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Other pages on this site: Conservation Council Says "No"
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Leichhardt Bus Depot Expansion & Development. Sample Letter of Protest
Dear......, Re: D/2001/376 - Proposed new access for Leichhardt Bus Depot onto Balmain Road I wish to oppose the above Development Application on the grounds set out below. The State Transit Authority's (STA) Statement of Environment Effects accompanying the proposal states several times that construction of Leichhardt High School's playing field cannot go ahead until Moore Street West is closed and an alternative/additional access point is found for the buses. While we totally support the provision of a playing field for the school, the proposed new access will have a hugely detrimental impact on all residences to the east of the bus depot on Balmain Road and in Charlotte Street and Alfred Street in terms of traffic, noise, safety and air quality. There appears to have been no attempt to measure current noise and vibration levels at the site of the proposed access onto Balmain Road - figures quoted by the STA date back to readings taken near the existing William Street depot entrance in 1996. Further assessment should be carried out in accordance with current Environment Protection Authority guidelines, so that the effects of any possible dramatic increases in noise and vibration on residents can be noted. While the STA indicates that the impact of the proposed access on Balmain Road traffic will be minimal, residents are already experiencing difficulties turning onto Balmain Road. I believe that, with 80 per cent of the depot buses turning in and out at the proposed access point opposite Charlotte Street, the intersection will be rendered impractical and dangerous. Similar problems are anticipated for residents of Balmain Road and Albert Street. The STA acknowledges that there will be a detrimental impact on air quality at the site of the proposed new access, but mitigates this by stating that air quality will improve in the area of William Street and the school. I believe it is totally unacceptable to use this as an argument. There are many families with young children who have to walk along and across Balmain Road to get to schools, shops, the park and Norton Street. Residents of the no-through-road Charlotte Street, in particular, have no option other than to walk past the proposed bus access point. I believe the current proposal will create an unnecessary danger to the many children, other pedestrians and cyclists who use Balmain Road. The STA states that there will be no increase in bus movements, and yet it says this DA is Stage 1 of a longer term proposal to expand the bus depot down to the Balmain Road frontage. With a planned expansion from 88 to 130 buses, it appears that a very large increase in bus movements is planned. While I realise that Leichhardt Council is not considering any proposed expansion of the bus depot at this stage, I am extremely concerned that it appears to be linked with the current proposal. Should this DA get the go ahead, I fear that the expanded depot will become an inevitability - the construction of the proposed new access point would effectively close the door on more responsible development of this land. Why has no access for the buses been considered onto the City West Link? Why was this not planned years ago when the City West Link was on the drawing board? Buses at almost all other Sydney depots have access points onto major arterial roads, not onto residential streets. Why can this not be the case for Leichhardt? Reports submitted with the proposal also mention future possible uses of the State Rail-owned land to the north of the bus depot site, with medium-density housing the favoured option. What are the advantages of having a bus depot sited with residential areas on two sides, and a park and school playing field on the others? I urge that, should a more suitable alternative access point not be found, serious consideration be given to relocating the bus depot - why not to the north-west corner of the State Rail land (to the north of the existing depot) close to and with access onto the City West Link? Or, better still, the railway cutting in Rozelle, which has already been mooted by the State Government as a possible future location? The bus depot occupies a valuable parcel of land, close to the centre of Leichhardt, the sale of which (for mixed residential/business development) would surely more than pay for its relocation. I urge Leichhardt Council to seriously consider the implications of this proposal, taking into account the massive increase in urban pollution and ill health that would inevitably affect present and future residents in the area should the new bus access go ahead. I look forward to receiving your response. Yours sincerely, ………………..... <%counter digits=5%> |
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