Community gears up to Attack the Stack
The RTA’s denial of a petition for a community garden in East Sydney is fuelling increased community opposition to unfiltered vehicle emissions from the Eastern Distributor ventilation stack on Stanley Street.
City of Sydney Greens Councillor Irene Doutney filed a Notice of Motion on Monday 9 May, while other community leaders continued mobilising support for a “Rally to Attack the Stack” on 23 May.
“I think the State Government needs to … take responsibility when they do big developments like that, that just have unknown impacts on the residents,” said Cr Doutney, who will speak at the rally. “How long do we wait, till cancer clusters and emphysema clusters appear in a couple of years?”
Cr Doutney is looking to increase the pressure on the RTA and NSW Government to monitor and filter emissions from the ventilation stack. The notice also pushes for a “green corridor”, to act as a carbon offset to the emissions from the tunnel.
The final objective of the notice is to push for open space in the area which is consistent with the Sustainable Sydney 2030 Plan.
“This is the next decade’s asbestos case,” said community activist and business owner Jane Anderson. “The issues have never been resolved,” she added, referring to the ongoing dispute between state authorities and residents.
In response, a spokesperson for Transport Minister David Campbell said the Eastern Distributor “has reduced the emissions that would otherwise be produced by vehicles travelling on surface roads.”
“Air quality standards for inside and outside Sydney tunnels are among the most stringent in the world,” the spokesperson said.
In a similar statement, an RTA spokesperson said, “Ongoing air quality monitoring is carried out in line with the Eastern Distributor’s environmental approval, with a focus on in-tunnel monitoring.”
Residents, however, aren’t buying it. “They did some clever footwork with what they choose to measure and how they chose to measure it,” Ms Anderson said.
Since the construction of the Eastern Distributor in 2000 residents have been pushing the RTA to filter the carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions and provide monitoring outside of the tunnel in addition to the measurements currently taken inside it.
The RTA confirmed they denied a request to utilise land at Bourke Street for a community garden, saying that an existing agreement with the adjoining freehold owners meant the land was not available.
The lack of success in dealing with the RTA has many residents sceptical that change will occur. Some community organisers credit that scepticism with dwindling interest in the issue.
“Half the people don’t even know it’s there,” said Stephan Gyory, one of the rally’s organisers, “This rally is our opening communication.”
The rally will take place on the same day as the Primo Italiano Festival, one of the city’s most popular and well attended gatherings. The rally begins at 3:30pm at the corner Stanley and Bourke Streets.
By Ken Robinson
