Macarthur’s road and rail future
Pedal power is the fastest way to battle the notorious Narellan Rd, cyclists say.
Macarthur
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PEDAL POWER FASTEST WAY TO TRAVEL NARELLAN ROAD
Pedal power is the fastest way to battle the notorious Narellan Rd, cyclists say.
Cyclist Sam Playford frequently pedals to Western Sydney University along the congested strip and said it was often the swiftest method.
“When Narellan Rd is at its worst in peak hour, the time difference is huge,” he said. “From Campbelltown to Narellan McDonalds, it is diabolic during peak hour as a motorist. It’s definitely quicker to ride your bike because you are going past cars which are stationary.”
The 23-year-old law student said more cycling infrastructure could assist in reducing congestion.
The latest RMS Roads Report reveals traffic crawls below 50km/h on average during morning and afternoon peak hour. Narellan Rd’s slowest times is 2.45pm, registering an average speed of 35.4km/h.
RAIL AS ALTERNATIVE TO CHRONIC TRAFFIC CONGESTION
Almost 90,000 Macarthur region workers are driving to work, latest Census data has revealed.
A whopping 70.4 per cent of Wollondilly shire’s residents and 70.3 per cent of Camden’s drive to work. Campbelltown has 61.4 per cent of commuters on the road.
Data obtained by the Macarthur Chronicle showed residents in the Camden local government area had the 13th biggest increase in car ownership in Australia from 2006 to 2011 with 8299 more vehicles.
With the Macarthur region's population due to top 500,000 within 15 years and our roads already clogged with traffic, the need for rail into the booming Camden region is now a matter of urgency.
A rail corridor from the new Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek to Narellan has already been secured but there is no timeline on when it will be built.
Campbelltown Council is also calling for a rail link from Narellan to Campbelltown.
Camden state Liberal MP Chris Patterson said record investment had gone into road infrastructure in the Macarthur region over the past few years but it would only be a starting point.
Mr Patterson said big budget projects were set to be revealed soon. “In the not too distant future the M9 Outer Orbital and extensions of the existing rail network in our region will be placed on public exhibition,” he said.
A range of projects are already underway or have been completed to upgrade the region’s road network including upgrades to pinch points such as Narellan Rd, Camden Valley Way and the Northern Rd.
Federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher sparked criticism when he suggested rail may not need to be connected to the Western Sydney Airport from the day it opened.
Mr Patterson said there was no difference of opinion between the state and federal governments on the region’s rail and upgrading the local network would be a priority.
“What the minister was saying was that you don’t need rail (from day one) for the airport to be a success,” he said.
“That’s not to say that we won’t see rail infrastructure in Camden before that time. As a local member I am pushing all I can for rail to be a priority.”
The opening of Gregory Hills Drive has given motorists another option to reach the M5 away from the dreaded Narellan Rd trip.
The Federal Government has already committed funding to upgrade Badgally Rd to help cope with the increased traffic while Campbelltown Council has identified several pinch points in the Raby Rd precinct that will require future work. The Spring Farm Parkway is also being investigated by the RMS.
ILL-EFFECTS OF COMMUTING ARE NAILED
EXPERTS say the long commutes faced by Macarthur area drivers are having huge detrimental impacts on their health and wellbeing.
“(They) eat into family life where people are not seeing kids off to school or tucking them into bed at night,” Prof Ann Williamson, a world-renowned authority on transport safety from the University of NSW, said. “People get used to it, but over time it affects the state of mind.”
Prof Williamson and her research team at the Transport and Road Safety Research Centre have just completed a study on commuter fatigue which showed drivers were most at risk of crashing on their way to work.
“We tested 60 people over several months in a simulator and found people performed worst on mornings during a 30-minute commute behind the wheel due to the negative effects of long commuting,” she said.
“This is sleep inertia. When we first get up, it takes a while to get going — and it’s even worse after a run of long days. Truck drivers, nurses and doctors — those who have worked through the night — are very vulnerable to this.”
Neuroscientist Rohan Walker, an associate professor at the University of Newcastle, said there is a “core trio of events” causing commuter stress.
“These include threatening, controlling and unpredictable events,” he said.
LONGER TRIPS FOR THE WEST
Campbelltown commuters travelling to Western Sydney are copping a raw deal from changes to the Sydney Trains timetable set to be introduced next week, Campbelltown state Labor MP Greg Warren said.
The T2 Line will start at Leppington from Sunday meaning Campbelltown commuters travelling to Western Sydney stations will have to change at Glenfield station, with no direct route option any longer.
Mr Warren said changes to the timetable meant travel times would increase for many commuters.
“Under these changes, the thousands of local residents who go to work in places like Liverpool, Blacktown and Parramatta will lose another 15, 20 or even 30 minutes out of their day,” he said. “That might not sound like a huge amount of time, but when people are already spending two or more hours every day commuting and away from their families, every extra minute that can be spent at home is precious.”
The T2 Airport Line running to Sydney’s CBD will now be rebranded the T8 Line. A Transport NSW spokeswoman said services from Campbelltown and Macarthur Station to the CBD would improve.
“Campbelltown and Macarthur customers will have access to 10 express trains per hour in AM peak periods to better connect them with the Sydney CBD,” she said.
“We’re also adding 160 new services per week on the T5 Cumberland Line running on weekends and late at night for the first time, improving connections between Western Sydney and South West Sydney.”
COMMUTER CARPARKING
The Macarthur region’s parking woes have been a sticking point for residents for many years.
An extra 450 parking spaces were promised for Campbelltown Station at the 2015 State Election but are yet to be delivered. It is believed additional parking will finally arrive in 2019.
While parking across the region’s congested train stations is often the primary source of frustration, it’s not the only hassle for desperate motorists looking for a park.
The region’s biggest shopping centre, Macarthur Square, recently introduced a paid parking system to free up spaces in a bid to keep commuters from Macarthur Station away.
Campbelltown Mayor George Brticevic recently floated the idea of satellite parking stations with a shuttle bus connecting residents to nearby train stations.
“In terms of parking (at Campbelltown Station), the vast majority come from Camden, Wollondilly and the Southern Highlands,” he previously told the Macarthur Chronicle. “I would love to see satellite car parking at Gregory Hills Drive ... A five minute bus ride and you are at the station.”
Residents of the ironically named Park Central have long suffered from a lack of parking as they bear the brunt of the nearby private and public hospitals.