Sydenham to Bankstown Metro rail strategy flawed, says former NSW transport planner
THE NSW Government needs to “pause and think” before going ahead with the Sydenham to Bankstown rail strategy, says a former state transport planner.
The Express
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THE NSW Government needs to “pause and think” before going ahead with the Sydenham to Bankstown rail strategy, says a former state transport planner.
Former NSW Ministry of Transport executive director of planning, Robert Gibbons, has red-flagged the strategy in a report in which he argues the Metro and its surrounding development is flawed.
In his report, Mr Gibbons argues the Metro will provide no increased rail and road capacity, and ultimately lead to greater congestion.
The Department of Planning has said the metro rail system would deliver “almost twice the number of rail services on the Bankstown Line”.
“When Metro services start in 2024, there will be at least 15 trains an hour in the peak — one every four minutes — and the capacity to move more than 17,000 people an hour on the Bankstown Line,” a department spokesman said.
“The Bankstown Line can currently move 9600 people an hour in the morning peak on eight trains.”
But Mr Gibbons believes the numbers are wrong.
“(The Government is) falsely claiming the Metros will provide a 60 per cent increase,” Mr Gibbons said.
“(But) the numbers were provided by a private operator, indeed a contractor with a vested interest, which distorted the comparison between double-deck trains and Metros by about 95 per cent.”
Mr Gibbons has crunched the numbers to show what 6000 people, the added population target for Campsie and Bankstown, would look like. If 10 storeys is the standard apartment-block size, Campsie and Bankstown would need 67 high-rise buildings within walking distance of the stations.
He also suggests the East Hills line, not Bankstown, should be upgraded.
Canterbury-Bankstown Council is not sold on the revised strategy either, and administrator Richard Colley has said he was concerned the “full implication” of the high-rise density around stations had not been considered.
Residents make voices heard on Metro plan
More than 1800 submissions have been presented to the State Government on its Sydenham to Bankstown urban renewal strategy.
Since the revised strategy was released last month, it has received a further 350 submissions and 300 respondents to the online survey.
The revised strategy is a 20-year vision for 35,400 new homes within 800m walking distance of the new metro station between Sydenham and Bankstown.
In the lead up to the close of submissions, on September 3, a number of community meetings have been held across Canterbury-Bankstown.
Last week, Canterbury state Labor MP Sophie Cotsis hosted up to 200 concerned residents in Campsie to discuss the priority precincts that will be targeted for intense development within the corridor strategy.
“Our local infrastructure is lagging behind, local schools are overcrowded, (there is) no additional funding for Canterbury Hospital and no solutions for congestion on Canterbury Rd,” Ms Cotsis said.
“We need real solutions, the Government needs to stop and listen to the community first.”
Over the past month, the Department of Planning and Environment has held a number of community consultation meetings.
“We encourage the community to make a submission on the revised strategy,” the department’s Brendan Nelson said.
“The department will review all submissions and use the feedback to produce the final strategy that will inform the future direction and vision for this corridor.”
There are three sessions remaining, at the Salvation Army, Dulwich Hill on August 16; Marrickville Town Hall on August 19; and Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL on August 22.
This Sunday, the Sydenham to Bankstown Alliance, which opposes the metro, will hold a public forum at the Orion Function Centre in Campsie from 3pm.
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