The RTA and the DoP assessed the road changes against the initial three broad objectives of the project. They assessed road changes that followed the Supplementary EIS against the expanded set of objectives. We cannot say that the road changes were robustly assessed, either collectively or on a road-by-road basis because:
■ the patronage scenario was not robustly assessed, as discussed earlier
■ ensuring the financial viability of the tunnel, and the RTA's interpretation of 'no net cost to government', affected important planning decisions.
We did not assess the evaluation for all 73 road changes, but selected a sample.
The RTA developed engineering and traffic solutions to integrate the CCT and the road network. It used an iterative and consultative process with CCM, the DoP, local government and residents. For example, as Exhibit 4.5 shows, the RTA assessed the changes related to Bourke Street against a range of criteria.
Exhibit 4.5: Criteria for later changes to Bourke Street |
In 2004 the RTA consulted with stakeholders about traffic management measures in Bourke Street as required by the DoP Condition of Approval 288. The RTA assessed a range of alternatives against the following criteria: ■ reduce traffic congestion on William Street ■ reduce through-traffic in Bourke Street ■ improve accessibility to the Eastern Distributor on-ramp ■ minimise impacts on other road users (pedestrians and cyclists) ■ reduce impacts on the community. The solution chosen was a compromise given the diversity of views amongst stakeholders. It included the following features: ■ full-time right and left turns from William Street north into Bourke Street leading only to the southbound Eastern Distributor ■ closure of Bourke Street on the south side of William Street ■ no right turn from William Street north into Crown Street ■ a review of the measures after 12 months. |
The RTA did similar assessments against approved criteria to develop road changes in Kings Cross, Paddington and other areas.
However, the evaluation of road changes involved other issues unrelated to the initial primary objectives (listed in Section 4.2). For example, the DoP and the RTA justified the road changes in Woolloomooloo and Kings Cross on the basis of the primary objective of reducing surface traffic in Central Sydney. However, the changes were also important to the financial viability of the expanded project, which appears to have assumed greater importance.