Extract from EIS
Department of Environment and Planning
Department of Main Roads
North Sydney Council Inquiry

 

Extract from EIS (p. 107)

• Rail plays a vital role in Sydney's public transport system which operates effectively in carrying the majority of peak hour passengers to the city centre. With the Tunnel built, a very small number of passengers may change from rail to road. During off-peak periods, and to other destinations, car and bus transport carry the majority of passengers and any transfer to or from public transport is less likely.
• Since 1976, bus patronage has remained stable, whilst ferry patronage has increased significantly. With increased reliability in timetabling due to the effect of the Tunnel, the opportunity will exist to attract an increase in bus patronage across the Bridge. The Tunnel will provide the opportunity for the traffic authorities to introduce peak period transit lanes across the Bridge, further enhancing the reliability of bus timetables and reducing bus travel times.

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Department of Environment and Planning (pp. 20, 43)

It has been a longstanding Sydney Metropolitan planning policy to encourage the use of public transport, particularly in areas well served by public transport. The modal split for work trips to the City is about 80 per cent by public transport and 20 per cent by car in the a.m. peak. This modal split is the result of a combination of a number of factors: the CBD is the most accessible location on the public transport system; there is a constraint on parking; and a constraint imposed by congestion.

Planning policies related to public transport for the Sydney CBD focus on encouraging development within walking distance of the railway stations, improving the public transport system, and limiting the availability of parking. The Tunnel would work against the desired effect of planning policies by encouraging more cars in the City during peak period, putting more pressure on the provision of car parking, and putting more pressure for development of the fringe areas of the CBD, which are not as accessible by public transport. It is likely to also decrease public transport patronage. Similar public transport objectives apply to North Shore centres.

In sum, the Tunnel proposal does not advance the objective of promoting public transport and in all likelihood will work against this objective.

...The EIS states that there may be an increase in time savings on buses because of less congestion on the Harbour Crossing. However the traffic analysis demonstrates that congestion would occur at other points, therefore negating possible time savings on the crossing.

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Department of Main Roads (pp. 35-6)

The primary factors which determine travel mode choice are car availability and ease of parking at the destination. Of secondary importance in mode choice are the network parameters, that is, vehicle travel time, public transport travel time, fare levels, service levels on competing modes and so on.

Increasing car ownership and the availability of parking have resulted in increasing car usage and reduced public transport patronage. This includes public transport patronage to the Sydney CBD which declined by 14 per cent between 1971 and 1981.

The number of car parking spaces in the Sydney CBD will increase by 50 percent as the result of already planned developments. These spaces will be used by commuters and other motorists from all destinations. This will have an effect on public transport patronage regardless of whether North Shore motorists experience delays on the Bridge or reduced delays on the Bridge/Tunnel.

Secondly, the promotion of jobs in the Sydney/CBD North Sydney discussed previously will also promote the use of public transport. Seventy five percent of peak period trips to the Sydney CBD are by public transport; fifty percent to North Sydney are by public transport. In contrast, if these jobs were to relocate to regional centres, only 15-30 percent would be by public transport.

Finally, the Tunnel, by providing a new route and easing congestion on the Harbour Bridge, will improve public bus services to and from the City from the north.

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North Sydney Council Inquiry (pp. 10-4-10-5)

Put simply, public transport is useful where reasonably large numbers of people want to go in essentially the same direction at essentially the same time. When a city is densely developed, then the above situation tends to apply, because the relatively tall buildings bring a lot of people together. Once the density of development and activity reaches a certain level, it becomes, for all practical purposes, impossible to cater effectively for transport in and out of such areas by depending on private vehicles. If one attempts to do so, one is faced with very large areas of land devoted to roads and parking, as well as pollution and a generally unpleasant environment for pedestrians. Such a situation has been reached in the Sydney and North Sydney CBD's.

The Harbour Tunnel is related to this issue because it improves access to the the CBD by car, and also because it provides, at very great expense, an augmentation to the road network in the inner areas of Sydney, areas in which attempts to implement transport solutions based on the private car are doomed to failure.

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References

Cameron McNamara, Sydney Harbour Tunnel: Environmental Impact Statement, Transfield-Kumagai Joint Venture, November 1986.

Department of Environment and Planning, Proposed Sydney Harbour Tunnel: Environmental Impact Assessment, DEP, 1987.

Department of Main Roads, Sydney Harbour Tunnel: Report on Environmental Impact Assessment, DMR, 1987.

Enersol Consulting Engineers, Sydney Harbour Tunnel Inquiry, Vols I & II, North Sydney Municipal Council, February 1989.