hhag newsletter 9
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Public meeting
HHAG is holding a public meeting to discuss the RTA’s
detailed plans for the ‘Orange Corridor’.
All residents and owners directly affected by
any of the orange corridor options are urged to attend.
4 pm Saturday 23 January 2010
Hartley School Hall
IN THIS ISSUE:
- RTA’s current plans
- Outcome of RTA value management workshop
- Where HHAG stands now
- Meeting with those affected by the orange corridor
RTA’s current plans
In August the NSW government announced that the chosen option for the ‘upgrade’ of the Great Western Highway was the orange corridor, the corridor following generally the present alignment of the GWH through the Hartley valley. HHAG held a well-attended public meeting to seek guidance from the community on this decision. That meeting confirmed our strategy: to seek a minimum safety upgrade of the road through the valley and redirect the balance of funds earmarked for the project to enhance rail freight capacity or more appropriate road freight routes.
This strategy was overwhelmingly endorsed by the public when 3500 submissions were made to the RTA, opposing the massive ‘upgrade’ and calling for investment in safety, a road freight strategy and rail. The RTA continued on its course, and held a value management workshop last month to consider certain aspects of the chosen route.
Outcome of RTA value management workshop
HHAG was represented at that meeting through my attendance, as we decided that we needed to be represented in order to be able to critique the process, and to try to influence the outcome if that was appropriate.
The meeting was run by Dr David Stevens, a recognised expert on Value Management. Some forty people attended with probably half being RTA people and the balance other stakeholders eg several aboriginal groups, Lithgow and Blue Mtns councils, and a police representative.
The process saw the meeting in five parallel streams agree the criteria that would most appropriately be used to differentiate route options. Each option was assessed against each criteria on a scale of 1 (bad) to 10 (fantastic). That assessment was then multiplied by the weighting and the resultant products were summed to give a weighted score where the highest total represented the values based preferred option. This indicated very clear preferences for the Long Tunnel for the Mt Vic sector, the Southern Bypass for Little Hartley and the existing alignment for Forty Bends. The options at River Lett Hill were very close.
A further step involved overlaying the cost of each option into the equation. This made the Southern option appear better on River Lett Hill but didn’t change any others. No costings were available for Mt Vic which made it impossible to do a cost based assessment of those options. This can be done when those costs become available in the next fortnight and needs to be the subject of careful scrutiny.
As an antagonist I was unable to fault the process. It looked logical, it looked fair and there was really no opportunity for vested interests to exert any inordinate influence over the outcomes. Each of the four community attendees at the workshop were equally complimentary of the Value Management assessment process. A detailed report summarising the proceedings and conclusions should soon be available on the RTA website.
Where HHAG stands now
With refinement of the design for the orange corridor little has changed. Predictably, the workshop was precluded from considering the issues most important to HHAG: safety measures on the current highway, better freight strategies and investment in rail.
One thing that has certainly not changed is the time it will take before there is even a decision (unless this government or the next agrees with the commonsense of the community: improve safety, and invest in long term solutions).The RTA says that a decision is two years away, after costing, environmental assessment and planning approval. It is likely to take much longer. And only then do a series of separate construction projects, along sections of the GWH from Mt Victoria to Lithgow, stand in line for funding over many years.
And there is one other certainty. Whatever slow progress the RTA makes with its plans for the massive ‘upgrade’, it does nothing about the present black spots on the highway, the constant increase in the size and number of trucks, the inefficiency of moving commodities through the Blue Mountains and the Hartley valley, and the shift in freight from rail to road. These high-priority issues affect us all, wherever we live and however we use the highway.
With these thoughts in mind Wednesday’s meeting of the committee decided to hold a meeting at 4 pm on Saturday 23rd January Hartley School Hall for all those who feel they are directly affected by the orange corridor.
Public meeting with those affected by the orange corridor
Our intention at the meeting will be to determine individual stakeholders’ levels of acceptance or rejection of the current state of play and then to discuss what we might be able to do to assist those affected. Basically, we can help to ensure that the processes are open and fair. Bob Morris 6355 2127 and Duncan Wass 6355 2043 will co ordinate this meeting. Either would welcome your call to discuss the matter.
If you have a view on any point expressed here do not hesitate to call. All the best for Christmas.
Ramsay Moodie
Chairman 4th December 2009
63552259 0412283800 99830134
