I have been a resident of Cremorne in excess of 30 years and have enjoyed the my home and the surrounding suburbs and seen many improvements in the management of community facility in that time.

The various district community precincts work with the local councils for the betterment of those who visit, work and live in their respective communities.

The addition of B Link bus service to the Northern Beaches is well patronised and has improved traffic flow on Military road, and together with an improved train and ferry service commuters are well serviced in this growth area of Sydney. Its my understanding North Sydney and districts has the highest concentration of schools and child-care facility anywhere in Australia.

In my opinion the planned expansion of the Warringah Freeway fully disregards the intrinsic value of North Sydney, Cammeray and Cremorne, its environment, its relatively clean work and living spaces and its treasured public green space. I strongly object to the expansion of the freeway and the planned tunnels, Western and Northern Beaches.

I object to the principal that tunnel projects are needed to move vehicular traffic from the western side of Sydney harbour to the northern beaches and return. The cost-benefit is clear that rail in the most efficient means of transporting people. Our cities need less vehicular traffic and more green and local recreation space.

I object to that fact that your recently released EIS for this freeway-tunnel project does not include fully researched and costed options on which people can comment, specifically a rail system that connects the Northern Beaches with Chatswood and into the greater rail network.

I object to the loss of public owned and enjoyed green space such as the areas proposed for removal at Ridge Street North Sydney, Anzac Park and the Cammeray Golf course. All of these green spaces absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants issued from nearby passing traffic. And your plan is to reduce that green space and give it over to unyielding hard surface.

I object to the proposed loss of the underground water reservoir beneath Cammeray Golf Course a major irrigation source for green space in our area.

I object to the proposed and planned unfiltered exhaust stacks for these tunnels. The community has a right to be informed on the cost and benefits to community health of filtered exhaust stacks.

I object to the proposed changes and what is regarded as an upgrade of High Street, Falcon Street and Ernest Street bridges. These streets at present effectively deal with traffic flows and disruption to this flow will place commuter traffic onto suburban streets for the life of the project and beyond. These streets take high traffic flows at present and experience delays and congestion.


It is utterly senseless and inconceivable that planned prolonged works could make present vehicular movement worse in high traffic streets as mentioned below.
The advice to publicly held meetings is that the project EIS predicts roads will suffer a moderate to high impact of traffic during the years of construction, including Cammeray, North Cremorne and Neutral Bay in general, Alfred Street North, Kurraba road, High street North Sydney, Jefferson -Jackson Reserve, Anzac Park, Cammeray Avenue, Rosalind Street, Ernest Street, Morden Street, Warringa Road, Carter Street, Cammeray Golf Course, Merlin street

A recent Precinct meeting advised residents that a petition of more than 11,000 signatures was submitted to government objecting to the Warringah Freeway upgrade and the tunnels project qualified to be listed in parliament for discussion however we are advised this listing did not occur and our objections have been ignored.


The Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway upgrade and any plans for the Beaches Link should be delayed in approval until there is the release of the business case from the NSW State Government and that business case analysed by an appropriate and fully independent body and that analysis released to the community.

A full business case should be put forth for a light rail system to connect the northern beaches with the rail network and that proposition put to the community before any decision is made on The Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway upgrade and or Beaches Link.

I object to the project for many reasons. We need a train link or metro. Why was this option excluded? It would be cheaper, move more people and be much more environmentally friendly. Why do the north west get an affordable metro but the northern beaches don't? All experts agree that a Metro would be so much cheaper to build and use than a road tunnel.

Erecting unfiltered smoke stacks is barbaric in such a highly populated area. More and more evidence is coming out the damage that exhaust from motor vehicles causes on the body. North Sydney/Neutral Bay/Cammeray are so highly populated. Gladys agreed with this but has changed her mind purely for political reasons.

Tunnel is too expensive to build and tolls are so expensive that are programmed to go up way over inflation and thus become more prohibitive. And where do all these cars park? It will either be unsuccessful and the taxpayer will have to compensation the private contractor (as we have seen in projects before) or else it will become an even more polluting traffic tunnel.


Destruction of Flat Rock Creek Gully... we know it was beautifully restored over a garbage dump at a time when everyone thought asbestos was a good thing plus who knows what other toxic materials. Digging this up in a populated area? Again this is cruel and barbaric not to mention the wildlife destruction.

Let's build for a brighter future for Sydney... clean, scalable transportation that is available to all and not just those who can afford the tolls and have their own parking at the other end and no negative health impacts for those living, working and learning in this highly populated Cammeray/North Sydney/Neutral Bay area.

I objected the project because:
1. it does not provide any value or effectively solve transportation issues with population growth. Advanced countries focus on improving mass transportation, not building more toll roads. If Australia wants to commit to make a difference to climate change, then how promoting to more car driving would help Australia achieve emission target? the EIS claims that fuel efficiency will help to reduce green house gas - that is just ridiculious! with 1 bus we can eliminate at least 30 cars on the road, so which scenarios will produce more emission gas? Australia should strive for a world class standard on great and efficient public transportation that the rest of the world can learn from.
2. Tunnelling under homes are still proposed given there were evidences of home damages due to tunnelling in previous Westconnex construction phases. This shows how the proposal disregard the suffer and pain of people.
3. There is no filtration for exhausted stacks - The EIS proposes to install a double exhaust stack at Cammeray and
vent pollution to the exhaust stacks already planned for Rozelle Goods Yard. These
stacks should be filtered according to the world's best practice to reduce the impact on air quality and human health.
I would like to see if tunnelling is done under homes of all decision makers or stack installed without filters in their area to see their reactions on the proposal.
4. Lots of trees along the road leading to ANZAC bridge have been cut down unnecessary. This shows how lightly the project consider on the construction impacts on environment.

I strongly object to the construction of two very large buildings on the western side of Cammeray Golf course to house the machinery required to run the Northern Beaches Tunnel. There are at least 4 examples of foreign countries building road tunnels in urban areas who have buried the machinery buildings underground covered by green space be it parks or sporting areas. Why can't the same be done at Cammeray Golf Club allowing the members to reclaim their course. This would also allow for a much more pleasant outlook for those in the passing traffic as well as the locals using that area for family walks and exercise.

The current design of the Rozelle Interchange (stage 3b of the Westconnex project) plus the connecting tunnel to the Western Harbour Tunnel includes the construction of four 35m high unfiltered exhaust stacks to disperse emissions from the extensive tunnel network that forms this stage of the motorway. This design decision has been extensively criticised by experts as posing an unacceptable risk to the health not only of residents in the local area (that includes four schools in close proximity) but across the city.
I live opposite Annandale North Public School; I have a pollution monitor on my house that registers live the pics of pollution that these children, like children across the Inner west are facing. Recent epidemiological research suggests that there is no threshold at which health effects do not occur.
To prevent adding more noxious fumes to the inner west through unfiltered stacks is surely a priority. Unfiltered exhaust stacks may be acceptable in less built-up areas and where the prevailing winds take the pollution rapidly away. This is not the case around Rozelle where the smoke from the recent bushfires made visible the pall of pollution that hangs over the Bay and indeed over the Sydney basin. The necessity of protecting the surrounding populations from the increased pollution resulting from these unfiltered exhaust stacks was amply demonstrated during the hearings of the NSW Parliamentary Committee 'On the Impact of the Westconnex Project'. Having taken extensive evidence from a range of experts whose inputs are included in the Final Report, the Committee issued as Recommendation 13:
'That the NSW Government install, on all current and future motorway tunnels, filtration systems in order to reduce the level of pollutants emitted from ventilation stacks.' (Final Report, 17 December 2018)

The necessity of limiting emissions from the tunnels has become even more apparent in light of the recent peaks of hazardous air quality experienced in Sydney, with their accompanying harmful impacts on the health of residents (see Sydney Morning Herald 20 November 2019).
A minimum requirement in the construction of the extensions to the Westconnex project must be to protect the local and city populations from the inevitable increased pollution by filtering the ventilation stacks. It is unconscionable to expose future generations of children to increased harm when the negative effects of traffic exhaust have been so amply demonstrated.

I completely support the project. The traffic over the Spit Bridge is horrendous and having a significant negative impact on the Northern Beaches economy. This project would not only support the local economy but the NSW economy as a hole which is much needed at this time.

Get started asap!

Please see the attachment for the full submission. Below is only a brief summary.

Planning Lab represents Little Zak's Academy which is a childcare centre operator. They are currently constructing a childcare centre at 6-8 Waterloo Street, Rozelle which is likely to open in June/July of 2020. This site is directly opposite the identified Victoria Road construction support site ('WHT2'). The assessment conducted as part of the EIS considered 6-8 Waterloo Street as a 'business/industrial' site for the purposes of its assessment despite the site having been DA approved for use as a childcare centre since mid 2015.

Childcare centres are identified as being especially sensitive receivers in relation to noise, vibration and air quality. The EIS indicates that there will be severe environmental impacts upon Little Zak's Academy, Rozelle that far exceed the project amenity targets for childcare centres. We request that the omission of the site from the EIS be reassessed and that the findings be re-exhibited for further comment.

This submission formally identifies 6-8 Waterloo Street as a childcare centre which will be operational as of June/July 2020 which has been omitted from the environmental impact assessment. The design and operation of WHT2 must be reassessed and reconsidered in consideration of Little Zak's Academy.

The level of pollution created will be a real disturbance and health threat to young children and elderly. The noise level will make it unsustainable during night time and daytime as well for that matter. We should recognise that the high level of traffic will not bring any serenity to the security of the youngest either.

I write to express my strong objection to the Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway Upgrade.

Global experience of toll road construction has demonstrated conclusively that projects like this increase air pollution, encourage more car use, fleece road users with exorbitant tolls and eventually fill the increased road capacity they create.

I object to this Project as it:
• Is based on false assumptions about public transport demand;
• Will not achieve its stated goal of addressing long-term traffic congestion in Sydney;
• Is also not properly tested against competing public transport projects;
• Fails to adequately address impacts on the community, especially noise, air quality and health impacts for local residents;
• Puts homes and businesses at risk of damage from vibrations, settlement and ground movement;
• Requires the compulsory acquisition and demolition of a number of homes;
• Will not require the filtration of exhaust stacks, at a risk to public health;
• Will pollute our harbour with toxic sediment putting Sydney Harbour’s marine life at risk;
• Will have an adverse impact on greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to climate change; and
• Is not justified by any publicly released business case.

I am a mother of a 5-month-old baby and we live a short distance from where the exhaust stacks are to be built at the Rozelle Goods Yard. I am very concerned that the exhaust stacks are not going to be filtered. It is clear from this year's bushfires that Sydney is already going to have to contend with hazardous air quality going forward and now you are going to add to that with further air pollution from the exhaust fumes emanating from vehicles using Westconnex . These exhaust stacks must be filtered to reduce the particulate matter in the air so not to cause long-term health impacts on our children.
I am already concerned about the particulate matter that is going to emanate from the build itself, with unsealed trucks taking dirt away from the site and the general level of increased air pollution generated from construction of this magnitude. This is not to mention the toxicity of the sludge that you propose to excavate from the harbour floor.
The least you could do is filter the exhaust stacks, which is in accordance with the world's best practice to reduce the impact on air quality and human health.
This project is a missed opportunity to transform our city’s transport system to make getting around Sydney cheap, easy and fast without having to get into a car and pay a toll.

Yours sincerely,


Courtney Ayre
16/3 Hutchinson St
Annandale 2038