The State Government has removed traffic upgrades for the Katoomba and Springwood town entry points from a major document that outlines priority projects to reduce congestion.
Blue Mountains MP Trish Doyle has called on the government to explain why upgrades to Katoomba’s Yeaman’s Bridge and the Macquarie Road entry to Springwood have been deleted from the Greater Sydney Commission document.
The Greater Sydney Commission is a NSW statutory body headed by Lucy Turnbull charged with developing long term planning directions and the development of a statement of priorities for the Sydney region, including outer metropolitan areas such as the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury.
In a November 2016 draft of the Western District Plan, chronic traffic congestion woes at the two highway pinchpoints were identified as being of particular focus to the NSW Government. However, both projects were missing from the final edition of the document released in March 2018.
Each of the dumped road projects were the subject of election promises by former Liberal Member for Blue Mountains, Roza Sage, in the lead up to the last state election.
“In the final days before the March 2015 election, the former member promised that an elected Liberal Government would get the ball rolling on these two crucial road upgrades. The evidence suggests this promise has now been broken,” Ms Doyle said.
“In fact, despite the Greater Sydney Commission acknowledging in November 2016 that the southern approach from the Great Western Highway to Springwood town centre needed investigation and action, the final version of the Western District Plan no makes no mention of Springwood at all.”
The NSW Government’s ‘Future Transport Strategy 2056’ portal also reveals that neither Springwood nor Katoomba’s well-established traffic congestion problems have been shortlisted for rectification through the program of works being rolled out by Transport for NSW or the Roads and Maritime Services agency.
“I want to see these traffic pinch points fixed once and for all and I want to see the Blue Mountains put back on the priority list for funding,” Ms Doyle said.
Upper House Government MP Shayne Mallard offered no explanation as to why the two projects had been dropped from the planning documents when contacted by the Gazette.
Mr Mallard, who lives in Katoomba, did point out the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) had provided $100,000 this financial year to Blue Mountains City Council to carry out traffic studies for Katoomba and Springwood as part of the government’s safety and congestion program.
“I encourage the local Labor member to keep the pressure on her Labor council colleagues to complete the necessary traffic studies for Katoomba and Springwood traffic,” he said.
Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill said this project was 70 per cent complete, “with full completion of the traffic studies expected by the end of July 2018”.
“The traffic congestion problems at the Great Western highway entries to Katooma and Springwood are well known and well documented. It is important that these transport pinch points are recognised in the strategic plans for the Western City District,” he said.
Mr Mallard also stated that Future Transport 2056 identifies important road upgrades in the coming decade for both the Great Western Highway and Bells Line of Road mountain crossings.
“This includes road widening, straightening and other upgrades to improve traffic flow and connectivity into the Sydney road network. An early priority is a strategic examination of all mountain crossings, road and rail, as well as investigation of a new crossing, to improve connectivity with the Central West and offer an alternative to existing connections,” he said.
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