High Street upgrade option insults community

The WA Greens Transport Spokesperson, Hon Lynn MacLaren MLC has branded the WA Government’s decision to pursue its preferred Option 4 for the upgrade of the High Street and Stirling Highway intersection an expensive insult to the local community.

“This makes a mockery of the entire community consultation process. The community were consulted and came back with a clear resounding ‘no’ to Option 4 because it will destroy peoples’ homes, a community garden and 3 holes of a public golf course and increase the number of trucks on our roads,” said Ms MacLaren.

“If the Government wants a truly efficient freight network it needs to look at the bigger picture and invest in infrastructure so that more freight can be carried by rail,” said Ms MacLaren.

“A modified proposal which would save homes and reduce the loss of public space was supported during the consultation. The only impact of Option 4a was that trucks would have to slow down a bit to take the curve. I asked the Minister in Parliament why the new curve was designed for 70km. Surely in such a densely populated area a tighter curve designed for 60km is more sensible?” added Ms MacLaren.

“This is a bad intersection but it’s only a small section of the freight route to Fremantle port. The Option 4 upgrade comes at a great cost for the local community for little benefit, when compared to other long term solutions,” added Ms MacLaren.

“Less than half of port-related trips could be considered efficient. Many trucks make extra trips to depots and at least 28% travel empty,” said Ms MacLaren.

“The Government needs to stop taking a 1950s approach to transport planning and look at the wider impacts of its decisions on community health, the environment and the economy, Ms MacLaren concluded.

Research has connected pollution from heavy highway traffic to higher risks for heart attack, allergies, premature births and the death of infants around the time they are born,[1] and a growing body of evidence suggests breathing pollution from heavy traffic may cause new cases of asthma in children.[2]

(1) Tonne C, Melly S, Mittleman M, Coull B, Goldberg R, Schwartz J. (2007) A Case-Control Analysis of Exposure to Traffic and Acute Myocardial Infarction. Environ Health Perspect, 115:53-57; Morgenstern V, Zutavern A, Cyrus J, Brokow I, Koletzko S, Krämer U, Behrendt H, Herbarth O, von Berg A, Bauer CP, Wichmaqnn H-E, Heinrich J, for the GINI Study Group and the LISA Study Group (2008) Atopic Diseases, Allergic Sensitization, and Exposure to Traffic-related Air Pollution in Children. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 177: 1331-1337; Brauer MLencar C, Tambruic L, Koehoorn M, Demers P, Karr C.A Cohort (2008) Study of Traffic-Related Air Pollution Impacts on Birth Outcomes. Environ Health Perspect, 116:680-686; de Medeiros AP, Gouveia N, Machado RP, de Souza MR, Alencar GP, Novaes HM, de Almeida MF. (2009) Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Perinatal Mortality: A Case-Control Study.Environ Health Perspect, 117: 127-132.
(2) Gehring U, Wijga AH, Brauer M, Fishcher P, de Jongste JC, Kerkhof M, Oldenwening M, Smit HA, and Brunekreef B. (2010) Traffic-related air pollution and the development of asthma and allergies during the first 8 years of life. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 181:596-603; McConnell R, Islam T, Shankardass K, Jerrett M, Lurmann F, Gilliland F, Gaudeman J, Avol E, Künzli N, Yao L, Peters J, and Berhane K. (2010) Childhood Incident Asthma and Traffic-Related Air Pollution at Home and School. Environ Health Perspect, 118(7):1021-1026; Health Effects Institute Panel on the Health Effects of Traffic-Related Air Pollution (2010) Traffic-Related Air Pollution: A Critical Review of the Literature on Emissions, Exposure, and Health Effects. Health Effects Institute: Boston.