Summit says traffic to blame for Sydney’s tarnished image
A report in today’s Sydney Morning Herald says that a summit, co-hosted by the Tourism and Transport Forum TTF Australia and supported by the Sydney Chamber of Commerce, 10,000 Friends of Sydney, the Pedestrian Council and the NRMA held yesterday said that Sydney’s international reputation will continue to suffer unless the New South Wales State Government comes up with a plan to cope with the traffic congestion that is choking the city centre.
Australia’s leading environment, property and tourism groups joined forces yesterday demanding that an all party pre-election plan is devised to ensure the traffic clogged city could handle current and future growth.
The summit also urged the Government to reconsider light rail or a congestion tax, but NSW State Minister for Transport, John Watkins, ruled out both demands insisting on sticking with his strategy of heavy rail and buses.
NSW Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia, Ken Morrison, said the bus, road and rail system was near capacity and there was no plan to meet Sydney’s future transport needs adding, “We see a great deal of congestion in the CBD and around peak hour, we see a lot of bus congestion with gridlock up George Street so let’s have a view of the city’s holistic transport needs.”
He said the city centre had become a “blind spot” for the State Government as it focused transport resources in the west adding, “Action needs to start today to secure Sydney’s reputation and role as a global city.”
Executive Director Jeff Angel of the Total Environment Centre, said that the situation was urgent adding, “Addressing the CBD’s transport need has to start today so we don’t gridlock the city’s future.”
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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