I am a young professional working for an international company primarily from home. I object to the Beaches Link tunnel project as the information contained in the EIS demonstrates;
- it will not reduce traffic congestion on the northern beaches
- it will expose large numbers of children, residents and workers to unfiltered emissions via stacks and noise, dust contamination and congestion during construction
- it will cause serious and irreparable damage to the natural environment
- it is not aligned with climate change goals that require urgent reductions in emissions
- it is poor value for (public) money.
These shortcomings mean there is no justification for imposing extreme hardship on the communities surrounding the construction sites or for the damage that construction activities will cause.

Congestion - Currently over 50% of workers on the northern beaches do not leave the LGA for work. This rate could permanently increase due to changes in work patterns due to COVID. I have now worked from home for a year and will continue to work from home at least part time as my international role can be managed via Zoom/Teams. Therefore, the much spruiked savings in commuting times are not relevant for many residents. However, what is truly relevant is the forecast INCREASE in local congestion and slower travel times on local road, both during and after construction, as shown in the EIS. TfNSW acknowledges that traffic congestion in Manly Vale and Balgowlah will increase significantly during construction and once the tunnel is built. This mean that for many local residents the tunnel is a lose-lose, any improvement in travel times in the tunnel will be cancelled out by clogged local roads.
In my own case regularly moving between suburbs including Seaforth, where two concurrent construction sites will effectively paralyse traffic, will be increasingly difficult and will negatively impact my daily life. Should the tunnel be built and work in centralised offices resume, I would choose not to use the tunnel. As a young professional living in a city with sky-high housing costs, I would not spend money on a toll road, particularly given the additional cost of parking at the other end. The EIS seems to give no consideration to the impact of a huge increase in traffic coming into the northern beaches, especially on summer weekends. We already have serious parking issues and had major congestion problems this summer – how is the peninsula supposed to cope?

Emissions - The EIS claims only ‘negligible’ increases in emissions from the exhaust stacks, yet the data use to establish background air quality does not come from the immediate site but is measured against a general Sydney level. New air quality modelling must be done that show exactly how every site around the stacks will be impacted. What happened to the recommendations in the State Parliamentary Inquiry into Westconnex (2018) that included ‘the NSW Government install, on all current and future motorway tunnels, filtration systems in order to reduce the level of pollutants emitted’? Unfiltered stack situated near schools, shops, workplaces and homes is unacceptable.

Environmental damage - The loss of almost 2,000 mature trees along Wakehurst Parkway will have a devastating impact on Manly Dam Memorial Park and its rich biodiversity including numerous endangered species. This area was declared only in 2017 to be rich in endangered plant and animal species and worthy of conservation. The damage is likely to be permanent given the widening of the road and the expected runoff into the reserve. Lighting all along the wider Wakehurst Parkway will detrimentally affect both nocturnal and diurnal animals. They will die out from the area, including endangered Pygmy possums. Burnt Bridge Creek and its wonderful riparian corridor four kilometres long, running from Seaforth to Manly Lagoon, will be completely dried up (96% base flow reduction) meaning it will become incapable of supporting tall leafy trees and riparian bushland. The endangered grey headed flying fox and numerous other species will be unable to survive once the creek and water retention dam on the golf course are removed. What other downstream impacts will occur are unclear and should have been investigated as part of the EIS. Again, such massive environmental damage is unacceptable.

Climate change goals – The Beaches Link tunnel is entirely at odds with the stated NSW Government emissions reduction commitment. The project build will generate The construction of the tunnel alone will contribute an additional 1,521,365 t CO2-e to our greenhouse gas emissions. The project will lock the region into a predominantly petrol/diesel private vehicle based transport model, given the absence of policy levers to drive a shift to electric vehicles and the failure to commit to a dedicated public transport lane within the tunnel (see EIS, Appendix X, pg v.). The construction emissions alone are equivalent to 5.4% of annual NSW’s transport emissions – and will achieve only a projected 10% reduction in traffic along Military Rd. As a young person I am acutely aware that today’s leaders are lagging on emissions goals, and so leaving behind a serious problem.

Poor value for money – It is not yet clear what the total bill for the Beaches Link tunnel will be, but perhaps around $10-14 billion? (The cost in terms of environmental, health and congestion impacts, however, are apparent.) This is public money to be spent on a ‘congestion busting’ traffic solution that will alleviate congestion on Sydney’s northern beaches and will, primarily, benefit communities south of Spit Bridge, who will suffer none of the losses of green space or the many years of construction impacts. It is, however, unlikely to be completed even for this huge amount. The experience of West Connex, for example was an increase in cost from $10billion to $16.8 billion and a construction period of eight years, actually took 10 years. Having the tunnel located near the spit doesn’t address the issue of the bottleneck caused from residents travelling from the northern part of the northern beaches. It makes more sense to me to divert the traffic at Dee Why where there are already new roads built near the northern beaches hospital and build an underground tunnel from there. This would have less disruption during construction and also less environmental devastation.

Summing up – These are just some of the many issues that concern me. I reiterate, I would not use the Beaches Link tunnel and I do not believe we need it, especially at such high cost to the community, the environment and the taxpayers.

I object on the following grounds:
5 years of high impact construction work
Waste dscharge into local creeks
7 suburbs affected
Increased pollution next to a number of schools through unfiltered stacks
Increased traffic
Increased noise
Loss of trees

As an active member and volunteer of the wonderful community run Northbridge Sailing Club (NSC) I am very concerned that the proposed works will destroy the club as Sunday sailing activities will be badly impacted and threaten the future of the club. Luckily there is a solution. Consult with NSC and agree to minimize the impact of maritime restrictions on Sunday sailing activities.

Both my children learnt how to sail at NSC. I am not a sailor myself but I have seen the incredible benefits of dinghy sailing for kids and teens. Both my kids learnt to sail there. It remains passion for both of them. Many of the kids who learnt how to sail have gone on to become world class sailors and some members have represented Australia in the international events including the Olympics and various World Championships.

Being a member of NSC has also taught my kids about giving back to community. Many kids at NSC, including mine, have become volunteer assistant instructors, graduating to instructors, teaching younger kids how to sail . Importantly particularly during these CV-19 times, they have made long-lasting friendships with the cohort they learnt to sail with and seek counsel (away from parents) from the older teens at the club. These support mechanisms have been invaluable.

Sunday sailing also allows for all generations to mix socially and compete - very uncommon in many sporting clubs today. On any given Sunday, you will find all ages sailing and socialising before and after the race- nurturing tolerance and understanding between the generations.

I trust the Government to make sure that these construction works allow for volunteer run clubs, like NSC make an invaluable contribution to community cohesion in our increasingly disconnected society.

Thank you for your consideration of my submission.

Hello is a 300+ word essay That hopefully should convince you not to build this tunnel for it will kill the vast majority of the environment surrounding the Burnt Bridge Creek.

My submission is primarily in relation to what I believe the impact of the project will be on Northbridge Sailing Club (NSC). for the reasons outlined below I fear the project could result in effectively "killing off" NSC. It may be possible to "save" the Club, but only with what I believe would need to be considerable ongoing consultation with the Club and the provision of a range of financial and infrastructure type assistance.
I have been a member of NSC for 20 years, and made a life member in 2020 for my contribution to the Club primarily as a result of my contribution as Company Secretary of the club for 15 years up to 2020. Through my role a Company Secretary I am aware of the ongoing struggle for NSC to gain new members and retain members and the associated financial struggle the Club has had to remain viable and provide a great community sporting outlet for the Willoughby and surrounding areas. Over the period of my role on the Committee of NSC I have seen its viability hinge on encouraging new, mainly youth members through a volunteer run learn to sail programme; and to retain those members, and more established members through running sailing races predominately for several dinghy classes of sailboat in the Summer and some yacht racing in winter.
Over the past couple of years NSC faced a significant challenge in relation to funding significant structural work required for the pylons under the Club deck and clubhouse, and it was only with the assistance of some funding from both Federal and local government that those essential works could be undertaken.

From what I have read of the detail of the proposed work, will cause significant disruption to the waterway area between NSC and the Spit bridge area and extending to Seaforth Bluff area and down towards Quakers Hat, over what will be at least 3 years and probably more, and will dramatically impact on the capacity of NSC to run its learn to sail programme and certainly any proper sailing races which in turn will have a devastating effect on the capacity of NSC to retain existing members and entice new members, which in turn will have a potentially fatal impact on the financial viability of NSC, such that the Club may not "survive" the construction period, and will be extremely difficult if not impossible to "revive" after the construction concludes.
Based on my long experience as to how the learn to sail and introduction to sail racing programme has been organized at NSC, I believe the project will significantly impact the ability of the Club to run the programme and entice people to sign up. The annual signing up of new children and youths for learn to sail courses has traditionally resulted in an annual "transfusion" of new members to provide the essential manpower and financial injection that the Club needs to be able to survive from year to year.
Whilst some parts of the initial learn to sail could be held close to the Club, the more advanced parts require use of the area that will be blocked or substantially blocked by the project. Furthermore, despite the best efforts to contain any disturbance of the seabed, there will be some "dirtying" of the waters in the areas not blocked off, and moreover a perception, that the Club will be unable to effectively counter, that the waters may be in some way "contaminated". These factors are bound to have a significant impact on the number of new members (mainly children and youths and their families) the Club will be able to attract to its courses and retain existing young members. Families looking at enrolling their children in a sailing course will look and go elsewhere. The Club will not receive the necessary level of "transfusion" of new members and their fees for several years, and that could prove "fatal" to the Club's viability.
In addition, based on my experience of participating in sailing races conducted by NSC over the last 20 years, on the background of my overall sailing experience spanning close to 60 of my 65 years (which includes experience in participating in sailing races in all states of Australia and overseas), I believe the construction process will make it impossible to run proper sailing races for both those graduating from the learn to sail programmes and the more experienced sailors in the Club. The area of Upper Middle Harbour where NSC is able to set sailing course is already quite restricted by the size and topography of the waterway. Effectively cutting off access from any area to the east of the line between Seaforth Bluff and Clive Park will make the setting of a proper course impossible in most of the prevailing wind conditions in the area. The awareness of this will discourage potential new members, and likely impact on many existing members, resulting in them going elsewhere, again drastically and possibly fatally impacting on the viability of the Club which relies on volunteer members and their annual fees to remain viable. I was a Northbridge resident during the past 20 years of my membership there. I moved to Avalon Beach in August 2020, but currently still return to NSC to sail. I certainly will be looking to sail elsewhere once the ability of NSC to conduct meaningful races occurs.
I am not naive enough to expect that submissions in opposition to the project because of its impact on NSC will have a significant impact on the final decision for the project to proceed or not. I, however, cannot see that the proposed project however managed, will not have a devastating impact on the Club I love and have spent countless volunteer hours assisting in supporting it, as well as spending just as many hours enjoying the sailing races it organizes as well as the pleasure of seeing the Club's training programmes successfully introducing many children (including my own) into the wonderful sport of sailing.
Assuming the project goes ahead, I hope there can be some ways in which the government can provide financial and infrastructure support to NSC to enable it to survive both during the construction period and afterwards, so that NSC can continue to provide a facility to support the sport of sailing.

This whole Northern Beaches Tunnel project will have significant impact on Clontarf, Balgowlah and Seaforth residents as well as having permanent environmental damage to our area. Build up of toxic sediment by using the Middle Harbour coffer dams will pollute Clontarf Beach for years, causing unknown medical problems for families. Is there money 'allocated' for this? Local traffic congestion at Seaforth for 7 years (or longer) will cause unknown chaos and accidents. Has money been allocated for this probability? With trucks moving with heavy loads every minute, every day for 7 years (or longer) over the Spit Bridge or Roseville Bridge will be turmoil and chaos. The noise from 24/7 drilling will cause damage to homes - is there a clause included in your EIS for money allocated to compensate residents for all those damaging effects?
There is concern too about air quality. It is known that fumes from heavy transport and dust particles from excavating can cause irreparable lung problems. The exhaust stacks should be filtered to help prevent this pollution. Has money been allocated for such medical outcomes?
on behalf of the residents, I object strongly to the NBT.

Hello,
I am writing this submission as I have deep reservations around the proposed construction of the Beaches Link tunnel.
Having spent considerable time reviewing the relevant documents I am very concerned about the negative and non-reversible damage this project will certainly have on the surrounding flora and fauna, as well as the long term health impacts on the neighbouring population. Although the extent of this damage can possibly be debated, what is undeniable is that the tunnel will have a negative impact on the surrounding environment, whereas the benefits to the community from better access to the city is negligible at best.
I therefore would like to lodge my objection to the Northern Beaches Tunnel.
Regards

Paul

Submission by Orestes Vandoros 23/02/2021

Our industrial property, situated at 1-3 Waltham Street, Artarmon 2064, may/will be acquired by NSW government as compulsory acquisition as part of the Beach Link & Gore Hill freeway project.
Almost three years ago I received a call from RMS advising me of possible compulsory acquisition of our Artarmon industrial warehouse property that also houses our family’s Australian Designs & Imports business as well as our tenant’s business.
Over this period, I have closely followed the progress and design development the of the proposed major project Beach Link & Gore Hill Freeway Connection project.
As per current published Environmental Impact Statement our property is marked to be used as “Laydown”. I understand that this means a “place to store materials”.
If so, how does a “Laydown” and the short-term use of our land justifies the demolition of our 2-storey building of 2200sqm + 39 car pack spaces and the subsequent required relocation of our businesses and the one of our tenants.
My family’s company purchased this industrial building to operate as warehouse, office, and showroom for my family’s owned and operated business.
This property is an irreplaceable investment and essential to the continued operations of my family’s business.
After 20 plus years operating our business in Artarmon, the impact of a forced migration and unknown future relocation of our business is extremely stressful to myself, my family, to our long-term employees, and our tenants.
We hope that due consideration will be given to our extreme concerns expressed in this submission. My intention in expressing my objection is that I will be able to retain ownership of my property and to continue to operate my family’s business in the premises that we purchased specifically for its strategic location to serve our business needs.

The Northern Beaches access tunnel across middle harbour will greatly affect the Northbridge Sailing Club.
The club's main activity is Sunday sailing which uses both the East/West as well as the North/South arms of the area.
The proposed works will divide the assigned course area almost exactly in half. Unless the course area can be completely used, the sailing will effectively become difficult and unattractive.
It may well cause the demise of the club which for more than 50 years has provided recreation and has taught hundreds of children to sail.
I request that Transport NSW consults with Northbridge Sailing club in order to minimize the effect on the club.
Personally speaking, I have just turned 80 and hope to sail a few more years at Northbridge. I hope a good accommodation can be reached.