Infrastructure NSW wants residents to comment on its review of Beaches roads
What are your biggest road gripes on the Northern Beaches? Is it waiting to get onto Warringah Road from Allambie Road at 5pm? The endless, never-ending queue on Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation, Balgowlah? Or waiting to turn right off Warringah Road onto Beacon Hill Road at morning peak hour?
Get it all off your chest in a new consultation by Infrastructure NSW.
The Northern Beaches Network Review is live and will examine the efficiency of the transport network on the Beaches and Lower North Shore. It follows the government’s own review into how improvements can be made, including some short to medium term solutions.
Independent Wakehurst MP Michael Regan strongly encouraged residents to have their say, but said more ambition will be needed to meet future demand.
“I appreciate the work that has gone into this review, but it doesn’t yet go far enough,” he said. “In May 2022, the previous government abandoned the $10 billion Northern Beaches Tunnel without planning or funding alternatives, leaving our community short-changed.”
Mr Regan told PL that Infrastructure NSW ‘never genuinely supported’ the tunnel.
“They were of the mind that the business case never stacked up. The previous (Liberal) government said in May 2022 that there was no money to build the tunnel. But it is at a point where they can take that project, pull it off the shelf, go out to tender and build it.”
Mr Regan said he had requested a meeting with Infrastructure NSW about the possibility of putting the tunnel back on the agenda. “Given the new low-and mid-rise planning changes plus Housing Development Authority developments – at what point does it tip the tunnel back into a possibility?”
Liberal Manly MP James Griffin said his focus would be working alongside all Northern Beaches MPs to ensure that residents were heard, and that key projects were not only identified but allocated the required funding in full and without delay.
“All Northern Beaches MPs have consistently warned the government that increasing housing density without the necessary investment in transport infrastructure would be reckless.
“The Labor Government has made no secret that they’ve spent the proposed Beaches Link Tunnel funding on transport projects in Western Sydney. It’s time for them to respect the calls of all Northern Beaches MP’s and deliver some funding for Northern Beaches transport projects.” Mr Griffin said.
An interactive map on the NSW Government’s Have Your Say site allows people to click on various locations and add comments. Key areas highlighted included Warringah Road, where a faster reliable bus service would get people to Chatswood to connect with the Metro services, which could be improved by dedicated bus lanes.
“Part of the network review identified a Dee Why to Chatswood B-Line, which we already knew,” Mr Regan told PL. “The 160X is already operating as a step down from a B-Line in that it’s a high-frequency service and it’s patronage has increased, particularly with the connection to the Metro.”
Other areas highlighted included Spit Road and Pittwater Road’s gaps in bus lane continuity, and the Officeworks intersection at Dee Why was identified as a priority location.
To comment, search online for ‘Northern Beaches Network Review Have Your Say’ by 8 June.
Additional reporting by Michelle Giglio.