RE the article “Highway work to remove tidal flow” (Leader, May 2)
The RMS is proposing to widen the Princes Highway between James Street and Torrens Street at Blakehurst to provide an additional lane.
This will impinge on Todd Park and involve tree removal.
There can be no question of the need for this work given the extensive traffic congestion that occurs at this location in peak hours. And the efforts of the RMS to minimise the impact on Todd Park should be commended.
However, the reason for the work must be questioned. Why does the RMS need to threaten our parks and trees at all? The answer is the Government’s policy of dramatic population increase. ABS figures show Sydney’s population has increased by just shy of a million people in the past 12 years.
Our southern suburbs have grown more quickly than anyone anticipated, let alone planned, and the infrastructure on which our community depends no longer meets the demands placed on it. The trains are too full, commuters can spend more than two hours every day stuck in a car, schools are overflowing and hospital waiting times are growing.
The current massive immigration numbers are simply overwhelming our suburbs. Surely, common sense must prevail and the immigration levels be reduced, allowing parks like Todd Park to survive and our city to remain liveable.
Jeff Powys
Kogarah Bay Progress Association Inc
