In its September 22 release, The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) called on the NSW government to ensure its Parramatta Road strategy was considered as part of an integrated western transport corridor.
The body represents 10 councils in western Sydney including Auburn, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Holroyd, Parramatta and Penrith.
Group president, Councillor Tony Hadchiti, said after 50 years of neglect, Parramatta Road was in desperate need of revitalisation.
He said more work needed to be done to integrate WestConnex/M4 motorway upgrades with the existing road network, including introducing additional M4 access ramps at Lidcombe's Hill Road and Granville's Woodville Road to ease traffic congestion on nearby Parramatta Road.
He said an eastbound ramp at Woodville Road, Granville would significantly reduce congestion along Parramatta Road between Woodville Road and James Ruse Drive — a key bottleneck for the area.
The Sydney CBD to Parramatta strategic transport plan, released by the NSW government in September, identifies future transport requirements in the 22-kilometre Sydney CBD to Parramatta corridor. It is a 30-year strategy that focuses on eight precincts, including Auburn and Granville, and a plan for growing Sydney's second CBD — Parramatta (Parramatta CBD, North Parramatta, Westmead, Camellia and Rydalmere).
The Plan recommends implementation of the Western Sydney rail program, a light rail route serving Parramatta and Parramatta River ferry initiatives, including extra services and new ferries.
It identifies investing in the corridor is "constrained by transport issues as well as a perception of the corridor and Parramatta Road as noisy, congested, unsightly and generally undesirable".
It says rear-end crashes make up 43 per cent of all crashes on Parramatta Road (compared to the Sydney average of 26 per cent), with the impact of congestion costing Sydney $5 billion a year — a figure expected to grow to $8 billion a year by 2021 without intervention.
Trains on the Western Line often carry 40 per cent more passengers than there are seats at peak times.
"Following completion of the WestConnex/M4 upgrades, Parramatta Road will still need to offer an alternative to toll roads," Cr Hadchiti said.
- 2.2 million trips are made from the Sydney CBD to Parramatta corridor everyday
- 230,000 trips are made during the busiest time in the corridor, 8am-9am on weekdays
- 85% of all trips that both start and finish in the corridor are under five kilometres