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Urban Taskforce | Media Releases
M2 upgrade: An integrated transport plan for Sydneys North West
10 July 2008
The NSW Governments plan to upgrade the M2 is a sign that road and rail improvements are finally being co-ordinated, according to Aaron Gadiel, chief executive of the Urban Taskforce.The government today announced that negotiations are now underway with the private operator of the M2 motorway for a major upgrade. The M2 links the M7 and Lane Cove Tunnel. It carries around 110,000 vehicles a day.
Sydneys North West will be crucial in supplying the new homes and well-located jobs that are so important to our citys future, Mr Gadiel said.
140,000 new homes and 100,000 new jobs are destined to be built in the north-west within the next 25 years. Todays M2 announcement follows the recent $12 billion North West Metro rail commitment.
We finally have a co-ordinated planning approach for transport in the North West, Mr Gadiel said.
Were very pleased that the road and rail upgrades are being pursued simultaneously.
Its exactly the kind of integrated planning that Sydney needed a decade ago.
The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics has estimated that the costs of Sydneys urban congestion will be $7.8 billion by 2020 and more than $20 billion across Australia. The NSW government also announced that the upgrade would pave the way for a future link to the F3.
Anything that brings the completion of an F3 to M2 motorway link closer is good news, Mr Gadiel said.
The Central Coast will need to accommodate another 100,000 people over the coming two decades - with an extra 56,000 homes.
By linking the F3 to the M2, Central Coast residents will have better access to friends, family and jobs located in Sydney.
In November last year, the federal Labor Party promised to invest $150 million for approvals and planning to connect the F3 to the Sydney Orbital, with further funding to be determined once these processes are completed.
Todays announcement by the NSW government involves negotiations for:
- widening the eastbound carriageway from two lanes to three lanes between Windsor Road and Pennant Hills Road and Beecroft Road and Christie Road;
- widening the westbound carriageway from two lanes to three lanes between Beecroft Road and Pennant Hills Road;
- the provision of a Park and Ride bus interchange at Herring Road and a new eastbound bus lane between Herring Road and Delhi Road;
- the provision of new west-facing on and off ramps at Windsor Road;
- the provision of new east-facing on and off ramps at Herring Road;
- the provision of permanent cycleway facilities that bypass the Norfolk Road Tunnel; and
- the conversion to fully cashless tolling.
Sydneysiders know the citys infrastructure is in need of renewal, Mr Gadiel said.
Not only are we aware of the problems we have right now - Sydneys population is anticipated to grow by 1.1 million people by 2031.
This means Sydney needs 640,000 new homes and extra road and rail capacity to match.
Todays announcement is a further sign that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
