The Minister for Planning and Public Spaces has, under section 5.19 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (the Act) approved the infrastructure application (for the Sydney Gateway project) subject to the recommended conditions.
As you may know, BIKEast has been active in ensuring this project adds to, rather than removes active travel provision for the future.
We published our submission (and concerns) to the Concept Design back in Jun 2019.
Summary
The project was deemed consistent with Commonwealth and State strategic planning and transport documents, including active transport.
The new active transport link provided was acknowledged to offset the loss of the existing Alexandra Canal cycleway.
Impact to active transport links during construction were considered to be addressed by alternative routes and safe access maintained during construction.
However, under Land use, place making and active transport, recommended conditions/response include:
- To provide an active transport link between T1 and T2/T3 prior to operation.
- The existing Coward Street active transport link must be audited and refurbished.
These are strong points to have come through from our community feedback and advocacy and to have been included in the recommended conditions for the project.
Hopefully these conditions will force better outcomes than what was produced in the concept design.
Great work from everyone who signed and shared the petition and wrote letters to decision makers, we’ll need to continue our ongoing advocacy over the next few years to ensure that these conditions are met and adhered to.
The infrastructure approval and conditions are available at the NSW Planning website, including the Sydney Gateway Notice Of Decision.
