The State Government has scrapped the controversial $10 billion Beaches Link, but with peak traffic congestion and more dwellings planned, locals are demanding alternatives.
Local residents and politicians are demanding a ‘Plan B’ to ease congestion now Labor has scrapped the Beaches Link project.
Pittwater Road and Military Roads are two of the top 10 most-trafficked roads in Sydney, and the seven kilometre project was designed to ease congestion. The plan was for two portals (entries/exits) in Balgowlah and Seaforth to be tunnelled under Middle Harbour next to the Spit Bridge, to connect with the Warringah Freeway in Cammeray.
It was forecast to reduce traffic on Warringah Road by up to 23 per cent; Mona Vale Road up to eight per cent; Spit Road up to 33 per cent; Eastern Valley Way up to 40 percent and Military Road by up to 11 per cent.
Work was scheduled to start this year at a cost of $1 million per metre, or $10,000 per centimetre, but the government scrapped the project last month, diverting funds to Western Sydney.
Premier Chris Minns said: “We won’t waste $10 billion on another new toll road for the Northern Beaches. We’ll invest in infrastructure where it’s actually needed.”
Wakehurst MP Michael Regan wants a flyover at Officeworks on Warringah Road to ease congestion at a known Beaches’ traffic pinchpoint.
“It’s been made clear we’re not a priority for this government.”
Michael Regan
Now locals are demanding a ‘Plan B’.
Wakehurst MP Michael Regan tells Peninsula Living Pittwater: “The community is disappointed. We’ve been constantly promised a Beaches Link tunnel, yet nothing materialised and there are no plans to replace that ageing relic called Spit Bridge.
“The previous government did nothing for 12 years and had no plan B should the project be cancelled. And as we have now found out, no money either, hence the delay.
“The new State Government inherited this problem, yet wants to increase densities across the area, particularly where there are train stations, which we don’t have.
The design proposed a link from Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation (above) to the Warringah Freeway, including extra carriageways.
“It’s been made clear we’re not a priority for this government.”
Pittwater MP Rory Amon also slammed the decision, saying: “The last time Labor was in power, there was no investment in our local roads, public transport, schools, or hospitals – they even closed a high school and a TAFE.”
Northern Beaches councillor Kristyn Glanville says while she’s ‘glad’ the tunnel has been shelved, alternative options need to be explored, with extensive community consultation.
“The Minns’ Government seems motivated to try and untangle some of the contractual spaghetti that has been left by the former government.
“If the State Government is pressuring council for more development, we need better public transport. The public perception is that we don’t want a train to the Northern Beaches, but every form of public transport has its pros and cons.
“A B2 East-West bus link to Chatswood, which would operate like the B1, could be an easy win, but the community needs to have a meaningful discussion about what transport we want.
“It needs to be evidence-backed, rather than pork-barrelled conversations, and we will get a more sympathetic outcome to the community if they are involved and council controls it.”
There are other proponents of a rail network on the Beaches, with Mosman Council saying that any increase in housing density had to be matched by infrastructure. “Mosman is disappointed the Beaches Link tunnel will not be proceeding, as without this or heavy rail, higher density is difficult to achieve,” a spokesperson said.
Mr Regan is working with Infrastructure Australia on a plan to break congestion between Balgowlah Golf course and Mona Vale with ‘several pinch points’.
“The biggest piece of work that breaks the back of the Beaches is at the intersection in Brookvale between Pittwater Road and Warringah Road,” he says. “Let’s start with a fly over or bypass at the Officeworks intersection, like the one at Northern Beaches Hospital.
Northern Beaches Councillor Kristyn Glanville says a B2 East-West bus link to Chatswood could be an ‘easy win’.
“That would cut some of the congestion. Smart solutions do exist and I’ve put a plan to Infrastructure Australia which has been endorsed, which means they recognise, independent of politics, that the congestion here needs fixing.
“I’m working with the Northern Beaches Council to continue building on that plan, and getting support from Transport NSW and the Minister for Roads John Graham for planning and priority funding for that major intersection upgrade.”
A spokesperson for Transport NSW said that it would be carrying out a road network review in Sydney’s north, including the Northern Beaches. This would be ‘to assess if any network improvements may be required to ensure a safe, efficient and reliable road network for motorists’.
By Niki Waldegrave