Should of been established years ago as Infrastructure is inadequate

I am strongly opposed to the first train station at Bella Vista that is proposed to be built where the 'totally home' site is presently.
I do not want to live next to a train station and considering it was not mentioned in the 149 certificate that formed part of the contract of sale when I purchased my home, would not have proceeded to buy my home if I had known this station was to be built there.
The train station at this site will bring with it additional traffic congestion and noise pollution both during its construction and once it is completed. There are far more appropriate sites for this station that do not involve it being directly adjacent to existing residential homes. Considering there will already be a station in Bella Vista at Norwest, a more appropriate site would be either at Memorial Ave or in the vacant commercial land near the hospital. Based on conversations and meetings with my current neighbours, I find it difficult to believe that any residents were surveyed or consulted prior to this proposal and have found similar responses from the local businesses.
I do not want an above ground train station next door to my home - I have no desire to hear train announcements while I have dinner or trains moving in and out of the station while I sleep. If the train line was completely below ground I would not be as strongly opposed to it as the noise and pollution concerns I have would be significantly reduced and it would not be such an eyesore.

As a resident backing onto Old Windsor Road in close proximity to the proposed Bella Vista station, I am seeking reassurances that the noise upon exit from the tunnel will not be excessive. I am still a little unclear as to whether existing high road noise levels will be worsened by accompanying rail noise upon exit from the tunnel. From the EIS it seemed that the projected noise level would be 61, but I find that hard to understand when the noise level in my yard is frequently loud, between 60-70 according to the closest measurement in your data.

If the intent is lessened road traffic, I would have to query why there does not appear to have been exploration of pedestrian access to the station from the suburb of Glenwood. Residents such as myself who are literally just over the back fence from the station would have to drive to the station or embark on a walk of up to 30 minutes to exit the suburb. Has any consideration been given to laneways allowing pedestrian access to the suburban streets or the subsidisation of locked back fences for example? Glenwood is already limited to 4 main exit roads. Given the aesthetic and noise concerns of residents such as myself, user friendly initiatives must be explored.

In addition has there been careful consideration of station traffic around an already incredibly congested Celebration Drive? This road and Lexington Drive are at crawling pace in afternoon peak hours and the flow on to Old Windsor Road already means that it will usually take 15-20 minutes to get to my home from the intersection of Seven Hills Road North and Old WIndsor Road.

Thank you for your consideration of these comments. I hope they have been helpful as you explore ways to make the railway an asset rather than an added burden for residents, particularly those most directly affected by the route.

Note : My last submission went blank before I had chance to comment so re-submitting.
Re Cherrybrook station. Whilst, I am sure most people are happy that a station may be built in Cherrybrook. Consider the people who live around that area. We bought our house there 14 years ago for the quietness of that particular part of Cherrybrook. To my knowledge there was not talk of a station then. This area is too small for such a big project. As our councillor for our ward has pointed out, 6 years of building! The noise, dust and mess are not something to look forward to. Yes there will be a 8000sqm!!! shed and other things put in place to help with this. An ugly shed and trucks up and down, maybe 6 days a week!! Houses have to be demolished, diesel generators may have to be on site adding more noise, maybe an ugly 6 mtr concrete acoustic barrier, and may attract a lot of park and ride passengers adding a lot of traffic for our already small road infrastructure. All maybe's but could be's!! What happens to the quiet area that we bought into 14 years ago. I have no problem with the proposed station at Castle Hill as that is a busy buisiness area. But I am really not happy about this proposed station in Cherrybrook.

As a resident of Cherrybrook I am aware of the frustrations experienced daily by commuters. The major arterial roads are already strained and commuters are often frustrated by the amount of time stuck in traffic on Castle Hill, County, Newline and Boundary Roads. This inevitably affects their quality of life.

The proposed station in Cherrybrook along with the 950 car parking station will attract more cars into the area and put more stress on the road system. The benefits of a rail system may be lost due to a poor road network.

I am surprised that the proposal does not include an upgrade to the road system around Cherrybrook. I urge you to reconsider this and to determine ways that the local traffic can be improved.

Regards, Gavin Poole, Cherrybrook Resident

I write on behalf of my elderly parents living directly opposite Tallawong Road Stabling Facility.They will be severely impacted by high levels of construction noise, dust, vibrations, heavy vehicle movements (eg. at least 95,000 truck movements, and 950,000 tonnes of spoil removal). The construction of this facility will overlap with the RTA's Schofields Road Upgrade (2012 to at least 2016). The North West Rail link EIS does not take this serious fact into account. The overlap period of approx. 3 years will generate noise, dust and vibrations and construction traffic well above your projected figures. This 4-5 year construction period will be followed by permanent noise from both the 6 lane Schofields Rd corridor and the Tallawong Stabling Facility. Further, it has already been our experience during preliminary RTA work, that such large scale constructions also raise serious road safety concerns. Additionally, we do not yet have any idea about the potential visual pollution of the proposed Stabling Facility which will be overlooked by my parents' two-storey home. For all the reasons stated here we must, therefore object to it the location and construction of the Tallawong Stabling Facility.

Introduction

These comments are related to the EIS for the NWRL Project but they will also make policy and governance comments. Please feel free to quote any or all of these comments in support of the project in any forum you see fit.

EIS Overview

The review is extremely thorough and highly professional. I commend the team on a magnificent publication pitched at an excellent level of accessibility for the residents of the affected suburbs. I also want to commend the team for the timely use of email to remind interested parties to get their submissions in. I think that perhaps more could be made of the environmental benefit of putting more travel on the rail creating a much smaller impact than the growth of cars in terms of pollution and the mental health issues caused by road travel stress.

Balmoral Road Construction Zone

My wife and I currently live in Wheedon Street, Glenwood but we are also building a new home in Balmoral Road. Our choice to build where we are was partly influenced by the prospect of the new NWRL. Therefore we would expect some disruption during the construction phase. I think that the chosen location for the Construction Zone is most excellent and forward thinking. The area is zoned for new housing but it has not reached this area yet, so it is eminently sensible use of the land. The use of the natural slope of the land and the sound barrier created by the hill to the east of the construction is excellent.

Overall Comments

The current NSW government's resolve is to be commended. It would be have been nice to have a partnership with the Federal government but if that is not possible now it may well be in the years to come with the most likely change of government. Private enterprise should be thrilled to get involved as it will generate excellent job growth over many years fit to rival the mining boom of WA.

I would like to see ways to separate major infrastructure projects from the inevitable swings of political fortune. I would encourage this project and in fact all the infrastructure projects for the Sydney Region be given over to planning authorities that do not swing with the government of the day. As Sydney is one of the major cities of the world, it is sadly way behind in its regional planning policy development. I would urge the current NSW government to make a lasting legacy on this state by developing a really powerful regional planning policy that can co-ordinate, industry and housing development with foot, cycle, road, rail, ferry and bus transport and plan effectively for the 21 century. A regional planning policy that will outlive many forthcoming NSW governments and be a monument to forward planning.
Thank you for your great work.

I write to make you aware of a major concern we have with the proposed North West Rail Link (NWRL), specifically with a railway station at the top of Franklin Road in Cherrybrook. We have lived in Franklin Road for almsot 30 years. I am fully supportive of the North West Rail link, but need to mention a concern I have with the positioning of an "Access and Egress" point at the top of Franklin Road for a "staff car park" as indicated on your environemental impact statement (EIS).
We are sure that you are aware that Franklin Road has 2 locations of significant "at risk" populations of people should increased traffic be a consequence of the "access and egress" point. These are Inala School for People with Special Needs, and the Tangara School. The former has its living quarters on the corner of Castle Hill Road and Franklin Road, whilst the latter is right next door to Inala on Franklin Road. Every day between 7am and 5.30 pm there are an enormous number of pedestrians walking up and down Franklin Road, some of whom need to be helped due to their profound physical incapacities in the case of Inala, and very young, sometimes reckless children from Tangara.
It would be irresponsible and unconscionable to add unnecessary risk to the safety of these people by increasing the traffic in any way along Franklin Road for the NWRL. Franklin Road was never designed to be such a conduit for high volumes of traffic asit is today, let alone in the future propsed by the EIS ! 30 years ago it was an area of market gardens, and rural zoning, and the road itself was fine for that purpose. Now the increased demands by Tangara and Inala has meant that it is stretched to breaking point as it is - especially at peak hour times, and will be made even more disfunctional if additional traffic is directed along it. As such we strongly suggest that the "access and egress" point that can be seen on the EIS be relocated from Franklin Road.

I have no objections to the works.
I am in support of the proposal and wish for it to processed asap.

CONSTRUCTION WORKS ES1

I am very concern about the traffic, noise and dust impacts that is going to be generated during the construction works along old Windsor Rd.
I would think that these impacts can be mitigated by using railway tunnel system instead of a sky rail method.