-19, this project is much pain, but not proven gain. The EIS shows that the travel times in a few years will hardly show any improvement.
5. The Northern Beaches need viable public transport and that hasn’t been looked into. The EIS confirms this and this is not acceptable. This project is a white elephant. Another toll road, more expense to Sydney siders. This will impact me personally as more people will be rat running and avoiding these high tolls. This will make our streets more unsafe and busier.
6. The unfiltered stacks add insult to injury in this project. Our youngest is still at a local public school in Cammeray and if this project goes ahead there will be health impacts for these young children. There will be extra particulates in the air due to these stacks. My daughter suffers from acute asthma and we have big concerns for her health with this project.
7. Naremburn already had the pain of being split as a suburb when the freeway was put in decades ago. We are now being forced to endure a project that makes no sense, and that will affect our lives daily as well as our house prices. There will most probably be damage to our properties from the drilling as has been seen in the inner west. And my understanding is that no one has had any of this damage rectified to date.

This project has been rushed through and is not the best use of $14B billion. This project will mean that our lives will be deeply disrupted on multiple levels for many years. There is no plan from the government to mitigate anything that has been brought up by residents. Our children are at real risk of illness and ongoing health problems from this project. Therefore I object to this project due to the information contained in the EIS.

Your sincerely,

Naremburn Resident

To whom it may concern,

Over the last few weeks, more education has been shared with the local community about the development of the Beaches Link Tunnel. The insights to the extent of the impact of the project during, and after, construction has been eye-opening for myself and many of my friends who live in the areas of Clontarf, Balgowlah and Balgowlah heights.

We’ve all chosen, as perhaps some of you have too, to live in this part of the world to enjoy the beautiful environments, quality of life and community values of caring for each other and our surroundings.

Despite being so lucky as to live on the gorgeous Northern Beaches, there is no doubt we’ve all suffered over the past year. The bushfires and drought followed by the unimaginable impact, and social and economic consequences, of the COVID-pandemic made for a challenging 2020.

The Federal, State and local governments have been an incredible support and reliable leaders during these times of incredible hardship and have set a global standard for how to pull a community together to work through a crisis that affects every single one of us.

Now, with the fiscal challenges facing the government in the wake of the 2020 drought, bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m calling for your help to influence decision-making on the Northern Beaches Link Tunnel, a project with poor economics, lack of strategic importance and long-lasting environmental impact.

Please use your position to share the voice of many local constituents who want to explore infrastructure projects that will enhance the liveability, sustainability and accessibility across our city, not reduce it.

My full set of objections is attached for easy reference and I welcome the opportunity to be involved in further discussions.
Yours faithfully

Tiffany Egan
Clontarf resident
0419 600 141

This submission is made by the Manly Warringah War Memorial State Park Advisory Committee Community Representatives. These community representatives do not support the proposal in its current form due to the significance of the biodiversity and water quality impacts at, adjacent and downstream of the Wakehurst Parkway site. The significance of these impacts, at both the construction and operational phase of the proposal, have been clearly identified and quantified in the Beaches Link and Gore Hill Freeway Connection - Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The Advisory Committee Community Representatives challenge several subjective claims regarding specific biodiversity and water quality impacts. The responses detailed in the attachment either:
• Identify alternative avoidance, mitigation and offsetting measures, or
• Request clarification to support subjective statements in the EIS

The Advisory Committee Community Representatives strongly requests that if the proposal were to proceed that TfNSW guarantees that the proposal will not impact the MWWMSP, other than the direct impact of the construction footprint, at either the construction or operational phase of the proposal.

I object to the proposal on the grounds of impact to the neighbourhood amenity as well as direct impact on our property.

I am most concerned by the reported impact on Burnt Bridge Creek. I had understood that preserving the habitat and water flow along Burnt Bridge Creek was a critical required, however this has not been honoured in the latest design.

I am concerned about noise during construction and once commissioned. Whilst we currently live close to a 6 lane highway, the proposed tunnel entrance will expand this to 12 lanes. As we live on the high side of Serpentine Crescent and there is no protection from the existing noise walls and there is nothing in the proposal which is designed to mitigate this impact. Enduring this over proposed construction of 7 years is untenable.

I am concerned about air pollution from the ventilation shaft and from the tunnel entrance which will be unfiltered. The EIS modelling (Figure 8-14) shows our property to be one of the top 10 RWR receptors (yellow crosses). I am concerned that this will have adverse health impacts on my family.

I object to this proposal on the basis of the environmental impacts to support further cars and zero public transport. Thank you.

Please increase the deadline for submissions!!!

The deadline for reading through these ‘scientific’ documents is too short.

Is the Government desperate to build this tunnel? for political reasons? We have been lead to believe our journey time will be a few minutes shorter, but at what cost to the environment? Is this something to be proud of for your children and grand children? Why should you care about us as boat users? (I am a boat user btw) The sediments in Middle Harbour will be disturbed by the construction of two huge coffer dams. I understand that the sediment contains toxic waste which has run off from the numerous water catchments that feed into Middle Harbour. How will this be handled? The toxic waste is from historic industrial pollution and residential development. The toxic plume could spread as far as the swimming beaches of Clontarf and MHYC beach (so many children swimming) Aquatic life will be affected. Transport for NSW say they will provide filtration curtains around the coffer dams to prevent spill. I understand that these are been scientifically proven to be ineffective. So what can you do? PLEASE PLEASE look into this further. We are so proud of our home here in Australia and we have been working to clean the waterways. What is our future to be?
I understand the spoil extracted from the tunnel dig will be loaded on to barges via the coffer dams. These will be transported to sea where the spoil will be dumped. There will be numerous barges every day for 7 YEARS!!! passing though the narrow passage outside the marinas and our club. Imagine that lot ploughing through a Wednesday race start line!
PLEASE DO NOT BE PRESSURED INTO DOING THIS INCORRECTLY. I am not against a tunnel but we are responsible for our water and land and our futures. so make the hard but good choices please.

I wish to lodge my objections to the Northern beaches link tunnel based on the following points ; -

1. the EIS is not current and much of it was written before COVID, therefore the facts and data it contains are irrelevant to current situation eg with respect to travel time data, post covid - there is much less dependency on peak hour travel. Also more people are working from home and will continue to do so as workplaces have become more flexible. Thus a new, up to date post-covid EIS needs to be written and re submitted for community consultation.
2. the 'beaches tunnel' has been declared "worlds best practice', however, this is untrue, as 'world's best practice' would include filtration of the tunnel ventilation/emission stacks. As identified in the EIS these will NOT be filtered, therefore this plan for beaches tunnel is NOT worlds best practice and should NOT go ahead until it can demonstrate it will be world class
3. The negative impact on the communities of the lower north shore will be immense throughout the construction period and post completion. The environmental damage alone to flat rock gully will take generations to repair and the pollution from the unfiltered stacks is unacceptable when you look at the climate change issues we are already facing.

This project needs to paused while the EIS is reworked and all objections are considered in a fair and equitable manor.

Please do the right thing and stop and reassess all alternative sites and options for the project.

Regards
Concerned Northbridge Resident