Submission to Assessment Committee

The 3068 Group (Inc)

Chris Goodman, President

The 3068 Group opposes this project

• The 3068 Group is opposed to any proposal that links the Eastern Freeway to the Tullamarine Freeway because it will increase traffic, air pollution and climate change.

• The 3068 Group is completely opposed to this Reference Project, for its impacts on heritage and the residents of Clifton Hill (in particular).

• Modifications discussed in this presentation are not an endorsement of the proposal to link the freeways, but may help explain how poorly designed the reference project is.

• The 3068 Group will support sustainable transport projects

• The 3068 Group is a supporter of YCAT

‘Unreasonable impacts on the established City interfaces’ – McGauran doc#128

Tower is irrelevant intrusion into context of a historic urban neighbourhood. Not in CIS plans

Hoddle St raised to Freeway standard. Over-designed for modelled traffic

Higher than railway and buildings. Road is higher than Queens Parade on hilltop.Increased noise, pollution and

emissions impacting Clifton Hill and Collingwood. Noise Barriers 1.5m high

Visual impact on Darling Gardens

There is no freeway here?

Higher than the historic Shot tower

Obliterates one side of a gold rush era street and demeans theother side to a fate worse than demolition.

Impacts during construction would be of high significance Long term impacts would be associated with elevated east-bound on-ramp CIS ch.10

Northbound cyclists and pedestrians are worse off

Topography of Interchange

• Eastern Freeway lies in the Yarra Valley (which it destroyed)

• Escarpment west of Merri Creek (edge of lava flows)

• Reilly St Drain (Alexandra Parade) is a low point for region.

• Collingwood Flat (history of flooding)

• Clifton Hill is a hill

Keep the new road in the valley to reduce impacts on Clifton Hill.

Darling Gardens“There has been minimal consideration of the role of local parks such as Darling Gardens for community activity including informal recreation and possible loss of amenity due to noise, dust and increased traffic during the construction phase of the project.”

- Beverly Kliger, “Report on the Social Impact Assessment of the CIS for the City of Yarra, February, 2014,p p.6-10

Hoddle Freeway is not part of the Declared Project

“proposed freeway-standard link between the Eastern Freeway and the Tullamarine Freeway generally along the Alexandra Parade corridor, with a further southerly connection to the Port of Melbourne area",

- The declared project to which the act applies.

“There is no scope for the LMA to seek to implement the Project beyond the terms of the Premier's declaration”

- LMA closing submission.

The overpass is solving a problem on VicRoads wish list. It is out of scope of this project.

VicRoads Plan for 2040 – FOI Published in 2010

Flyover will not help Hoddle St Congestion“car travel to the CBD is forecast to decrease from all directions.”-CIS Ch7

“the congestion is not due to a lack of traffic lane capacity but rather delays caused by competing east-west routes”

- CIS Annex E, p62. Table 19 ‘Reasons for Congestion’

Strategic traffic modelling results indicate that traffic volumes along Hoddle Street (between Alexandra Avenue and Victoria Street) remain generally constant between the 2031 with and without East West Link - Eastern Section scenarios.

- CIS Ch7 pg32

Today on the Q loop - 2862/hr in PM peak • GHD - Hoddle Street Preliminary Traffic Advice Sept 2008 – High Level

• Provided to Hoddle Street Study Options Assessment

Traffic to/from Hoddle Street is one such situation where traffic redistribution is predicted to occur. However, as stated before, the traffic volumes for future years should be read with consideration of the nature of strategic traffic forecasting and be considered as indicative, not definitive

Document 223 Response to Document 158

east west bicycle route

Reduced impacts on Bendigo St- no incline.

Avoid railway disruption

Bus in left lane

No change to journey access opportunities

Move Exit Ramps to Hoddle St South along bridge

Move Portals from Gold St to Hoddle Street

Move Alexandra PdeWestbound lanes next to Eastbound lanes

Dedicated NB Bicycle Lane/Footpath at grade without lights.

Tighter curve than reference design but at grade

Hoddle NB to Eastern Freeway passes under Hoddle bridge

The curve and gradient is no tighter than Citylink

Compare to CityLink exit to Punt Road.Note Shared Bike Path.

Mature Elms were moved by crane.

CityLink curve overlaid on Hoddle Street Bridge

The 3068 Group considered and rejected this design

Serious Heritage Impacts on Woolworks

Social Housing impacts

If envelope must be extended, least impact is north east corner.

- Doc #236 Hoddle St alternative option LMA

Three lane Tunnel Portals WB

EB Portals inside Q loop

Hoddle Street NB ramp to Tunnel

Retains most of Bendigo St

Tunnel aligns with south of Alexandra Parade

Retains Q loop – no bus lane

Interchange Concepts, VicRoads 1999 - Released to Northern Central City Corridor Study

Performance Criteria

Reference Project Flyover Hoddle EB Ramp under Hoddle Bridge

Scope Declared Project defines project boundary. Same alignment and project boundary. Consistent with the Terms of Reference. Does not prejudice the connection of the East West Link to Hoddle Street. No change to weaving issues on Hoddle NB or freeway WB.

Traffic Full array of journey choices. Flyoverexceeds capacity. 60-80km/hr.

Same journey choices at required capacity. . 40-60km/hr.No additional signalling at intersections. EB ramp meets capacity.

Cycling/Footpaths NB cyclists cross under the flyover and several lights. Bike lane in Alex. Pde median is unusable. Move pedestrian bridge away from route for height clearance.

At-grade shared path without lights.Bike lane on either side of Alexandra. PdeNo impact on existing pedestrian bridge

Bus lanes New EB bus lane. New EB bus lane

Portals At Gold St. Next to Shot Tower & school. West of Hoddle St – Portals further East. Allows tunnel to start east of Gold to reduce impacts.

Performance Criteria

Reference Project Flyover Hoddle EB Ramp under Hoddle Bridge

Visual Intrusion on heritage/residential environment.

No structures above Hoddle Bridge.

Noise Additional noise generated due to grade change and portals at Gold St.

All roads retained in freeway valley or Hoddle Street.No climbing. Moving portals to Hoddle St reduces noise.

Emissions 34m grade change traversed by 14,000 vpd will have significant new emissions.

Removes the climb above railway. Tunnel covered to HoddleSt reduces emissions in Collingwood and Clifton Hill.

Open Space No change to usable open space.Road to Gold St twice as bad as today.

Alexandra Pde Median made usable for Collingwood.Covered tunnel improves amenity, no Darling Gardens.

Vent location LMA refuse to be drawn. Leave it to the successful bidder to decide.

As far east as possible, away from residences and schools.

Logistics Demolish Clifton Hill, no impact on motorists. Impact railway will encourage mode shift to car.

Phased development, reduced lanes for motorists during construction may encourage mode shift to PT. No impact on proposed railways.

Tunnel Vent Stack locationDistant from sensitive receptors Pollution, noise and visual impact

Conclusion – Remove the Flyover

• The flyover (Hoddle Street Loop Bridge) has no strategic justification

• The benefits are only cost and temporary logistics

• The flyover is a cheap option selected by an organisation that values motoring over the local community because it will not disrupt traffic –only trains.

• More people cross this interchange by train than by car.

• The impacts on Collingwood, Clifton Hill and Abbotsford are unacceptable.

• The net benefit is negative.

• Submit that Committee direct LMA to remove the flyover.

Will the Project Integrate with Public Transport?

“No date for the start of the railway line has been fixed.”

North-South Tram Priority

The Eastern Freeway impaired Public Transport services in the inner northern suburbs.

Tram Priority across Alexandra Parade was first promised by Premier Hamer in 1978. Has never been delivered.

North-South priority is again being promised in this CIS.

And it still won’t be delivered according to traffic projections.

Yet it is mandated in the performance criteria?

Transport Connectivity Evaluation Objective 1, CIS Ch.18.4.1

Lower traffic volumes on surface roads would contribute to unlocking road space, which would relieve congestion and provide scope to improve connectivity for some road-based public transport and active transport modes such as walking and cycling.

A reduction in traffic volumes along Alexandra Parade would improve connectivity in and around this road.

• There is no commitment to improve connectivity in the CIS.

• Will future toll road operator allow buses to run along or adjacent to its asset?

• Will the toll road owner demand compensation if Doncaster Rail or Metro is ever built – inhibiting connectivity?

• Will Alexandra Parade simply be repossessed by motorists and rat runners?

• Plan is to retain all existing lanes for motoring – no bus lane proposed.

Proposed Skybus express lane to Airport killed• Details of the Melbourne Airport bus rapid transit project were revealed to Fairfax Media

through freedom of information (Jan 2013).

• The Parsons Brinckerhoff study provided three options for improving travel times, with the department's preferred one involving creating an express bus lane and putting SkyBus on a public transport fare.

• SkyBus was designed to offer a 20-minute run to the airport but takes 50 mins during peak periods.

• Minister Mulder … confirmed the government would not proceed with the bus express lane proposal (Oct 2013).

• CityLink operator Transurban opposed the bus lane concept and lobbied the government to expand the toll road for general traffic, as part of negotiations known as Project Zebra.

• Melbourne Airport also opposed bus lane as it would be a significant reduction in its $87m car parking revenue.

The Age October 31, 2013: New off-ramp part of state's east-west link revamp

The Age, Jan 3 2013 Skybus lane faces fight

Can we protect ourselves from repeating this?

Any future EWL toll road operator will have a direct financial interest in:

• Doncaster Rail – in all its forms will impact toll revenue.

• Buses through the tunnel and along Alexandra Parade.

• PT to the expanded Parkville hospital Precinct – Not all patients drive.

• Limiting the car capacity of any roads that feed the toll road

Private monopoly interests have already killed the Skybus express lane.

This is not in the best interest of the State.

How can we prevent falling into the same trap? Sorry, I don’t know.

PTV Plan - Doncaster and South Morang Lines same alignment as EWL

PTV Network Development Plan – Metropolitan Rail December 2012

Why Can’t they join Doncaster with Parkville?

South Morang AlignmentDoncaster Rail Study Chapter 9, Conclusions

9.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STUDY DURING PHASE TWO

9.3.1 FURTHER ANALYSIS OF THE RAPID TRANSIT 1 OPTION

“an evaluation of options for a new South Morang alignment, including potential new station locations, interfaces with the existing rail network, costs, benefits and timing.

A variation to the RT1 Alignment should be considered that would exit the Eastern Freeway median near chandler Highway and follow an alternative alignment to a connection with the Hurstbridge line near Fairfield station.

A future interchange with the de-coupled South Morang line could then be provided at Clifton Hill station, offering the potential benefit of a faster connection that services the strong demand for the Parkville area.

“Consideration should be given to the opportunity for staged use of the Eastern Freeway median as a scalable approach to improved public transport This should enable an understanding of the benefits of developing a median busway (including City connections) that could be ultimately transformed into a rail service when the bus service reaches capacity limits.

More specific engineering along the Eastern Freeway alignment should be undertaken. alongside further work around station locations to determine a right-of-way boundary, enabling the protection of an appropriate rail corridor.”

Where’s the Eastern Freeway Rail Reservation

• Where is the PTV in this process?

• Has the study heard from the Doncaster Rail Study team? The study recommended more study on the reservation alignment.

• Why is the Eastern Railway Reservation now forced to go over Dight’sFalls?

• Is the committee satisfied it has all the information on the railway easements from the LMA

• How could South Morang pass under the tunnel -or even pass under the freeway?

Alexandra ParadeA wide central median separates the two carriageways for the length of Alexandra Parade.

How many lanes are required for Alexandra Parade?

What will be the impact on turning queues – north and south?

“A settler, in 1849, for no explained reason, ran a plough across the middle of it, In three of four years the furrow became a wide creek, requiring, as roads were made, several timber bridges, of 12 to 15 feet span across it. The creek in summer, became the common receptacle for rubbish and dead animals, so it had to be filled in and replaced by a storm-water channel about a mile long. Thus the settler ‘turned the first sod’ of what was to eventually become the Reilly Street drain [now Alexandra Parade]”.

- Collingwood Centenary 1855 - 1955Alexandra Pde was also called Reilly Street and North Government Rd 10 lanes is not enough

Realign Central Median?

• Realigning the Parade would free up the centre media as usable open space. More than the entire open space in Collingwood.

• Improves building interface on the south side.

• Less width could be more permeable for cycling and pedestrians

• Easier to manage noise.

• Trees have an important role in soaking up Carbon Monoxide

• Mature elms should be moved and replanted as was done in Gosh’spaddock for CityLink. Particularly elm at Wellington St identified by Patrick.

• Potential to impact Public Transport reservation and so contravene the TIA. PT Corridors needs further study

No Open Space in Collingwood

Not much Open Space in Fitzroy

Open Space Strategy“Collingwood has very little public open space, and the reserves that exist are small in size. To access larger open space reserves residents need to cross major arterial roads, which restricts safe and reasonable walking access to them.

“The precinct is bounded by major arterial roads including Hoddle Street, Alexandra Parade, Victoria Parade and Smith Street, and dissected by Secondary Arterials including Johnston Street, Wellington Street and Langridge Street.

“There has been some small scale conversions of industrial premises to residential scattered

through the industrial precinct. In the longer term if this conversion continues, there may be an increased demand to provide a Local park in this neighbourhood.”

“Collingwood between Alexander Parade and Johnston Street is predominantly residential with some industrial area in the south west of this precinct. Within this area there are only two Small Local open space reserves.” The reserves that do exist are all smaller than 0.1ha in size and are all classified as Small Local open space. Their location and the lack of good connectivity further reduces their function.

Proportion of open space in the precinct 0.1%, or 0.23sqm per resident.

Alexandra Parade Collingwood interface

Alexandra Parade Fitzroy interface

No Temporary road in Clifton Hill• The proposed temporary road on the south of Clifton Hill has

unacceptable impact for poor benefits.• Compulsory acquisitions• Residents next to the temporary road• For noise and air pollution for 5 years• Primary school• Heritage demolition is unacceptable.• Urban renewal of former industrial sites is irrelevant to this project• Intact Heritage Streetscapes should not be replaced

• What alternatives have been considered?• Boring instead of cut and cover to Hoddle Street.• Portals near Hoddle Street instead of Gold Street• Use of the wide median in Alexandra Parade and Queens Parade detours.

NCCC – Demand Side OptionsNorthern Central City Corridor - Draft Strategy 2003

Recommended Demand-side management initiatives

“To encourage greater use of public transport and non-motorised modes in conjunction with physical proposals”

Study found this easily meets the net public benefit test and business case test.

But the 2008 EWLNA (Eddington Study) was silent on this.

LMA remains silent on this.

Scoping directions make clear the Government doesn’t want to hear about this.

Demand management is the elephant in the room.

Why do we need a strategy for the NCCC?It is clear that, without intervention, traffic in and through the area will continue to grow– although it will be hampered by growing congestion. Forecasts suggest that, by 2021, thenumber of inner north vehicle trips will increase by about 18%, distance of travel willincrease by 21% and time taken by about 46%

This will give rise to an additional 6.3 million hours of travel time a year, which would costaround $55 million a year in lost time and reduce daily average vehicle speeds in the innernorth from 34km/h to 28km/h.

Melbourne 2030 – the Government’s blueprint for the future of metropolitan Melbourne –lays out directions for future land use and transport right across Melbourne, and includessignificant changes in the location of growth areas and the way transport is providedthroughout the metropolitan area.

The changes include improvements to public transport services and measures topromote large increases in public transport use, walking and cycling.

Department of Infrastructure - Reasons for NCCC Strategy (2003)

Background information on the Northern Central City Corridor Strategy http://ycat.org.au/NCCCS/Northern%20Central%20City%20Corridoor%20Strategy.pdf

Conclusion of the NCCC Draft Strategy“If the NCCC Strategy is successful, traffic modelling indicates car traffic levels at or below today’s levels on most roads in the inner north. In this event there would be no need for additional road capacity; its provision would go against the basic philosophy of Melbourne 2030 and the NCCC Strategy, to reduce private car travel.

“The NCCCS Scenario Appraisal Report concluded that no further investigation should take place on road tunnel options in the inner north. As a result, they are not included in the NCCC Strategy.

“Given this conclusion there is little expectation that freight traffic levels will be reduced in the inner north; they will continue to grow in line with growth in economic activity, although growth in the inner north will also be influenced by the limited road space availability and the outcomes of the Victorian Freight and Logistics Strategy. “

- NCCC Strategy (2003) 13.5 pg35

http://ycat.org.au/NCCCS/Northern%20Central%20City%20Corridoor%20Strategy.pdf

Paradigm Shifts in Travel Behaviour (TravelSmart Initiatives)

“Some key model parameters, such as how people value their time and make

trade-offs when deciding whether, where and how to travel, may change over

time.

In the model these travel behaviour characteristics and preferences are

assumed to remain constant over time. The model makes no attempt to

predict “paradigm shifts” in travel behaviour that might occur in the future. In

fact the model assumes that such changes will not occur.”

“It is not only plausible, but likely, that travel behaviour will change in the

future in response to such issues as concern for the environment. There is

also some evidence that travel behaviour can be influenced by government.”

- Veitch Lister Consulting Pty Ltd – Report for EWLNA 2008

Birds in Clifton Hill

🐦 Wee Bill

🐦 Rainbow Lorikeet (nesting each year)

🐦 Magpie (nesting for 20+ years)

🐦 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

🐦 Willie Wagtail

🐦 Red Wattlebird

🐦 Little Wattlebird

🐦 Magpie Lark

🐦 Black-faced cuckoo shrike

🐦 Australian Raven

🐦 Grey Fantail

🐦 Crested Pigeon

🐦 Galah

🐦 Eastern Rosella

🐦 Red- rumped parrot

🐦 Yellow-faced honey eater

🐦 Grey Butcherbird

🐦 Pied Currawong

🐦 Tawny Frogmouth

🐦 Red Wattlebird

🐦 Little Wattlebird

🐦 Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

🐦 Welcome Swallow

🐦 Powerful Owl

SEEN FLYING OVER:

🐦 Australian White Ibis

🐦 Pacific black duck

🐦 Silver Gull

Native Birds observed in a backyard near Darling Gardens

Tawny Frogmouth

Principle of Transparency

CIS Ch18 meeting our obligations

The principle of transparency means members of the public should have access to reliable and relevant information in appropriate forms to facilitate a good understanding of transport issues and the process by which decisions in relation the transport system are made.

• No Business Case

• Alternative Designs and Options

• Peer review of modelling- Sensitivity Analysis – Induce Traffic, Tolls

• Hoddle Freeway

The Principle of Intergenerational EquityCIS Ch18 meeting our obligations“Principle of equity The principle of equity means: a) Equity between persons irrespective of their: personal attributes, including age, physical ability, ethnicity, culture, gender and financial situation; or location, including whether in a growth, urban, regional, rural or remote area. b) Equity between generations by not compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. “

LMA Response

“The proposed PPP procurement and delivery model for the project ensures the funding burden of the project is shared across generations.”

Passing a funding burden to a future generation along with climate change is not equitable.

Is Performance Criteria sufficient protection?

• LMA has less regard for local impacts than for motorist’s amenity.

• The successful bidder will have even less regard for impacts due to the profit imperative.

• If the committee does not direct certain outcomes, then we can’t expect the contractor to do more than the bare minimum.

• This is highlighted in LMA’s refusal to say where the vent stacks should go.

• The bidder will be bound to find the most cost effective location that meets the poorly established performance criteria.

If the Reference Design does not meet the criteria, then what?• The Reference Project is not the declared project.

• The CIS is not comprehensive and does not address impacts such as health.

• The committee is open to find that the proposal does not comply with legislation (P&E, EPA, TIA) or local policies such as heritage

• The undue haste forced upon this project is disorderly planning

• Victoria will pay the consequence for a long time

• The committee should recommend that no approvals be given