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Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

M4 East motorway - revised plan - APTNSW comment

posted Thursday 8 November 2007
On 30.10.07 Sydney's Inner West Courier carried the following (edited)letter to the editor -

It’s going to be hilarious watching our Inner West Labor politicians toeing the Party line and defending the indefensible: the re-born, now multi-directional, M4East motorway (Inner West Courier 16.10.07).

The impact of global warming is increasingly being predicted to be cataclysmic, and it is primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels, i.e., motor vehicle use. The proposed motorway network will, in itself, generate additional vehicle trips and more fuel usage. The RTA admits to this by proposing to widen the existing, western end, of the M4. But it is unlikely to release any detailed figures on induced traffic. After the Harbour Tunnel was built, cross-harbour trips increased from 66 million to 75 million, or 13%, within just two years. Neither the RTA nor our so-called elected “representatives” will want to discuss this phenomenon.

We’ve been promised a discussion paper and public consultation. A glossy brochure, loaded with RTA hype, represents neither consultation nor discussion, but just watch our local members try to defend it.

After the March election, Morris Iemma declared himself the Public Transport Premier. Only seven months later, this motorway proposal illustrates just how much trust we can place in the Premier’s pronouncements.

Kevin Eadie, Action for Public Transport.



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