yoursay@dot.vic.gov.au

I just got back from Bronwyn Pike's Community Transport Forum (yes... I was lucky enough to schnaffle an invitation).

I'll write more about the forum later, however, the person there representing Tim Pallas mentioned that :

yoursay@dot.vic.gov.au

is operational to receive feedback regarding Victoria's impending transport strategy. I would encourage everyone to send any suggestions they have to this address. And, probably a separate email for each issue so they can be given to the appropriate person at the Department of Transport (formerly the Department of Infrastructure).

Perhaps cc'ing your local member wouldn't hurt, either.

And now everyone... breathe!

At least for a little while, we can relax (marginally).

THANKYOU EVERYONE who sent in a submission.
We know the numbers will be quite large, as there are a number of community and sporting groups who, alone, have submitted over 100 each. We can only hope that they get the message.

But can we 'only hope'? I think not. Did you send your submission to any of the key politicians as well? If not, there is a list of the key emails here, so you might want to send it along to them as well.

According to this article in The Age

Two years on Bracks is gone and the transport plan is in tatters. Brumby is so concerned that he is meeting twice weekly with the six-member transport sub-committee of cabinet. The committee includes Roads Minister Tim Pallas, Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky, Treasurer John Lenders, Planning Minister Justin Madden and Regional and Rural Development Minister Jacinta Allan.

So they're a good group to focus your attentions upon.

Now that the (cough, cough) 'Public Consultation'* has ended, they can spend the next 5 months spinning as much as they want. Theirs is not an easy sell either, but there's a lot of people who reach for their carkeys without even contemplating alternatives.

And their real spin hasn't even started yet...


*Oh, and I think a few suggestions about how to conduct 'Public Consultation' could also be the subject of a few emails, but I might post about that a little later on. The offer to send in an email, and a single online forum advertised only one week out from the event, does not constitute public consultation.

I just SPAMmed my friends...

... but sometimes, the reason is that compelling...

Hello,

Firstly, I apologise for sending you a 'broadcast' style email. It's not something I would normally do, but it IS that important.

Secondly, for those of you who haven't heard from me for years, or if I'm a name from your deep dark history, or even just a mailing list, bear with me and keep reading.

Thirdly, those of you I'm in regular contact with, you've probably been expecting this, and I apologise if you receive it more than once.

You probably know that the State Government is planning on building another toll-road - a big tunnel linking the Eastern Freeway to the Tullamarine Freeway, and then on to somewhere in Footscray.

If you trust me - please send the email text below (of course, feel free to change to suit your sensibilities) to eastwestyoursay@doi.vic.gov.au NOW... or at least prior to Jul 15th, which is the deadline for them receiving responses.

If you don't want to just accept what I'm saying - take a look at http://savehollandpark.blogspot.com/2008/06/so-whats-all-this-about.html , or just elsewhere on that site (link below - there's plenty of other suggestions there.\, including alternative solutions), read up, an get informed. Hell... just google eddington tunnel and make your own decisions.

If this car tunnel is allowed to be built, not only is it an incredible waste of money that could be put towards more sustainable solutions, but it's a legacy that our children, our children's children, etc etc will have to live with forever.

Anyway... here's the email. You can now resume your normal programming...

Thanks (I hope!)

C
Have you sent in your email to the Vic Gov yet? Find out how at
http://savehollandpark.org.au

------------------------------------------------------

Copy (change if you like) and paste the following to eastwestyoursay@transport.vic.gov.au :

Dear East-West Options Review Panel,

I would like to register my opposition to Recommendation Four of the East-West Link Needs Assessment (EWLNA), for a East-West link car tunnel, on the following grounds :

- Based upon the economic report underlying the EWLNA, the return on investment of the East-West Link road tunnel is criminally low, and is a neglegent usage of public funds. If another Public-Private Partnership is entered into, Victorian residents will ultimately end up paying more, as evidenced in many other major infrastructure projects undertaken Australia-wide.
- Environmentally, the prospect of a tunnel goes against the State Government's own Greenhouse gas targets. Building another road is encouraging people to use their cars more. Instead, we should be encouraging people to use alternatives to private vehicles wherever possible.
- During construction, and if page 75 of the Engineering report underlying the EWLNA is to be followed, after completion vital Melbourne parkland will be reduced, and lost forevermore. Royal Park, JJ Holland Park, Newlands Wetlands and Trin Warren should not be negotiable. In fact, inner city and inner suburban parkland should be increased, to cater for higher density population. JJ Holland Park, in particular, is home to a number of sporting and community groups, as well as children's facilities that would have to discontinue if the park was lost. The City of Melbourne has no capacity to relocate them elsewhere, as other parks/ovals are full to capacity.
- The vast majority of users of the Eastern Freeway are not headed west, or in fact north. They are headed into the CBD. This means that if people do use the tunnel, at the earliest opportunity (potentially, the corner of Dynon and Kensington Roads) they will head back into the city, further choking the roads which the EWLNA intends upon reducing traffic. Many city's freeway systems provide 'the fastest trip between two bottlenecks'. This isn't the future that Melbourne's infrastructure should be creating.

Recommendation Four of the EWLNA is old thinking for a problem that has been highlighted for decades. What is required is newer, more sustainable thinking, so that current, and future generations of residents of Melbourne, do not suffer.

Yours faithfully,

Win some!

Email from Flemington Association.

Dear all

Tonight Moonee Valley City Council responded to community concerns over the Eddington Report and voted unanimously to strengthen Council's draft submission to the government. Council will make the following clear:

1. Council does not support the road tunnels.
2. Council rejects the use of public parks and creeks for these projects.
3. Council urges improvements to public transport.
4. Council requests that future plans seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
5. Council and others in the community must be involved in the planning process for improving Melbourne's transport beyond the 15 July cut-off point for public comment on the Eddington Report.

Council acknowledged the submissions lodged and the presentations delivered at the Public Forum.

This is a fantastic response from Moonee Valley. Well done to everyone who attended tonight, who spoke at the forum and beforehand and who prepared or assisted with the preparation of submissions.

Members of the Kensington Association met last week with local MP Bronwyn Pike and Roads Minister Tim Pallas. They left with the impression that their fears are well founded over the likely impact of the tunnels (including on JJ Holland Park, the elevated truck link across the Newell wetlands, the increased traffic spilling into Kensington from the Kensington-Dynon Road interchange, the vent stacks and related environmental degradation). They have urged Kensington residents to act now.

Formal public consultation will end on July 15th. After that there is only the "roundtable discussion" in August and we will not see a preferred government proposal (including route) until December.

As Moonee Valley City Council pointed out tonight, once the government announces its preferred position, no community consultation is proposed.

It is therefore very important to get your individual submissions in to eastwestyoursay@doi.vic.gov.au by Tuesday 15 July.

Also send copies to your local Member of State Parliament: bronwyn.pike@parliament.vic.gov.au.
And to your local Member of Federal Parliament: Lindsay.Tanner.MP@aph.gov.au.

For updates or information, please send an email or, even better, attend our regular Flemington Association meetings on the second Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm at the Farnham Street Neighbourhood Learning Centre. Our next meeting is on Tuesday 8 July. Hopefully see you there.

Regards

John Dickie
President, Flemington Association

Sample submission content

I would like to register my opposition to the Construction of the proposed East-West Road Tunnel.

I have just read through the Economic Benefits and Costs Analysis from Meyrick and Associates (posted on the Department of transport website).

This does not make sense financially.

Page 34 of the report puts the benefit/cost ratio for the combined road and rail project at 0.7 and if you subtract the "rail only" figures, this gives a BCR for the tunnel of 0.45.

That is a ridiculous return on investment. If the government is going to spend billions of dollars of Victorian tax-payers money, then I can't imagine a worse business case than the one Eddington's report has proposed.

I am [insert your job role if appropriate] and if someone in my office proposed a business case that had a BCR of 0.45 they would be laughed out of the room.

I understand that the government sometimes needs invest money in something that appears to have poor return on investment economically if there were large social or environmental benefits. However, I can not see any potential benefit worth the 3.9 billion dollars that will be lost by this project.

I do not believe that this tunnel will, in any way, reduce the congestion at the city end of the Eastern Freeway as the vast majority of that traffic is headed for the city, not the western suburbs.

On top of this the environmental implications of building this tunnel are diametrically opposed to the Victorian Government’s emissions reduction goals that they have published.

I am a Labor voter and have been for some years. If this plan is approved by the state government I will not, in good conscience, be able to vote for Labor in this state ever again. In fact I will be compelled to actively campaign against any government that is so short-sighted as to suggest this tunnel.

Sample submission content

Dear East-West Transport Options Review Panel,

I would like to register my oppostion of the proposal to develop an East-West Link car tunnel, as identified in Sir Rod Eddington's report regarding the future of transport in Melbourne.

I am 0pposed to the car tunnel, on the following grounds :

- I think that in the current environmental crises, the last thing any government should be doing is encouraging people to drive more. Indeed, a car-filled tunnel goes against the State Government's own greenhouse gas and sustainability targets.
- The identified budget of the tunnel would be far-better spent in other areas to help solve Melbourne's transport issues. These include public transport (inc. Doncaster link, and increasing frequency of trains on all other lines) as well as creation of more over/underpasses so to aid in not impeding car traffic.
- The proposed use of parkland (Royal Park, and in particular JJ Holland Park) for the construction of the tunnel, and the possibility of the destruction of this parkland for open road culverts to "enhance the driver experience" is obscene, and should never have been suggested.
- The government should look at previous, similar reports, which suggested a much greater focus upon a public-transport focussed solution.

I am conscious that no solution will be quick, and that it will take a lot of time and effort, as well as change in community attitude to reduce current transport issues, however the construction of another road link is NOT a solution which should be undertaken.

Yours faithfully,

Sample submission content

As a resident/home/owner/taxpayer in Kensington, I am extremely concerned with reports I have been hearing about the proposed East-West Road Tunnel recommended by the Eddington Report. I am committed to living in this area for the foreseeable future and have two young children which I would like to grow up in Kensington. I would like to make a submission to the Department of Transport, East-West Transport Options Review opposing the unbelievably flawed and costly road tunnel plan in its entirety and have outlined my concerns below.

Questionable Opportunity, Enormous Cost

10 billion of tax payers’ money on an 18 kilometre tunnel is ludicrous and would be the most expensive public project ever undertaken. The tunnel has been identified as having an extremely low return on investment; both directly, and in the general Victorian economy. This money should be spent upgrading our public transport system which would cost less and be fairer to all Melbournians as it would encompass the greater metropolitan community, as well as working toward the Government’s 2030 Greenhouse Emissions plan. In private business a proposal with a cost benefit ratio of less than one would not even be considered. If this proposal is successful funds will not be available to develop public transport infrastructure for many decades. A questionable benefit is being sought at a guaranteed enormous cost to our urban environment.
Impact on Holland Park, Kensington

JJ Holland Park is the only large open space in Kensington. It is currently used by many different sporting and recreational groups and this is set to increase dramatically as the current Kensington baby boomers (babies born in an influx over the last five years) reach school age: it is expected that prep aged children will increase by at least five-fold in the next 2 years at local schools. Due to the drought there are less sporting grounds available and JJ Holland Park is fully booked by various sporting and recreational groups. The park is currently one of the most popular meeting places for parents, their children and numerous dog owners in Kensington. The Melbourne City Council, recognising it importance to local residents, is currently investing millions of dollars upgrading the park as a community hub.

The proposed use of parkland (Royal Park, and in particular JJ Holland Park) for the construction of the tunnel, and the possibility of the destruction of this parkland for open road culverts to "enhance the driver experience" is obscene, and should never have been suggested.

Impact on Amenities Located at the Fringe of JJ Holland Park

Melbourne City Council has poured millions of dollars into upgrading the Kensington community hub; park amenities, a child care centre and the current sports pavilion is set to be upgraded. Also contained within the park are several amenities which would be affected by the tunnel construction.

KCCC (Kensington Community Crèche Cooperative) is situated within the park.
It would be impossible to continue operating a creche adjacent to a major construction site which will propagate air pollution from the disturbance of asbestos contaminated soil and dust, noise pollution, and traffic woes.

Noise and air pollution from a tunnel portal in or near JJ Holland Park would also spell an end to the crèche’s operation.

The population has significantly risen and is set to increase dramatically as the current Kensington baby boom continues. This will place even greater demand on the child care centre in future years.

The KCCC currently has a waiting list of 450 children.

YMCA Kensington Recreation Centre and The Venny, Adventure Playground are also located
within JJ Holland Park and would not be able to operate if major building works were taking place in or near the park.

The skateboard park located at the south-west corner of JJ Holland Park is well used and one of the few meeting places for teenagers in the area. It will be destroyed if the park is to be used as a staging post during tunnel construction.

JJ Holland Park Housing Estate located just behind the creche houses over 1000 public and private residents. These residents and adjacent home owners will be affected by air pollution from the disturbance of asbestos contaminated soil and dust, noise pollution, and increased traffic.

Disturbance of Asbestos Contaminated Soil

If JJ Holland Park is used as a staging point, as suggested by the report, large areas of it would become unusable due to construction activity, noise and the storage of soil during construction. The soil in the area is known to be contaminated with asbestos and any disturbance of it would impact on or eliminate the use of the park for recreational and/or childcare purposes for obvious health reasons. This could also directly impact local residents and anyone passing through the vicinity (including the Werribee, Williamstown and Watergardens train lines, as well as V-Line services.

Impact on Parkville and Kensington Property Prices

In addition to the loss of amenity I am also concerned about the impact that any development in both Parkville and Kensington will have on my property investment. It has been suggested that large tracts of parkland will be lost if the tunnel proposal goes ahead. This will adversely impact on property value due to the reduced livability of the surrounding areas.

Impact on wetlands and environmentally sensitive areas

The impact on inner city wetlands and parks would be immeasurable. Melbourne prides itself on its beautiful parkland but these are being increasingly encroached on by overdevelopment. Royal Park is being eroded by the expansion of the Royal Children’s Hospital. The Royal Park wetlands and the Newells Paddock Wetlands Park in Footscray are home to many species of birds and other water based life. To destroy these wetlands and parklands reduces quality of life, not only for the species we have left, but also for its human residents. Once these places are gone, they are gone forever. The wetlands and parklands immeasurably enrich the inner-city areas.

Emphasis on Private Vehicle Use versus Public Transport.

I am disappointed by the fatalism of Eddington Report's recommendations and, in particular, its emphasis on the development of private vehicle use, rather than public transport. Freeways do not reduce car use; they encourage it! City Link is the perfect example. The development of the South-Eastern arterial has done little to solve the problems of the past as evidenced by the severe traffic congestion during morning and afternoon peak hours.. The only way to effectively reduce traffic on roads is to move people out of cars and into mass-transportation. At a time when we are mindful of the use of fossil fuels due their increasing scarcity, rising cost and impact on the environment, we need to be more creative with our solutions to the problems we are faced with.

Pollution: Exhaust Stacks and Government Policy 2030 reducing Greenhouse emissions.

These monstrosities will be an unfortunate by-product of the proposed tunnel. City Link has already shown us that these spew concentrated pollution over the local population causing related health issues. The Government has promised to reduce Greenhouse emissions by 60% by 2030. I think that in the current environmental crises, the last thing any government should be doing is encouraging people to drive more. Indeed, a car-filled tunnel goes against the State Government's own greenhouse gas and sustainability.

Develop our Public Transport Network!

As a tax payer I believe that the 10 billion dollars of public money that the East-West Link would cost would be far better spent developing our public transport network. Melbourne’s public transport system is under-utilised because of its poor coverage and unreliability.
If a fraction of 10 billion dollars was spent enhancing our public transport system, new roads would not be necessary. Public transport would be safe and reliable; an enviable world class transport system. Our tax money would be shared with all residents of Melbourne; not just wasted on one incredibly flawed and costly project.

The metropolitan rail network is currently running at less than half its designed capacity. In the 1930’s it was running a larger volume of trains than it does currently and it was designed to carry much higher numbers than it does today. Investment in improving the existing infrastructure and its use would surely be a wiser and more cost-effective use of taxpayer money.
The identified budget of the tunnel would be far-better spent in other areas to help solve Melbourne's transport issues. For example a new train line to Doncaster and an extension of the Glen Waverly line to Rowville, as well as the creation of more over/underpasses in order to improve traffic flows.

The government should look at previous, similar reports, which suggested a much greater focus upon a public-transport focused solution.
***
I urge you to consider my submission and choose the enhancement of our public transport system over the costly and environmentally destructive Eddington Report proposal.

I am conscious that no solution will be quick, and that it will take a lot of time and effort, as well as change in community attitude to reduce current transport issues; however, the construction of another road link is NOT a solution which should be undertaken.

Yours Sincerely,


Name:
Address:
Email:

Key email addresses

The big one, the email for your response/submission to the DOI with regards to the Eddington Report. Must be in prior to Jul 15th.

eastwestyoursay@doi.vic.gov.au

Federal Member for Melbourne - This is not a federal government matter, however it is Lindsay Tanner's electorate and in the past, he has stated he is pro-public transport and anti-tunnel. Let him know how you feel, so he doesn't waver. Also, his ministry holds the purse strings that, in all likelihood, the State Government will want to be calling upon.

lindsay.tanner.MP@aph.gov.au

Relevant Victorian State Government Ministers -

bronwyn.pike@parliament.vic.gov.au - Member for Melbourne
tim.pallas@parliament.vic.gov.au - Minister for Roads
lynne.kosky@parliament.vic.gov.au - Minister for Public Transport
john.lenders@parliament.vic.gov.au - Treasurer
jacinta.allan@parliament.vic.gov.au - Minster for Regional and Rural Development
justin.madden@parliament.vic.gov.au- Minister for Planning

greg.barber@parliament.vic.gov.au,
matthew.guy@parliament.vic.gov.au,
david.davis@parliament.vic.gov.au,

City of Melbourne Councilors

lordmayor@melbourne.vic.gov.au,
gary.singer@melbourne.vic.gov.au,
fraser.brindley@melbourne.vic.gov.au,
peter.clarke@melbourne.vic.gov.au,
carl.jetter@melbourne.vic.gov.au,
catherine.ng@melbourne.vic.gov.au,
brian.shanahan@melbourne.vic.gov.au,
fiona.snedden@melbourne.vic.gov.au,
david.wilson@melbourne.vic.gov.au