Sydney transport dragging its heels
Sydney could support an increased population on par with London and New York but the City’s transport system lags behind, a panel of planning experts say.
At a policy forum in Sydney yesterday the panels’ representatives said too much government regulation has resulted in inefficient planning and is responsible for the City’s failing infrastructure.
The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils represents ten local councils in Western Sydney. CEO Jeremy Goff said the structure of local government in Sydney is problematic and that the NSW government has identified a lack of infrastructure worth $140 billion in the city.
The CEO of Parramatta Council Rob Lang said, “Sydney transport have realised they were very much on the back foot. Now we’ve got to move fast to keep the infrastructure up with growth.”
The deputy chair for the Committee for Sydney Lucy Turnbull said, “I support the idea of a greater metropolitan government for Sydney. It’s a pity it didn’t happen ten years ago.”
Panel members argued for private sector investment in fuelling Sydney’s growth. However, the director of property developers Stockland Group said that developers were getting caught in the crossfire between local and national government.
The Director of the NSW Department of Planning Mr Sam Haddad said a much more aggressive implementation of policies was necessary and that to achieve better results more government intervention is needed.
A report by GA Research found that citizens of Sydney accept that population growth is inevitable. The managing partner of the research group, Brian Tyson, said that 80 percent of people surveyed are willing to accept an increase in population density by half.
The Chairman of Advocacy Services Australia Penny Bingham-Hall said, “Our cities are by international standards very sparsely populated…an increase in density does not mean losing amenity and liveability standards.”
The Committee for Sydney hopes that by 2036 improvements in infrastructure will mean 80 per cent of Australians will live within half an hour of their work.
By Alexandra Back
