Stop the North Balgowlah and Seaforth bus route and timetable changes and insist Transport for NSW engage with local communities to implement a workable solution
Petitioner:
Mrs Anita Filmer
| Member:
Griffin, James
| No. of Signatories:
1,249
| Date closed:
08/03/2021
To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly,
Transport for NSW (TfNSW) have published ill-considered changes to existing bus routes (effective 20 December 2020) that connect the northern beaches suburbs of North Balgowlah and Seaforth to the CBD and North Sydney.
These changes result in the cancellation of the following existing well utilised services:
168, 168, 169, 169x, 173, 132
to be replaced by a single new service (172x), that will run through narrow residential streets, which are unfit for the increased frequency.
These significant changes were made without any community consultation and will have a number of material consequences, including:
-A significant increase in the number of busses passing through the middle of North Balgowlah and the associated safety risks, especially to children;
-A significant reduction in peak period services and the accessibility of those services;
-The removal of services that directly connect with the North Sydney area; and
-A significant increase in traffic congestion around the Seaforth interchange area.
The community is outraged regarding the lack of engagement and to date their numerous valid concerns have been ignored by TfNSW. Residents are satisfied with the current routes and don’t support these proposed changes.
We ask the Legislative Assembly to have the planned changes stopped and the status quo retained. Failure to do so will likely result in extensive public campaigns until the concerns of the community are appropriately addressed. We thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.
The concerned residents of North Balgowlah and Seaforth
