-
Community Forum: West Gate Tunnel Tollway Will It Slow You Down?
Western Region Environment Centre presents West Gate Tunnel Tollway Will It Slow You Down? Hear about the impact of West Gate Project on the outer west from speakers with interests…
-
Air is free, but more pollution from West Gate Tunnel is deadly
You can help Spotswood South Kingsville Residents Group push for the highest air quality standards possible for Melbourne’s inner west in their submission to the Environment Effects Statement (EES) for…
-
Doncaster bus rapid transit?
Transdev Melbourne has made a pitch for “Doncaster bus rapid transit” Is it a viable alternative to heavy or light rail along the Doncaster reservation and Eastern median or is…
-
West Gate Tunnel EES released for public comment
Thirty days, yes, thirty short days to respond to 10,000 pages of the West Gate Tunnel Environmental Effects Statement! From Colleen Hartland, MP: thetollroadwontwork.org.au The West Gate Tunnel Environmental Effects…
-
Reasons for de-scoping the Western Distributor
To all parties with an interest in the Western Distributor Here is Victorian Transport Action Group’s (VTAG’s) paper that assesses the impact of the Western Distributor (WD) and offers 10 recommendations…
-
Transurban – A Case for a Senate Inquiry
Secret Deals, Influenced Government, Over $1 Billion in Penalties, Neighbourhoods Destroyed, Environmental Impact, Tens of Thousands Affected and a Plan to Toll All Roads Michael Fraser and Maddison Johnstone investigate…
-
Farewell Flemington Road Gum
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way” William Blake Tuesday 26th July 2016: Update from Guardians…
-
Submission on the establishment of a National Integrity Commission
In April 2016, WestCONnex Action Group joined forces with Victoria’s Yarra Campaign for Action on Transport and WA’s Rethink the Link to make a submission to the Senate Committee on…
-
Murphy v East West Link Supreme Court Challenge website now archived on YCAT
We have archived the entire Murphy v East West Link Supreme Court Challenge website from 2014- 2015 on YCAT for future reference and have included a new Media Coverage section. Note:…
-
The risk of unsolicted proposals
Will the Victorian government read the VAGO report, take a breath and reassess that unsolicted Transurban bid for Western Distributor? Read the VAGO Report: Applying the High Value High Risk…
-
Finally … The End Of The Road
From Residents Against The Tunnel (RATs): Finally … The End Of The Road For Murphy v State Government Of Victoria It has been a long time, but this Supreme Court Challenge,…
-
‘Peak car’ makes building freeways risky
AFR: ‘Peak car’ makes building freeways risky by Geoff Winestock (11 June 2015) A worldwide trend away from driving cars should make investors and governments more cautious about building big…
-
Route 100 Light Rail – Doncaster to Inner City
Route 100 Light Rail – Doncaster to Inner City by Victorian Transport Action Group The attached paper on a Doncaster light rail which continues along Alexandra Parade to Nicholson Street…
-
You Stopped the East West Toll Road
Saturday May 9, 2015: You Stopped the East West Toll Road, opening speech by Adam Bandt. Celebratory drinks at The Fox Hotel, Collingwood for everyone who worked so hard to…
-
East West Link “Letter of Guarantee” demands investigation
YCAT Editorial Here is a copy of the East West Link “side letter” to the consortium, signed by the Napthine Government that blackmails Victorian taxpayers. The timing of this document…
-
Neat, Plausible and Wrong: Melbourne’s East West Link
The state of Victoria, Australia, has long been a site of tension between an incumbent and powerful road lobby and a community increasingly desirous of non-car transport alternatives. Today there…
-
The Battle for Alexandra Parade
The proposed East West road tunnel is not the first time the inner northern communities of Melbourne have faced the onslaught of massive road developments. In 1970s and 1990s, the…
Community Forum: West Gate Tunnel Tollway Will It Slow You Down?
Western Region Environment Centre presents West Gate Tunnel Tollway Will It Slow You Down?
Hear about the impact of West Gate Project on the outer west from speakers with interests in social justice and expertise in public transport planning. Does this project solve congestion on our roads? Will it cut commute times to Melbourne? What will it cost in tolls and who pays the most? What are the costs along the corridor?
Are their benefits and do they outweigh the costs? Are roads the only solution to moving people and freight cost effectively and quickly? Now that the Environmental Effect Statement with 17 technical studies has been released the claims made by the proponents of this project Transurban and the Victorian Government can be publicly tested. Hear how you can have your say.
Venue: Central Park Community Centre, 80 Lonsdale Circuit, Hoppers Crossing
Time: 6.30 – 9.30pm, Monday 3rd July 2017
Speakers
- Colleen Hartland, MLC Western Region
- Denis Nelthorpe, West Justice Community Legal Centre
- William McDougall, Transport planning
- Ian Woodcock, Public transport in outer west
Event Organiser
Rosa McKenna 0418 403 303, Spotswood South Kingsville Residents Group
Media Contact
Gerry McLoughlin 0409 246 727, Inner Melbourne Planning Alliance Inc. (IMPA)
Air is free, but more pollution from West Gate Tunnel is deadly
You can help Spotswood South Kingsville Residents Group push for the highest air quality standards possible for Melbourne’s inner west in their submission to the Environment Effects Statement (EES) for the West Gate Tunnel project.
A little bit of context
Spotswood and South Kingville is a small community in Hobsons Bay in the inner west of Melbourne. We already live with increasing noise and pollution from the West Gate Freeway which carries approximately 200,000 vehicles per day including 30,000 trucks.
In 2014, the Andrews Government won government in Victoria with a mandate to implement and fund the West Gate Distributor project, a relatively small proposal to resolve freight issues and take trucks off residential streets.
Fast forward to 2016, and the Victorian Government has agreed to partner with Transurban, a private tolling company who will receive tolls from the new roads in return for funding a much bigger project, the West Gate Tunnel project (the Project). The Project is now subject to an EES where its assumptions and benefits will be scrutinised by all interested parties. Final approval from the Minister for Planning and the Victorian Parliament is required through this process. Construction is due to start early 2018 and end in 2022.
But there’s a problem
We are concerned the air quality standards outlined by the Project will not sufficiently safeguard our community.
Vehicle emissions and air quality standards in Australia do not meet international standards. The Australian truck fleet using the West Gate Tunnel Project’s truck ramps, freeways and tunnel is aged and a very large proportion are not even compliant with Australia’s poor standards, (Euro V), hence they are likely to be a very significant emitters of diesel particulate matter. Diesel exhaust has been classified as carcinogenic to humans.
Doncaster bus rapid transit?
Transdev Melbourne has made a pitch for “Doncaster bus rapid transit” Is it a viable alternative to heavy or light rail along the Doncaster reservation and Eastern median or is it a long term cop out? Will the proposed service get up at all?
Doncaster to CBD: Special busway may run down middle of Hoddle Street (8 June 2017)
It is estimated the Doncaster-CBD busway would cost more than $500 million to build, which is 10 to 16 per cent of the estimated $3 billion – $5 billion cost of building Doncaster rail, a project Infrastructure Victoria assessed last year would return just 10 cents for every dollar spent. Transdev wants to pave over the Eastern Freeway median – which has been reserved for almost 50 years for a future Doncaster railway line – for express buses instead of trains.
Comment:
1. The extra bus lane is physically accessible to all vehicles. This means the bus will be restricted to the same 100km speed limit leading to a longer trip than necessary.
2. Motorists will not be enticed to change to the bus if it is a lot slower than driving.
3. The extra bus lane will preclude the possibility to build a heavy or even a light rail.
4. The bus lane reservation on the freeway should be taken from existing vehicle lanes, otherwise the capacity on the eastern freeway will continue to fill leading to no net traffic reduction.
5. Freeway congestion does not affect the bus service today. It is the city street congestion that causes the delays. The freeway reservation does not not address the real issue.
6. The bus will be diesel powered. Bringing large numbers of engines that emit a class 1 carcinogen into highly populated city streets is madness.
7. The bus will be fossil fuel powered. All new infrastructure should be based on renewable electricity.
8. Trains are already massively overcrowded. How is the bus service going to cope with a population target of 10 million?
9. This is a sell off of public land that was reserved for a railway, not a private bus operator. Keep public land in public hands.
10. Cofevee. Don’t be fooled by this weak attempt at placating the electorate. Demand real action on public transport.
