About me

1. About me

2. Objectives of Presentation • Provide arguments why the project shouldn’t gain approval when alternative (less polluting) projects can solve transport issues. • Ensure if the project goes ahead that there are amendments to the design to reduce pollution impacts. • Outline mitigation measures and offsets that should be included to protect some inner west sensitive land use areas and the community if the project goes ahead.

3. Should the project obtain planning approval? • By the project teams own modelling in 2031 it is expected that The West Gate Freeway and Millers Road will have PM2.5 levels above the current annual ambient standard of 8.0μg/m3.

4. Descope the project to stay within air quality standards • At the very least if the project goes ahead the project should not include widening of the West Gate Freeway to allow for an increase in traffic of 37,000 vehicles per day and alternative solutions must be investigated that don’t result in an additional 7,000 trucks per day on Millers Road.

5. Air quality • Ultra-fine particulates • Ongoing Monitoring • Physical Barriers • Increased open space as an offset for pollution • Anti-idling policy • Filtration of ventilation stacks

6. Air quality – Ultrafine Particulate Matter

7. Air quality – Ongoing monitoring • Considering the expected increase in PM2.5 approximately 50 metres from Donald McLean Reserve and within 500m of Emma McLean Kindergarten the temporary monitoring station on Donald McLean Reserve should be made permanent

8. Air Quality – Physical Barriers

9. Air Quality – Open Space • Air pollution from traffic can lead to cognitive declines in children. • A systematic review looking at the exposure to green space and cognitive function suggests exposure to green space benefits cognitive development in children and their resulting cognitive function in adulthood. • This research suggests that providing additional green space as an off-set for additional pollution may at least help to mitigate the impacts of pollution.

10. Air Quality – Open Space cont.

11. Simcock Avenue – Local Spotswood St

12. Air quality – Anti-idling policy • An anti-idling policy for all heavy and light commercial vehicles involved in construction of the West Gate Tunnel Project is relatively easy to implement. • Such a policy would have positive health impacts by reducing exhaust pollution. • A policy like this would show leadership in this area for other infrastructure projects throughout Australia.

13. Air quality – Filtration of ventilation stacks • Traffic modelling shows that between 55,000 and 67,000 vehicles per day will travel through the tunnel, including approximately 15,000 trucks. Many of these trucks don’t even meet the Euro V emission standards and are thus very high polluters. • It is difficult to understand why the project would not use world’s best practice and filter the two point sources of pollution from this tunnel. • In Madrid it has been found that about 90% of PM2.5 and 85% of PM1.0can be removed by the most efficient filtration system. • Retrofitting filtration at a later date doesn’t provide as cost effective or efficient filtering, this has been shown in Sydney.

14. Urban Design • The opening up of a new pathway from Spotswood to Yarraville along Hall Street is creating a new flyover under-croft space that without considered design work could become an unsafe area. • Safe access is required to this underpass 24 hours a day, particularly for cyclists. • Considering the work that has been undertaken for under-croft areas in Maribyrnong we expect the same standard to apply in Spotswood.

15. Construction Impacts • While a ‘no go zone’ for construction activities was designated on Hall street opposite Emma McLean Kindergarten is now appears that a depot has been set up 100m from here at the Socobell site. • This depot will result in an unknown number of car and truck movements per day across from the kindergarten and potential impacts from dust and noise at the depot. • This construction site should be moved to another location away from the kindergarten, or at the very least access to the site should be through the current Mobil site, not via Hall Street.

16. Please don’t forget Spotswood. • We may be a small suburb but we are a vibrant community, where many young families are choosing to live. • We feel, like Brooklyn, that we have become a dumping ground for traffic problems of the inner west.

17. Changes to Environmental Performance Requirements • AQP4: Develop and undertake an ambient air quality monitoring program to measure the air quality impacts of West Gate Tunnel Project, including at least one year of monitoring before operation, and five years post opening of the Freeway, or such lessor period as agreed with EPA Victoria. Where modelling predicts changes in traffic conditions as a result of the project will lead to an increase in PM2.5 or PM10 permanent monitoring stations should be set up and feed into the EPA’s live monitoring system. Results of the monitoring are to be made publicly available. • BP 1: Through detailed design and construction, design and construct the works to minimise, to the extent practicable, impacts to, and interference with, third party property and infrastructure and to ensure that infrastructure and property is protected during construction and operation. Any damage or permanent impacts caused to property as a result of the project must be appropriately remedied or compensated.