I object to the small amount of time we have been given to read the nearly 9000 page WH Tunnel EIS. As a local Lower North Shore resident, and local Business owner, I am greatly worried about the unfiltered stacks and environmental impacts that the tunnels will have on the kids.
I object to Unfiltered pollution stacks, as we have children living and attending schools locally, and are mortified the government puts profit & cost cutting over the health of current & future generations.
I expect as a fair minded Government of the people, you will also grant the public more time to review this extremely lengthy EIS.
Thank you,
Matthew

To whom it may concern,
I'm writing to strongly object to the proposed Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway Upgrade that's being proposed. While I appreciate the need for greater, easier access to all parts of Sydney, I don't understand why unfiltered emissions stacks are even being considered, let alone near schools, loss of available park and green space as well as destroying parts of the north shore that have been important to the community for many many years.
With regards to green space - if you have children growing up in this area, you'd realise that green space is at a premium. Further destruction of this green space hampers their personal development and impacts their overall health - something the nation has been wrestling with for some time.
Transport - I can't understand how public transport has been overlooked. A train line from Palm Beach to the city would significantly reduce the traffic (in my humble opinion), and provide greater access to the wonderful beaches Sydney has to offer. This would also provide a transport option for those living on the northern beaches - an issue which has existed for some time.
This is all before the additional pollution that will be emanated across the North Sydney area. If Sydney City is to be THE hub for all employers, businesses and jobs - fine, but don't think this is right for our city.

I'd like to see a reconsidered proposal - one that considers greater public transport options - more than the B1 link. And with that, a greater understanding of just what traffic you will be benefiting in the future - ie; will there be a population boom on the Northern beaches to warrant this new link road, will there be a reduction in offices space on the northern beaches requiring a greater need to move more people into the city.

To say I'm disappointed about this proposal is an understatement. Not because I live in the area, but because of the reckless way in which this has been approached.

Objecting to this development is my stance and will be significantly disappointed in any government taking it forward without further consideration.

Charles Huntington

We are strongly opposed to this project for the reasons given below in the PDF attachment. In broad summary, justification for the Warringah Freeway Upgrade in the EIS is selective and inadequate in its current (or any) form, with a particular lack of any analysis of alternatives such as mass transit metro rail, noting the EIS for Northern Beaches Link is not available, making it impossible to assess the link to this companion project, and its impacts.

We welcome the opportunity to review the EIS currently on display, but at no time prior to the release of the EIS has there been any detailed information on the proposed Warringah Freeway Upgrade that we are aware of. The proponents are disingenuous in giving this aspect of what are clearly linked projects a lower status and effectively listing the freeway upgrade as a minor subproject of the Western Harbour Tunnel, and then only releasing design detail of the project at the EIS stage. As a result, many residents like us who may have been broadly aware of the Western Harbour Tunnel and Northern Beaches Link, were totally unaware of the significance of what may have been proposed for the Warringah Freeway Upgrade. These residents therefore did not engage in the broader consultation that the EIS states occurred over the last 2-3 years. These residents include but are not limited to residents broadly in the Whaling Rd Heritage Conservation area and around in Kurraba Rd, Bray St, Neutral St, Darley Rd, Whaling Rd and Alfred St N. The Warringah Freeway Upgrade will have major impacts on these residents, particularly during the construction phase. It is only now at the EIS stage that the intent and detail of the Warringah Freeway Upgrade have been released and publicised. For residents in Alfred St North and Kurraba Rd Neutral Bay, the freeway upgrade and particularly the proposed Alfred St North overpass and related development is the aspect that will impact on them the most - this is the focus of this submission.
Please see the attached PDF. Thank you.

The tunnel, as proposed, will be enormously expensive, extremely environmentally destructive and considerably polluting. Building these huge motorways is an antiquated and archaic solution to traffic problems and is the polar opposite to where forward thinking cities such as London and Vancouver are heading. The fact that there is NO designated public transport component is ridiculous. In fact properly coordinated and funded public transport options would totally negate the need for a tunnel. The B1 bus to the Northern Beaches proves that people will use fast, reliable public transport if it provided. Public Transport from Chatswood to the Northern Beaches would further undermine the need for a tunnel. The loss of invaluable public space-such as at St Leonards Park, Cammeray Golf Club and the despoilation of Flat Rock Gully would be horrendous in an era where our environment is already under seige and green space at a premium . We have recently experienced terrible air quality from the recent bush fires but exhaust fumes from unfiltered smoke stacks would factor in additional levels of pollution and make life miserable for residents whilst degrading our environment on a permanent basis. It has been proven that these types of roads don't even improve traffic flows but end up creating bottlenecks and misery. The fact that the government yet again won't release a Business Case for another dodgy project just refelects their total lack of transparency and the contempt in which tax payers are held. A cynic might say that these "State Significant projects" which overide all conventional planning and environmental laws are formulated to either appease the developer lobby groups or to ultimately create income from expensive toll charges. Either way it is surely not to please or appease residents of this city who ultimately lose local ammenites and then have to cope with additional noise, traffic, a retrogressive city scape and degraded environment. Please don't proceed with this mad plan. Hasn't the "train wreck" that is WestConnex taught you anything???

I am an owner and resident in an apartment block directly above the proposed tunnel as it runs through Balmain. I make no comment on the project's worth as a whole; my objection relates to the depth of the tunnel. I understand the tunnel may be as shallow as 6 metres under our building. Given the wealth of evidence about previous tunnel projects in Sydney and elsewhere, this is a vastly inadequate depth both in terms of the construction period and then the ongoing operation. The risk of damage to our building in both periods as well as ongoing noise and vibration is very real. it is for these reasons I object most strongly to the proposed plans.