By Åsa Wahlquist, Bays and Foreshores Convenor
The NSW Minister for Roads, Jenny Aitchison, has promised to reconsider the proposed closure of the Bank Street exit on the eastern end of the Anzac Bridge. The promise was made at a meeting organised by Pyrmont Action in early November.
The exit is used by cars heading to both Glebe and Pyrmont. The traffic for Glebe and the new Fish Market currently turns left onto Bank Street and then right onto Bridge Road. If the exit were closed, Glebe traffic would have to proceed to Allen Street, turn left at Harris Street and then left again at Bridge Road, reputedly one of the worst intersections in the state.
Traffic to Pyrmont, including the 501 bus and trucks associated with the Hymix concrete batching plant, would be required to take the Allen Street exit. To reach the Bank Street plant the Hymix trucks would have to drive along Harris Street through the heart of Pyrmont. The 501 bus would have to turn left from Harris Street to Bridge Road, then right into Bank Street, adding to the congestion already experienced.
Ken Loudon, the convenor of Pyrmont Action, said the underlying assumptions of the plan were flawed and would create traffic chaos.
The meeting was the result of months of lobbying by Pyrmont Action. It was facilitated by state member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, and attended by City of Sydney (CoS) councillor, Zann Maxwell, several CoS traffic analysts and a representative of the Glebe Society.
It was held right next to the busy Bank Street off-ramp. The meeting was silenced when a huge truck with a trailer juddered to a halt at the lights metres away. The minister was told that over 100 trucks of that size, along with over 110 concrete trucks from Hymix would be redirected through Pyrmont streets, instead of proceeding along Bank Street to their depot.
The Minister was also informed that heavy vehicle traffic would increase with the redevelopment of the old Fish Market site, where there are plans to build 1200 apartments and businesses with a forecast 5600 jobs.
Under the proposed plan, all the traffic accessing the site would go down a single lane in Harris Street and then Miller Street, through Pyrmont village.
The state government’s argument for the closure is to reduce queuing on the motorway and the risk of accidents. However, a CoS analysis found the number of accidents was overstated, with an average of just 2.7 a year. Once the second harbour tunnel is operational, traffic is expected to decrease by 20%. The Government also stated the off-ramp space was needed for an emergency vehicle bay, a laughable reason given it owns the multi-hectare old Fish Market site across the road where there is plenty of room for an emergency bay.
See also a previous article in the October Bulletin on this proposal.
One comment. Please add yours.
The Government has no interest in the traffic implications of any development – having to assess these before a development is approved would be a significant impediment to approval of a development. As a North Shore Councillor I see that all the time.