Green light for tram extensions?

Two more councils have endorsed the push for light rail extensions into the inner west, amid growing indications that the Rees Government will join local government in a study to prepare the way for refitting the disused Rozelle freight line as a commuter corridor.

Canada Bay came on board in mid-June, writing to the ministers for Transport and Planning supporting the Dulwich Hill extension and calling for a further line to the Drummoyne Peninsula and Abbotsford.

And the Mayor of Canterbury, Councillor Robert Furolo, has now joined the groundswell. Writing to congratulate EcoTransit Sydney on the light rail public campaign, Councillor Furolo said, “I am pleased to extend my strong support for the initiative of the NSW Government to extend the service into the inner west.”

The move by Canterbury and Canada Bay to join Leichhardt, Ashfield, Marrickville and the City of Sydney means a total of six councils are now involved, and pressure is also building for an extension at the city end. EcoTransit Sydney understands that the Barangaroo Authority have backed City of Sydney in actively pushing for light rail along Hickson Road.

There are now indications that Transport Minister David Campbell will respond favourably to the mayors’ offer of financial support for a study into the Dulwich Hill and White Bay extension proposals and their request to be represented on a steering committee.

A further boost to hopes for a quick start to light rail came during a recent presentation by the Sydney Metro Authority to Leichhardt Council, when the Metro representatives assured councillors that the proposal would do nothing to block light rail access west from Lilyfield or to White Bay.

What sort of study should be held? The essence of the problem is the need to integrate, within a narrow corridor, a high-capacity light rail service, a cycleway and walking route, and wildlife habitat. We know from excellent examples overseas that it’s entirely possible to do this, but it’s a craft job.

For this reason, EcoTransit Sydney believes that the study should take the form of an ‘Enquiry by Design’ (EBD). This is a relatively new approach developed in Europe and used successfully to design big projects in Victoria and Western Australia.

It requires technical experts and planners from relevant state agencies and local government to work closely with community representatives on the actual project design. Everyone involved works intensively for about a week at a fairly detailed level, followed by a wide-ranging public discussion on the various options explored.

The advantage of EBD is that people familiar with local conditions can help sift out unworkable ideas early on in the process. Crucially, it enables a suite of different ideas to be crafted together in a manner which reconciles diverse goals, and can dramatically reduce the time needed to develop a solid plan that enjoys wide acceptance. This is a far cry from the usual planning process, where the detailed work happens behind closed doors and without community input, but curiously, it is not a long way from what is already happening in the corridor. For some years now, the councils, together with community groups and with the co-operation of RailCorp and other state agencies, have been working on the GreenWay concept and have undertaken physical works within the corridor.

Councils and the community have made a considerable investment of time and expertise, built up a body of knowledge about the corridor, and worked in collaboration with relevant government agencies.

Now that the government is prepared to consider an extension of the light rail service to Dulwich Hill, it would be a short step from the existing situation to an enhanced process whose outcome would be a masterplan for light rail, active transport and habitat restoration in the whole corridor. If this process took place under the Transport Minister’s stewardship, it would provide a model for the further implementation of light rail (and, indeed, some other redevelopment proposals).

Such a masterplan would also cost the project for the government’s budgetary purposes, or for any funding application to the federal government. It’s to be hoped that the four mayors directly involved in negotiations with the Transport Minister will push for this option.

by Gavin Gatenby. Gavin is co-convenor of EcoTransit Sydney, which has been active in the community campaign for the extension of light rail.