WHT community campaign

Following community requests, Council recently resolved to conduct a community campaign to increase awareness of the impacts of the NSW Govt Western Harbour Tunnel (WHT) and Warringah Freeway Upgrade projects.

While submissions in response to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) closed on 30 March 2020, but it's never too late to ask for the project to be changed and funding provided for mitigation measures.

Council has made a submission on the EIS, but we are just one voice.

Thousands of voices need to be heard if changes are to be made to the project.

This project will have a negative impact on our community - on your quality of life - from the air you breathe through to the level of traffic in local streets. This issue doesn’t just affect a few streets. All of the North Sydney LGA will be negatively impacted in some way.

Write to your State MP and ask for changes before it is too late...

The Hon. Gladys Berejiklian MP

Premier & Member for Willoughby

[email protected]

GPO Box 5341, SYDNEY NSW 2001

Ms Felicity Wilson MP

Member for North Shore

[email protected]

Suite 3, 40 Yeo Street, NEUTRAL BAY NSW 2089

Summary of the key issues impacting the North Sydney LGA 

Key Issues

Mitigation Measures Required

1. Parkland will be lost

North Sydney has less open space per person than every other northern Sydney Council and even less than the City of Sydney. Another 12,000 residents are expected by 2036, so it is unacceptable to lose precious parkland for road infrastructure.

Yet land the size of four soccer fields will be permanently carved out of Cammeray Park to build the tunnel. Parts of St Leonards, ANZAC and Cammeray Parks will be occupied for construction for the next five or more years. These parks will be permanently impacted by the new infrastructure, with a 10-storey high stack, and vehicle over and underpasses on their perimeter.

Council’s stormwater harvesting facility in Cammeray Park, which watered major parks and playing fields during the drought, will be removed, forcing Council back to watering with fresh drinking water.

2. CBD will become disconnected 

Entry to the WHT will be via Berry Street, North Sydney. All parking will be removed, and Berry Street will become a one-directional, four-lane road, effectively making it an extension of the Pacific Highway. This is in direct contrast to the Council’s plan for the CBD, which is to create a vibrant, sustainable, and economically strong centre, with less through traffic, more open space and better pedestrian connections.

The impact on the CBD will be far-reaching:

• Pedestrians will desert Berry St, resulting in the empty shop fronts and decay that is evident in other areas where cars are prioritised over people.

• The plan for Miller Place will be replaced by gridlock along Miller St, from North Sydney station to Cammeray.

• The new open space and cultural facilities allowed for in the Ward St Masterplan will become less viable.

3. Traffic will overload local streets

The EIS doesn’t pull any punches - it predicts a moderate to high impact on main and residential streets across the North Sydney LGA. The tunnel will draw traffic in from other areas seeking to join the motorway and will funnel traffic out onto fewer exits, forcing more vehicles onto local streets. All our main roads will be over-loaded and seven major intersections will fail during peak times.

They are:

• Miller St at Amhurst, Ernest, Falcon and Berry Streets

• The Pacific Highway at Bay Road and Berry Street

• Military Road at Ben Boyd Road

Connections across the LGA will be broken by the new infrastructure, resulting in longer and circuitous routes on local streets, especially in Cammeray, Crows Nest, Neutral Bay and Cremorne.

There will be 73 parking spaces permanently lost and a further 55 lost during construction, which means residents and their visitors won’t be able to find a parking space.

The project is a huge step backwards for active transport, essential for a sustainable community.

Traffic diversions will:

• create longer travel time for cyclists

• longer waits at pedestrian intersections

• a less pleasant walking experience

4. Emissions may damage health

The emissions from the tunnel in both directions will be funnelled through a 10-storey high, unfiltered stack near ANZAC Park, Cammeray.

The emissions pollution will disperse over ANZAC Park Public School, just 200m away, as well as other local schools and nearby suburbs. The stack is in the centre of the LGA, so no-one will escape the air pollution.

The NSW Government has not included plans for an air filtration system in the EIS for the project because they believe it has no benefit over an unfiltered system.

More information