The Western Sydney Business Chamber has warned that the region’s transport infrastructure was at risk of cracking under the weight of growing congestion if Government did not fund a rapid expansion of public transport in Sydney’s booming west, following the release of Infrastructure Australia’s national audit today.
“Infrastructure Australia’s audit has confirmed what every Western Sydneysider knows – that congestion is growing and there is no immediate relief on the horizon without a massive public transport building program by the NSW and Federal Governments,” said David Borger, Executive Director of the Western Sydney Business Chamber.
“The Federal Government’s idea that fixing a roundabout or expanding a commuter car park will fix congestion is folly – what we need is for them to open their purse strings and co-fund a massive public transport building program in Western Sydney.
“Infrastructure Australia has fired a warning shot today that if we think one new rail line and a motorway tunnel is enough to fix congestion in Sydney we are greatly mistaken – that can only be the first of what needs to be many down payments if we want to have a functional and liveable city into the future.
“Full marks to the NSW Government for getting on with trying to address the surging transport demand in Sydney but we can’t afford to take the foot off the accelerator and they will need to consider further opportunities for asset recycling – the remaining stakes in WestConnex and the ‘poles and wires’ are the obvious candidates to free up capital.
Mr Borger said we’ve been playing catch up on legacy infrastructure to support the Sydney CBD’s growth, but Western Sydney continues to be under serviced by public transport that doesn’t go directly to the eastern suburbs.
“Now is the time to start to develop a public transport network in Western Sydney. The Future Transport Strategy highlights a number of future metro routes from Parramatta to the new Western Sydney Airport, Bankstown and Kogarah, Epping and to the Hills district – these projects needs to be prioritised for investigation and delivery.
“Clearly any idea that projects like Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 should be shelved by the NSW Government is extremely short-sighted when confronted with this report.”
