Tunnel Best Freight Link Option
Property Council of Australia, 27 November 2015
The tunnel option to complete the Perth Freight Link is clearly the best outcome for the community and industry generally, and the state Government should include it in its infrastructure planning.
A Government report found that completing the Freight Link project to Fremantle would benefit existing home owners and industry, and improve road safety by freeing up traffic congestion on key urban growth and housing infill corridors.
The report also found that building a tunnel to complete the project would free-up land for more home building, boost property values and add more to economic growth than other alternatives.
“This is a compelling case to complete the Perth Freight Link project at a time when the property sector and the state economy is struggling”, said Property Council of Australia WA Executive Director, Joe Lenzo.
“The Freight Link project would also add significantly to the effectiveness of a proposed toll, which is a much needed facility to help with future infrastructure funding in WA. Additionally, completing the project on the back of sound evidence would be a welcome step in fostering better infrastructure provisioning and funding in WA.”
“The WA Government should subject more of its infrastructure planning to this sort of rigorous scrutiny, including into the future, a review by an independent infrastructure provisioning process’, said Mr Lenzo.
http://www.propertycouncil.com.au/Web/Content/Media_Release/WA/2015/Tunnel_Best_Freight_Link_Option.aspx
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What is not said is
– freight traffic will comprimise an estimated 10% of total traffic using the tunnel
– trucks loaded with dangerous goods will not be permitted to use the tunnel
– the Governments intent in constructing the tunnel is to allow Fremantle Port to increase its annual container numbers from 0.7 million to 1.7 million thus making it more attractive to privatisation
– 40% of container traffic goes to northern destinations as is unlikely to use the tunnel, prefering to travel north through the western suburbs. This in turn will put pressure on roads through the western suburbs which MRD will use to justify finally building a link through Bold Park to join the Freeway at Cedric Street intersection.
– to justify the construction on the grounds that it will increase some property prices is perverse logic at best.
And finally increasing ship sizes will eventually force the construction of an outer harbour, so are we to wait until the small existing port is being bypassed before the government takes any constructive action?