Sydney Metro: City of Canada Bay Council calls on organisation to speak with affected residents
Residents of an inner city street worried about the eminent arrival of Sydney Metro’s tunnel boring machines may soon get the chance to air their concerns in person.
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Residents of an inner city street worried about the eminent arrival of Sydney Metro’s tunnel boring machines may soon get the chance to air their concerns in person.
A resolution unanimously passed by City of Canada Bay Council has called on Sydney Metro to meet with all residents in the local government area (LGA) affected by works related to the Sydney Metro West infrastructure project, which will deliver a 24km metro line linking Parramatta to Sydney’s CBD.
Residents can expect more in-person communication from Sydney Metro’s team after council committed to calling on the state government body to meet with citizens adjacent or in the vicinity of the three stations being built in the LGA: Five Dock, North Strathfield and Burwood North.
The Inner West Courier previously reported the concerns of residents of Lancelot St – under which Sydney Metro tunnelling will take place – and how they felt their fears were ignored.
“I took this item to council on March 15 because it was clear the time has come to get our local community into the room with the Sydney Metro,” City of Canada Bay mayor Angelo Tsirekas said.
“I have heard concerns about the impacts of tunnelling, out of hours truck movements, impacts of construction workers parking on local streets and a number of other issues from residents.
“Sydney Metro has worked constructively with council so far, but due to Covid they had some issues late last year with their plans for door knocking and direct communication with residents.”
Mr Tsirekas said the scars of WestConnex construction for some residents was on the mind of those now on the path of Sydney Metro’s tunnels.
“Of course we welcome this landmark project,” the mayor said.
“But memories of the WestConnex construction remain fresh for our residents.
“It’s clear that council needs to act to ensure that Metro is communicating with our local community, ensuring that all questions are answered and concerns seen to.”
The meeting with Lancelot St residents on March 9 was the first to take place between concerned citizens and representatives from Sydney Metro.
Although noting the detail to which Sydney Metro presented each section of the project – and the approachability of those representatives in attendance – a spokeswoman for the Lancelot St Residents group said concerns remained.
“There are key concerns that are still not answered,” she said.
“Why was our street chosen? Why couldn’t they go down Garfield St, as per the environmental assessment.”
The depth of the tunnels similarly remained a worry.
“Our other question was why can’t they tunnel deeper,” the spokeswoman said.
The initial environmental impact survey had listed tunnelling under Lancelot St as around 30 metres, but now it looks set to sit at 20.
“They attempted to justify it by saying that it’s 30 metres to the track.
“But in previous diagrams, it (the depth measure) is to the top of the tunnel, not the bottom of it.”
Residents are calling for the depth to be confirmed as 30 metres and for tunnelling to take place through the middle of the street, as opposed to under one row of houses.
Andrew Ferguson, a Canada Bay Labor councillor, said he welcomed the resolution and project at large but said residents needed to be put first.
“Residents are determined they do not suffer the same fate as those who had to fight WestConnex for years to get compensation for damage,” Cr Ferguson said.
“I am not expecting Sydney Metro will fail our community, but they now know our residents are organised and backed by their local council, and will be demanding accountability, transparency and best practice.”
A spokeswoman for Sydney Metro said the organisation would continue to engage with the community.
“Sydney Metro has been, and will continue to, engage with residents at all new metro stations,” the spokeswoman said.
“With health restrictions now lifted, and following a positive meeting with Lancelot St residents, Sydney Metro will provide further opportunities for the community to meet key members of the project team and have their questions answered.”
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Originally published as Sydney Metro: City of Canada Bay Council calls on organisation to speak with affected residents
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