Sydney residents vent opposition to WestConnex in flood of submissions   :(

Date
    March 23, 2016
    Sydney Morning Herald

Deep concerns from Sydney residents about WestConnex have again been highlighted in a flood of submissions opposing the second stage of Australia's largest motorway project. 

Almost 12,900 submissions from residents, councils and community groups have been lodged in response to the environmental impact statement for a new M5 East tunnel between St Peters and Beverly Hills, in the city's southwest.

The high number of submissions is only surpassed by those lodged in the 1990s over construction of the M2 motorway in Sydney's north west, which attracted about 14,000.




Known as the New M5 East, the nine-kilometre tunnel project is due to open in 2019 and includes a major interchange at St Peters, in Sydney's inner west.


Almost all of the submissions on the New M5 East were opposed to the $5 billion project, raising concerns that ranged from fears about a drop in air quality to congestion on suburban roads from vehicles that wanted to avoid the tolled motorway.   :(

In their submissions, Canterbury, Hurstville and Rockdale councils voiced concerns that the ventilation system for the New M5 would be inadequate to ensure air quality in the tunnels and for residents who lived near emission stacks.

Leichhardt and City of Sydney councils, both of which have been among the most vocal opponents of WestConnex, again cast doubt on the traffic forecasts for the roadway project.

"The traffic modelling ... may significantly underestimate future traffic volumes and congestion that will be experienced in the 2021 and 2031 scenarios," Leichhardt Council said in its submission.

The City of Sydney said the traffic modelling was "inadequate and shows that the New M5 is unlikely to carry enough traffic to make it worthwhile, yet will deliver massive increases of traffic on to local streets".   :(

The WestConnex project comprises three sections: the new M5 East tunnel; a widened M4 motorway and new M4 East tunnels; and a new M4-M5 tunnel linking the two. Giant boring machine are due to begin work on the 30-metre wide tunnels for the M4 East by the middle of this year

In its entirety, the new $16.8 billion motorway will stretch for 33km. The project relies on funding from the state and federal governments, as well as on tolls from motorists when it eventually opens to traffic.   :(

The state's chief scientist has recommended a worst-case scenario be developed for the New M5 East project to show the impact that changes to tolls will have on air quality in nearby suburbs should motorists opt for alternative roads.

"It is reasonable for affected residents in Bexley to ask what would happen if there was more toll avoidance than has been predicted for this [environmental impact statement]," the submission from the chief scientist's office said.

The Heritage Council also reiterated concerns that "urban design options" had not been fully explored.

Last last year almost 4800 submissions were lodged in response to the plans for the M4 East motorway tunnel from Concord to Haberfield, which is the first stage of WestConnex.

That is fewer than the 7968 submissions lodged in response to the original M5 East motorway in the 1990s, NSW Planning figures show. But it still dwarfs the 2762 submissions on Sydney's Eastern Distributor, the 340 on the Lane Cove Tunnel or the 196 on the Cross City Tunnel. 

A spokeswoman for NSW Planning said a number of submissions on the New M5 East were received multiple times due to systems errors or people submitting more than one.

Look whats that over there?.  Its another toll road.   :(

wrote on Mar 26^th, 2016 at 12:17pm:

Look whats that over there?.  Its another toll road.   :(

......you want....you use, you pay, simple.

There should be alot more of it.

Sydney motorists unwilling to pay for more toll roads: study

Date
    November 11, 2015
    Sydney Morning Herald

Sydney motorists are significantly less likely to drive on new toll roads than previously thought, according to a landmark new study by one of the country's leading traffic experts. 

The city's vast and growing network of toll roads means many motorists will increasingly hit their financial limit and ignore faster tolled routes for cheaper yet slower "rat runs".   :(

The findings by David Hensher, the director of the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at Sydney University, have major implications for new and existing toll roads through the city, including the 33-kilometre WestConnex motorway that will impose new charges on the currently toll-free M5 East and M4 motorways.


A toll-paying Sydney motorist would have to save an hour of travel time before being prepared to pay another $6, the study found.

Professor Hensher is an expert in transport forecasting who also served as an independent reviewer of patronage forecasts on the $15.4 billion WestConnex.


But according to Professor Hensher's latest study, the modelling that has underpinned all previous and current tolled motorways has never looked at the cumulative impact on motorists of driving on multiple tolled motorways.

In his study, based on a survey of 600 respondents, Professor Hensher found that when the cost of using multiple motorways was added together, motorists were significantly less likely to want to pay to travel.


"Many commuters in Sydney are already close to their toll budget threshold":.

"This is a very important finding, raising serious concerns about the estimates of VTTS [value of travel time savings] associated with all current studies used to forecast patronage demand for new tolled links when there are existing tolled links in place," says Professor Hensher's study, prepared with colleagues Chinh Ho and Wen Liu.

"It may also have implications for the frequency of use of the existing tolled links."

Traffic forecasters have been notoriously bad at estimating the number of people who will use toll-roads, and have sometimes been out by as much as 100 per cent.   :(

But in the past in Sydney, the financial risk of overestimating the number of people who will use a toll road has fallen on private investors. That was the case with the Cross City Tunnel and the Lane Cove Tunnel.

For the NorthConnex motorway, to be built between the M1 to Sydney's north and the M2 at Pennant Hills, the risk will fall on private operator Transurban, though risk has been offset by concessions on other routes.

All of the financial risk of the WestConnex motorway, meanwhile, is expected to fall on the taxpayer because the government intends to sell off sections of the project only after they are open to traffic.

According to Professor Hensher's study, a typical industry estimate of the value motorists put on saving travel time is about $22 an hour.

That is, motorists will pay to use a motorway provided the cost does not go beyond that rate - so, motorists will tend to be prepared to pay a $5.50 toll per person to save 15 minutes.

But in his empirical study of Sydney motorists, drivers value their travel time at no greater than $12 an hour and, for new motorways, possibly closer to $6 per person per hour.

That would mean a motorist who is already paying tolls in Sydney would have to save an hour of travel time before being prepared to pay another $6.

"The evidence suggests that many commuters in Sydney are already close to their toll budget threshold, which when reached will flatten the commuter's willingness to pay to save extra commuting time," the study says.   

Professor Hensher identified Sydney as an ideal "laboratory" for his study because of the city's unusually large number of toll-roads.

Financial documents released by WestConnex show the Baird government has already agreed to increase tolls on the motorway much faster than the current rate of inflation - by at least 4 per cent per year. By the time the entire motorway is planned to be finished early next decade, motorists will have to pay as much as $11 a trip.   :(      

Professor Hensher's study was funded by the university, and took place after his work for WestConnex had finished.

According to a spokeswoman for the Sydney Motorway Corporation, the entity in charge of WestConnex, the motorway's traffic modelling "considers the impact of multiple tolls and different willingness to pay studies undertaken in major cities including Sydney, which demonstrate that, if people recognise value in good infrastructure, they will use it".

"WestConnex will save motorists a combined 100,000 hours each day through reduced traffic congestion," the spokeswom

Quote:

WestConnex will save motorists a combined 100,000 hours each day through reduced traffic congestion

......yes but some people are incapable or unwilling to think laterally

    In Berlin you can drive around freely on a great network of motorways for free. If a big city like Berlin can survive without charging tolls why can't Sydney? I don't even enjoy driving on Sydney's roads and having to pay to do so just adds insult to injury.

    NSW is enjoying a cash bonanza due to house sales stamp duty charges. How about they use some of this to stop further toll roads and reverse existing tolls. Also, if you have to pay a toll to presumably get to your destination faster and there's delays on the toll road, the NSW govt should introduce a law to make the toll road operators issue a refund.   :(

Commenter
    sunny
Location
    sydney
Date and time
    November 10, 2015, 7:50PM

wrote on Mar 26^th, 2016 at 1:05pm:

In Berlin you can drive around freely on a great network of motorways for free. If a big city like Berlin can survive without charging tolls why can't Sydney? I don't even enjoy driving on Sydney's roads and having to pay to do so just adds insult to injury.     NSW is enjoying a cash bonanza due to house sales stamp duty charges. How about they use some of this to stop further toll roads and reverse existing tolls. Also, if you have to pay a toll to presumably get to your destination faster and there's delays on the toll road, the NSW govt should introduce a law to make the toll road operators issue a refund.   :( Commenter     sunny Location     sydney Date and time     November 10, 2015, 7:50PM

We drive for free on our roads in WA  :-?