Leichhardt tunnel site decision only halfway there

The announcement today that the Derbyshire Road site in Leichhardt will not be taken forward as the location for the WestConnex mid-point tunnel is welcome. However, the government needs to rule out the Darley Road site as equally unsuitable.

It was a preposterous suggestion to locate a tunnelling site next to a school, but it’s clear that the alternative site is also totally unsuitable.

It’s unacceptable for the government to put the community in a position where they have to choose between a rock and a hard place.

The site on Darley Road has long been acknowledged by Council as a traffic black spot and highly congested. This site also suffers from flooding.

Darley Road is an arterial road and the 'spine' of Leichhardt. It is accessed by users across the Inner West to cross or enter the City West Link. Any further congestion of this road will lead to traffic chaos.

I join Leichhardt Against WestConnex in calling on the Minister to rule out the Darley Road dive site proposal. The use of Darley Road has been categorically rejected by the Inner West Council and its traffic planners in light of the damning report of an independent engineer.

As LAW rightly says, the Darley Road is a sub-standard road, long acknowledged as a traffic and accident blackspot. It belies common sense to bring up to 200 plus trucks per day onto this site given its history of fatalities. This will result in traffic gridlock on the City West Link and on this critical arterial road and will devastate nearby homes and local businesses in Leichhardt.

More details on the tunnel site issue in Leichhardt

This announcement is just the latest example of the planning on the run we’ve seen right throughout this disaster of a tollroad project.

WestConnex is a damaging, destructive and wasteful project. It will bring in more traffic, not less. It will ramp up pollution and won’t address Sydney’s congestion problems.

It’s important for the community to remember that this eight-lane monstrosity is not a given. Far from it. The draft designs haven’t been released, nor the planning approval granted, nor any funding secured.

No community should be subjected to mass disruption, noise, pollution or dangerous traffic on this scale for a project that we know will fail.

Showing 5 reactions

Robert Rahilly commented 2017-04-04 12:30:15 +1000
I HAVE LIVED IN HUBERT ST FOR 35 YRS HUBERT ST RUNS OFF DARLEY RD ABOUT 15 YRS AGO NO:5 HUBERT ST EXCUVATED SO THEY COULD HAVE UNDERGROUD PARKING THEY HIT A UNDERGROUND CREEK THE WATER FROM THE CREEK NEEDS TO BE PUMPED OUT MORNING AND NIGHT. SO I THINK DARLEY RD WOULD BE A FLOOD ZONE !
William Bennett commented 2017-04-03 15:09:07 +1000
keep looking only one dive site, really!
J D McClymont commented 2017-04-03 11:51:50 +1000
I am wondering if the school location was a furphy to distract from the real target – Darley Road. While everybody sighs with relief that the school will be spared we may take our eye off the massive compensation to Dan Murphys if it has to close. How on earth was this store approved with the Westlink hovering over it? The whole things smells and I wonder if you can follow this up in Parliament, Jamie?
Andrew Chuter commented 2017-03-31 19:38:52 +1100
Join the rally at Leichhardt Senior Secondary College on Derbyshire St on Sunday 2 April from 11am to oppose ANY Leichhardt dive site.
Gemma Pitcher published this page in News 2017-03-31 14:52:11 +1100

FERRIES AT ANNANDALE AND WEST BALMAIN

Imagine hopping on a ferry at Annandale or West Balmain and being in the heart of the city within minutes.

In 2020, we won the campaign for a Glebe ferry. Now, we have the opportunity to connect more of our area to the ferry network. New ferries at Annandale and West Balmain will provide a faster, smarter route into the city without adding to the traffic on our roads.

Both Labor and the Liberals want to build more polluting and destructive tollways across Sydney. But we have costed a comprehensive plan for a world-class public transport system that makes getting around our city fast and easy.

Dear Transport Minister,

New inner west ferry services would provide efficient, fast and environmentally sound travel to and from the area for workers, tourists, students, pensioners and the general public.

I therefore ask that the Government build on the success of the Blackwattle Bay ferry and establish a ferry service at Rozelle Bay for the Annandale area and reinstate the ferry at West Balmain.

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