Also, the shift in focus, from reducing CBD congestion, to reducing surface traffic in the larger Central Sydney area, was not widely understood by the community. The views of motorists travelling to City North and the Harbour crossings from the east were not adequately brought out by the consultations. This is the area of greatest public resentment. These motorists may have thought that a Cross City Tunnel would have nothing to do with them.
The practice of always having an alternative non-toll route available has been a long-standing principle. It appears that the RTA and the DoP lost sight of this principle, set in the DoP Director-General's requirements, as the CCT project developed.