8 December 2023
By Hannah Wilcox
North Sydney Mayor Zoe Baker has called for urgent design changes to be made on plans for the Western Harbour Tunnel in light of the traffic chaos caused by design of the new Westconnex Rozelle Interchange.
Baker argued in a minute published on the North Sydney Council website the same levels of congestion will be seen with the WHT if the design is not altered.
It has been a point of contention within the local community since the upgrades were announced in 2016, with Baker suggesting the WHT will funnel drivers off local roads into ‘pinch points’ to enter the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel.
The unchanged lanes leading to the bridge will cause a backlog down Military Road, Ernest, Falcon and Miller Street along to the Pacific Highway, Blues Point Road and Berry Street – with concerns local streets will be choked with cars and trucks attempting to merge, she predicted.
Her response is set to be presented to North Sydney Council at the next meeting on Monday.
Baker has called for councillors to support amendments to the plans, including commissioning new traffic modelling to replace the outdated 2015 modelling that recognises the cancellation of the Beaches Link and the imminent opening of the Metro next year.
Other suggestions were to prepare a new business case on the reduced demand on the project due to aforementioned projects, and prepare amendments to the project design plans to mitigate congestion impacts based on new traffic modelling.
The fourth suggestion is that of cancelling the WHT altogether and instead ‘redirect’ project funds to the provision of public transport projects in the Greater Sydney region.
Baker’s recommendations will go before a vote at Monday’s meeting.