CityLink caned on toll road

May 27, 2007

'ONE of Melbourne's most prestigious private boys' schools is threatening legal action over plans to widen CityLink's toll road, which will interfere with school property.

Scotch College in Hawthorn accepts it will lose 1600 square metres of land for the road-widening project, but claims more needs to be done to help sound-proof classrooms.

The college is worried construction vehicles could come onto its grounds as early as August and has hired acoustic experts to check on CityLink data related to expected traffic noise levels.

The college also claims more than 100 mature native trees, including river red gums, are at risk. CityLink says fewer than 10 trees will have to be removed.

In a report this month for the college's old boy magazine, Great Scot, editor Tim Shearer revealed the school was determined to pressure CityLink to reduce traffic noise.

"Scotch College is examining all possible means, including possible legal action, to require Transurban/CityLink to meet higher noise protection standards than it currently intends," Mr Shearer wrote.

"The college council regards the planned tollway widening as the single greatest threat to the college's operations and long-term security."

The expansion will bring traffic four metres closer to the college's main learning areas.

The college is also concerned about an anticipated increase in traffic, from 160,000 to 300,000 cars a day, which, it says, would have a damaging impact on Scotch's environment.

It wants "enhanced noise walls" to be built to reduce noise pollution.

Mr Shearer said in the report Transurban/CityLink had "only committed, so far, to provide noise barriers across Glenferrie Road and maintain the enhanced acoustic protection Scotch College paid for in 1998-99".

CityLink spokeswoman Jane Calvert said yesterday the company had been meeting with Scotch College weekly "to identify all issues of importance to the school with the hope of minimising the project's impact both during and after construction".

"We're trying to co-ordinate the main construction start date with their September holidays to minimise disruption, but we're still finalising the detailed design of the project at the moment," Ms Calvert told The Sunday Age.

She declined to comment on the college's threat of legal action.

The State Government announced plans last August to expand the tollway from six lanes to eight — four each way — for improvements to the southern end of CityLink. The $166 million project will be funded by Transurban and construction will take seven months.

The project forms part of a $900 million Government plan to improve capacity and ease congestion along the 75-kilometre route between Werribee and Narre Warren, expanding virtually all of it to four lanes each way by 2010.

Speed limits along the section of freeway next to the school will drop from 100km/h to 80km/h.

The strip of land to be compulsorily acquired is less than four metres wide and stretches about 400 metres along the college's southern border.'

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/citylink-caned-on-toll-road/2007/05/26/1179601737346.html

KEY POINTS:

• Legal Action could be taken over plans to widen Citylink roads
• The school wants more to be done about sound proofing the classrooms
• Widering the freeway will bring the traffic 4 meters closer to the learning areas

If this issue does go to the courts it will holt the construction process. Until the matter is resolved which will affect all work that Transurban/Citylink are doing. It will also stop any future projects that are planned. This will cost both parties money and time in the process.