WDA addresses concerns
04 Oct 2016
WestConnex Delivery Authority respects people's right to demonstrate, and we are committed to engaging with all stakeholders on the project. WDA is holding a public meeting 7pm Monday 23 February at Enmore Theatre and we invite community members to come along and learn more about WestConnex, with a focus on the New M5 and St Peters Interchange. Why WestConnexWestConnex is about supporting the extra 1.6 million people expected to call Sydney home in the next 20 years. It will provide better journeys for the 100,000 motorists using the M5 East every day, our city's most congested motorway. WestConnex is partially funded by the GovernmentThe NSW Government is investing more than $60 billion in transport infrastructure over the next four years, including public transport and roads. This includes $1.8 billion being invested in WestConnex, with a user-pays tolling system to fund the bulk of the motorway. Essential public transport being fully funded includes the North West Rail Link, South West Rail Link and the CBD and South East Light Rail. King Street clearway concernsThere are no plans to change the existing clearways on King Street and no changes are assumed in the traffic modelling underway to ensure WestConnex integrates smoothly with the existing road network. Property acquisitionWe are making every effort to limit the impact on people. For this stage of WestConnex, the residential properties we are acquiring are all within a long-standing road reservation " so the property owners already knew their properties could be required at some point. St Peters Interchange will be built on a former landfill site, which means fewer homes will need to be acquired. Where we are certain a property is needed, we have advised owners to provide the earliest certainty, wherever possible. Sydney Park impact concernsWe fully recognise the importance of Sydney Park and the investments that have been made in recent years by the City of Sydney and others. A strip of land owned by Roads and Maritime Services adjacent to Sydney Park is being used to widen Euston Road as part of local road upgrades, not Sydney Park. WestConnex is consultingWDA has been consulting with local residents, community groups, and industry for well over a year. Property acquisitions are sensitive, and we have been meeting individually with property owners since early November. More than 140 community members attended information sessions recently to share their feedback and opinions with the project team. There will be more opportunities to be involvedAs is normal for infrastructure delivery in our State, each WestConnex project is subject to a thorough environmental impact assessment prior to an independent decision by the Department of Planning and Environment.
