Bicycle NSW, City of Sydney and Walk Sydney urge the NSW Government to press ‘pause’ on plans to expand the capacity of the Western Distributor
A tangle of overpasses already blights the delicate urban fabric of Pyrmont. The Western Distributor ‘improvements' project will further expand the motorway capacity. (Image: Poyt on Flickr)
Sydney has come a long way in the past two decades with improvements to liveability. Or being able to get around safely and efficiently without having to drive into the CBD. More humans, less cars and more attractive streets have benefited businesses. The revamped George Street epitomises this new approach to place planning. The City of Sydney is proud to have a pedestrian spine with elegant and efficient light rail in place of 6 lanes of belching buses.
Pyrmont has local streets showing the beautiful and historic possibilities to move around
Or just be - when traffic is slightly calmed. And when roads are safe and space can be shared, both night and day economies thrive. A series of community festivals under the City of Sydney Sydney Streets program closed Harris Street to traffic on several Saturdays. It was a huge success demonstrating how we can reimagine local high streets.
A car-free Harris Street comes alive. (Image: City of Sydney and Google Maps)
Clawing back community space from the impact of motorways flowing through and over urban neighbourhoods has been a hard-fought campaign. The 2020 Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy made Harris Street the historic main street. It proposed reallocating space from vehicles and parking to accommodate wider footpaths, new landscaping and pedestrian crossings. A potential street-based rapid transit service was mooted. Little by little, Pyrmont would become a place to visit and hang out.
So active transport advocates and City of Sydney planners are dismayed that they were ignored and the Western Distributor ‘improvements’ have been approved by NSW Government.
There are so many reasons not to expand the capacity of the Western Distributor.
It is impossible to predict future traffic growth when major public transport projects are also underway.
Add to that complexity, work from home have dramatically altered travel patterns. And will the Rozelle Interchange really cause gridlock on the Western Distributor? After all, it was built to divert vehicles away from the CBD. Besides, should we really be prioritising car convenience in a climate crisis?
Transport for NSW is at odds with its own vision
There’s a fundamental disconnect inside Transport for NSW. Some branches of this enormous bureaucracy are dedicated to achieving place outcomes and enabling more active transport. However, a powerful but fossilised group continues with the car-first mantra. Senior staff say they prioritise people and bikes, but they put cars first with every decision.
This is exemplified by two current plans at cross purposes that both affect Pyrmont: The Western Distributor Road Network Improvements will expand road infrastructure for cars. Conversely, a new Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan aims to prioritise walking and cycling as the preferred mode for trips to, from and within the precinct.
People and place are not in scope
Pyrmont is one of Sydney’s most pedestrianised places, and the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan proposes a number of upgrades for walking and cycling. But crucially:
- There is no attempt to solve the barriers created by the motorway and develop clear, direct, attractive and safe walking and cycling routes across the peninsula from north to south and from east to west.
- There are too many cars on Pyrmont Bridge Road, Wattle Street and Harris Street. And none of the initiatives will change this.
- Important and long-planned separated cycleways in front of the fish markets and on Pyrmont Bridge Road aren’t included.
- Simple, easy actions, like reallocating road space for active transport and lowering speed limits are slated for ‘investigation’. In other words, with zero funding, they get pushed out to the Never Never.
Hindered by a clear clash of priorities, the Transport Plan fails to resolve safe, convenient walking and cycling across an expanded road network.
Read our submission here.
No redeeming features
The Western Distributor Road Network Improvements is a road widening project based on outdated principles of tackling congestion by adding more capacity. Of course, you don’t lose weight by loosening your belt.
Work is underway to rip out pedestrian infrastructure to allow more traffic to flow into local streets. There will be narrower footpaths, increased noise and reduced tree cover.
A pedestrian crossing will be removed to facilitate car traffic from a widened Allen Street off-ramp
(Source: Transport for NSW)
What’s more, the project doesn’t leverage the huge investment by the NSW Government to improve active transport links. So Bicycle NSW remains firmly opposed to the changes to the Western Distributor. For a more detailed rundown, read our article and submission.
Don’t believe the ‘smart motorway’ hype
Planners know that they’re more likely to achieve levitation than build their way out of congestion. It’s like a 1960s brochure with Jetson’s-style ‘smart motorways’ hyping variable road shoulders and speed limits - Shiny! But haven't we already had that for 30-odd years on all our major congested motorways? In fact the UK has halted smart motorway expansion due to a litany of issues including near-misses, dangerous ‘variable road shoulders’ and a rising death count.
Weaving facts to fit the narrative
The other justification is safety. Just like the Warringah Freeway Upgrade, Transport for NSW traffic engineers have been applying facts to fit the narrative. And to explain why this particular mega project is the exception to every other road-widening, traffic-inducing exercise in urban ugliness.
Apparently Transport’s last-century experts have lost sleep over cars weaving - exactly the same excuse as Warringah. But nobody’s buying it except for the NSW Government who appear to be ignoring current expertise. All the while Transurban stands to reap a bonanza from congestion and inflated road tolls.
But with only 35 crashes in a 13-year period, car safety not a critical concern
It appears that the project documents added near misses to crash stats to inflate the overall count. Which still indicated a relatively safe road for cars. So much for weaving!
However, additional traffic is definitely a massive issue for anyone not in an air-conditioned SUV doing 60 km/h. Not to mention the toxic cocktail of tire dust and traffic emissions in one of Sydney’s busiest pedestrian precincts. So goodbye outdoor dining and hello traffic sewer.
A flawed 'predict and provide' modelling approach
The proposed changes appear to reflect an outdated mindset within Transport that fails to use best practice traffic modelling. Because, based on archaic principles, the project presupposes future traffic growth and ignores growth in active transport and new work-from-home patterns. As well as the impact of the Sydney Metro West, which could significantly reduce private car trips. Basically, predict for cars, you’re guaranteed cars.
It also ignores Transport for NSW’s own Active Transport and Future Transport strategies. Both intend to support people and the environment by encouraging active travel over short private car trips.
Hit pause and back Future Transport strategies
We urge Transport for NSW to press ‘pause’ on the Western Distributor project. We support City of Sydney’s advocacy to wait and see how traffic responds to the new Rozelle interchange before inflicting long-term damage on neighbourhood streets in Pyrmont and Ultimo.
A similar approach was agreed for the Alexandra to Moore Park (A2MP) project, which proposed widening long stretches of inner-city roads to absorb increases in traffic from the WestConnex St Peters Interchange. It was soon clear that carmageddon failed to materialise. The project was cancelled, saving trees, parking spaces and urban amenity, liveability and walkability.
Read more about this in our article on strategic modelling.
Write to the Ministers
- The Hon. Jo Haylen, Minister for Transport
- The Hon John Graham MLC, Special Minister of State, Minister for Roads, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy, and Minister for Jobs and Tourism
Dear Minister,
Subject: Urgent: Halt the Western Distributor Improvements
I urgently appeal for a pause in the Western Distributor Improvements, as the proposed traffic ramps and widened intersections threaten essential urban amenities in Pyrmont. The expanded car space risks exacerbating traffic issues, diminishing the quality of life for residents and businesses. Furthermore, this initiative jeopardizes the flourishing night-time economy nurtured by investments in active transport infrastructure.
The proposal is definitely not aligned with Transport for NSW’s Future Transport Strategy or Active Transport Strategy. Numerous expert planners contest the flawed traffic modelling and car-centric justifications. The primary beneficiary appears to be Transurban, profiting from congestion and inflated road tolls.
I implore you to reconsider this project, which not only endangers street space and community life but also introduces unwarranted noise, pollution, and safety risks, undermining Pyrmont's hard-won improvements.
Please pause the project.
I appreciate your attention to this matter and anticipate your response.
Sincerely, [Your Name]
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