Traffic stalls community enthusiasm for Harold Park

Glebe residents are still concerned over Harold Park’s traffic impacts despite the Planning Minister’s recent announcement that he would work at minimising the development’s effects.

Last week, the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, Brad Hazzard, said he would address residents’ concerns with Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian.

“I will be working with the Transport Minister to ensure public transport capacity in the vicinity of these two major proposals is increased as the developments proceed and new residents move in,” he said.

“These are very large urban renewal sites, with localised impacts and the government is very aware that careful transport planning is essential.”

But members of community action group FLAG Harold Park are worried since they claim public transport in the area is already overloaded.

“The primary public transport option is buses, which are already working above capacity. Buses on the roads will also be seriously impacted by any future traffic congestion,” a spokesperson said.

FLAG wrote a letter to the City of Sydney calling for a micro-simulation traffic study, citing strained traffic networks in Forest Lodge, Annandale and Glebe.

“The potential problems will impact on the entire traffic grid in the City of Sydney as impacted areas incorporate three Strategic Transport Corridors, each of which are already heavily congested,” a spokesperson said.

FLAG demanded the traffic study include considerations of other major developments such as Yacht Marina and Cruise Passenger Terminal/White Bay Redevelopment and One Central Park on Broadway.

Although Harold Park is said to help provide much-needed housing, Member for Balmain, Jamie Parker said the development is unlikely to relieve the housing pressures in the area.

“At $500,000 for a studio and over a million dollars for a three bedroom apartment, these dwellings will not be affordable,” he said. “Affordable housing means housing that community builds to be rented at below market rates which attracts government subsidy.”

“There is only 1,000 square metres of land set aside for affordable housing. But there’s actually zero affordable housing because the developers do not have to build houses that are affordable,” he said.

By Misa Han