TABLE OF CONTENTS (SUMMARY)
I. THE PROBLEM....................................... (i)
II. THE OPTIONS.................................... (iii)
III. THE EVALUATION................................ (vii)
1. The Free Market Case.......................... (vii)2. The State Rail Authority Option.............. (xiii)3. The Western Suburbs Option..................... (xv)
IV. THE SOLUTION.................................... (xx)
I THE PROBLEM
A container on the back of a semi-trailer stands
out
from the traffic stream. It does so because
of
its very size and because it is a distinctive
form
of transportation. The container box is 8
feet
wide. The distance from the top of the
container
to the ground will be approximately
13-14
feet. The length of the vehicle may be as
much
as 57 feet. The vehicle unladen is likely I
to
weigh approximately 13 tonnes. Loaded with a
container
its weight may exceed 30 tonnes. On
any
view a container truck is a large vehicle.
Certain facts relating to the transportation and
distribution
of containers have been placed before
the
Inquiry and are said to call for action.
Reducing
the argument to its bare bones three
matters
are important:
- First,
the opening of Port Botany will
alter the balance between containers
carried by road and containers carried
by rail. Each of the Port Botany
terminals is primarily directed towards
a road delivery system. Fewer containers
will be carried by rail than was the case
when trade was confined to Port Jackson.
There will, in consequence, be many more
containers on the road. - Secondly,
the move to Port Botany will
change the direction of travel of the
vehicles carrying containers. Container
vehicles will be making their way
towards Port Botany rather than Port
Jackson and thus using a different road
network. Suburbs not previously exposed
to containers will suddenly be confronted
by them in increasing numbers.
--------------(ii)---------------
- Thirdly, the Kyeemagh/Chullora road
proposals do not provide an immediate
solution to an immediate problem.
Even if the decision were taken
tomorrow to construct the Kyeemagh/
Chullora Road it is likely that it
would not be completed for a signifi-
cant period, probably ten years.
In these circumstances a number of submissions have
been made to the Inquiry outlining various options.
They provide, so it is said, an immediate solution
to the 'container problem'. It is the task of this
Inquiry to examine these suggestions and to assess
their feasibility and their worth.
This Report makes no statement one way or the other
concerning the Kyeemagh/Chullora road proposals.
Those proposals (as well as the suggested rail link)
will be the subject of a separate report.
---------------(iii)--------------
II THE OPTIONS
1.
THE OPTIONS DESCRIBED
In
broad terms three options were considered by
the
Inquiry. They were:
- The so-called 'free market case' in
which it was said that there should
be no regulation of the port, and
no attempt to divert containers from
road transportation to rail transport-
ation. - The scheme advocated by the State Rail
Authority. The scheme envisages the
establishment of four decentralised
depots at the following locations:
Cooks River goods yard
Rozelle goods yard
Chullora (the existing depot)
Villawood (a1so an existing depot)
Import containers would be carried by
rail to the depot nearest their final
destination. Export containers would
be taken to the depot closest to their
origin.
3. The Western Suburbs Scheme strenuously
advocated by the planning and Environment
Commission amongst others. This scheme
envisages the creation of an Eastern
zone and a Western zone. Import
containers destined for the Western
zone would be carried by rail to the
decentralised depots at Villawood or
Chullora. Export containers coming from
the Western suburbs would be delivered
to the decentralised depots rather than
to Port Botany or Port Jackson as the
case may be.
-------------(iv)----------------
2.
THE RAIL SHARE
The
State Transport Study Group has conducted a
painstaking
analysis of the rail share 1ike1y to
arise
under the various schemes. Their analysis
must
be considered against the background of
these
facts:
- Before
the opening of Botany the
State Rail Authority carried 39%
of the container throughput to
the Port of Sydney. - The
container trade transferring to
Botany has a higher rail component
than the rest of port Jackson because,
in large measure, it is trade from
White Bay. White Bay has forced rail
to Chullora at the present time.
Accordingly 53% of the trade which
is likely to transfer to port Botany
presently goes by rail. - Based on
1985 predictions the share
between the various facilities at
Port Jackson and those at port
Botany will be approximately:
- 65% Port Botany
- 5% Port Jackson
According
to the State Transport Study Group the
schemes
will produce the following rail shares:
- The Free
Market Case will result in
a 26% rail share for port Botany.
- The
State Rail Authority scheme would
result in 7O% of containers being
carried at some stage by rail.
- The
Western Suburbs Scheme would
result in approximately 47% of
containers being carried by rail.
-------------(v)----------------
3.
VARIOUS SUB-OPTIONS CONSIDERED
A number of variations were discussed in submissions
and
in the public hearings.
(i) A suggestion that the industry shouldbe left to its own devices for thetime being. It would demonstrate (soit was said) that it can effectivelyorganise its own affairs so as toincrease the rail share, and thereforereduce the environmental damageoccasioned by the carriage of containersby road.(ii) It was suggested that if regulationwere introduced, it should be confinedto imports or alternatively to exports,but should not be extended to both.(iii) If a scheme were to be introduced itshould apply equally to port Jacksonand Port Botany. The Maritime ServicesBoard, it was said, has pursued a ‘twinport' policy for some time in which itwas even-handed in its treatment of thetwo ports. The extension of any schemeto include port Jackson would beconsistent with that policy and wouldserve the environment at the same time.(iv) It is suggested that the real environ-mental problem was not trucks, as such,but rather the very large containertrucks described in the introductionto this Report. Port Botany offers anopportunity to establish a depot forthe unstuffing of LCL containers. Forsound environmental reasons, so theargument runs, that option ought to betaken up and endorsed by this Inquiry.
-------------(vi)----------------
4.
THE KYEEMAGH/CHULLORA ROAD PROPOSALS DO NOT
PROVIDE
AN IMMEDIATE SOLUTION
Whatever
view one takes about the Kyeemagh/Chullora
Road
proposals, it is plain that they do not offer
a
solution available to the community in less than
ten
years. Indeed it may take considerably more
than
that span of time before they furnish any
relief from the passage of containers.
Under the Inquiry's proposal the rail share is
2. THE STATE RAIL AUTHORITY OPTION
3. THE WESTERN SUBURBS OPTION
---------------(vii)--------------
III THE EVALUATION
1.
THE FREE MARKET CASE
1.1
Advocates of the Free Market Case
The
line-up of parties opposing regulation is
formidable
indeed. It includes:
- The
Maritime Services Board
The Operators of Botany Bay
(ANL and CTAL) - Glebe Is1and Terminals Pty. Limited
- Liner
Services Pty, Limited (a
depot operator) - The Australian Chamber of Shipping
- The
New South Wa1es Road Transport
Association
1.2 Environmental
Impact of Containers
It
is not difficult to appreciate why the community
has
singled out containers from other forms of
transportation.
The answer appears in the following
passage
taken from the Environmental Impact
statement
submitted by the Australian National Line:
"..The movement of container trucks hasgiven considerable cause for concern topeople who are affected by them. Someof the environmental impacts of containervehicles, or indeed of any similar largevehicles, can be discussed in objectiveor even quantitive terms fumes, safety,traffic congestion, pedestrian delays,noise and vibration.Others are less tangible and possiblyemotive. It would seem that these factorsare linked with the sheer size of thecontainer on its truck.A standard I.S.O. container measures 20feet x 8 feet x 8 feet and weighs up to20 tonne. Where a 40 foot container or two20 foot containers are carried on a singlevehicle or trailer unit the length is upto 17.4m (57 feet)." (emphasis added)
---------------(viii)--------------
The
Inquiry accepts that there is an environmental
impact
which attends the passage of containers
through
the Metropolitan network, and that the
impact
is significant.
1.3
The Experience at Mort Bay, Balmain
History
has its own fascination but it may also
offer
an insight into the mistakes made in the
past.
There can be little doubt that the
Australian
National Line Terminal at Balmain was,
environmenta11y,
a mistake. The Maritime services
Board
in evidence before the Inquiry described it
in
this way:
"One’s only got to drive down the streetto Mort Bay to see that it is a situationthat is clearly unacceptable. Possibly athing that should never have happened."
1.4
Is there an Analogy Between Mort Bay and Botany Bay?
Mayne
Nickless Limited in its submission to the
Inquiry
stated:
"Without adequate road systems to and fromPort Botany, a similar unacceptablesituation such as we have at Balmain,will present itself."
In
the corporate mind of one significant transport
operator
there is an analogy to be drawn between
Mort
Bay and Botany Bay. Can the analogy be
supported?
It is the Inquiry's firm view that it
can.
There
are four suggested differences between Mort
Bay
and the route which container trucks are
likely
to take when they are delivering containers
to
the West (Bay Street, Harrow Road, Bexley Road
etc.).
The differences are:
--------------(ix)---------------
(i) Mort Street and the other streets inBalmain are narrower and the housesare built immediately adjacent to thefootpath unlike the homes in Rockdale,Bexley and Campsie. It is suggestedthat the two situations are notcomparable.(ii) It is suggested that Balmain is hillierthan the Bay Street/ Bexley Road route.(iii) It is suggested that there were morevehicles at Mort Bay than can beexpected at Rockdale, Bexley and Campsie.(iv) Mort Street and the other streets inBalmain are residential streets. BayStreet/Harrow Road/Bexley Road is asecondary road carrying a significantvolume of traffic.
The
narrowness of the streets is relevant because
it
affects noise, vibration and intimidation. Yet
Bexley
Road is approximately 12.8 metres wide with
a
3.7 metre footway whereas the carriageway in the
relevant
Balmain Streets varied between 10 metres
and
16 metres. Certainly the houses in Balmain
are
not set back as they are in Rockdale, Bexley
and
Campsie. Yet the differences are not great and,
in
any event, noise and vibration do not significantly
attenuate
over these distances.
The
hilliness of the Balmain peninsula exacerbated
the
noise and fumes created by trucks. Bexley Road
is
quite as hil1y as it descends into the Bardwell
Creek
Valley and into the Wo11i Creek Valley.
On
the worst road (Mort Street, Balmain) the peak
flow
was about 60 vehicles per hour. The average
flow
was described in the following terms:
"..The number of trucks moving down thestreet at an average frequency of onetruck every 3-4 minutes on the main routes,represents an unacceptable frequency oftruck movement in an area where theresidential buildings are developed closeto the street alignment."
---------------(x)--------------
The
daily average, in other words, was of the
order
of 15-20 vehicles per hour down the main
routes.
How does that compare with Botany? The
Planning
and Environment Commission has submitted
the
following figures to the Inquiry:
- 512 trucks per day (some of which
would be empty) - The maximum hourly movement through
Rockdale would be 89 container
trucks.
STSG
also made certain calculations. It did
not
feel able to make any estimate of the empty
container
trucks making their way to the port.
Excluding
this element, their figures were:
- approximately 250 per day minimum
- approximately 400 per day maximum
The
figures submitted by ANL and CTAL to Commissioner
Simblist
in the Port and Environment fnquiry in 1976
did
not differ materially from these estimates. They
estimated
64 containers per hour although they based
their
estimate upon a Botany throughput of 300,000
TEU
(compared to the present M.S.B. estimate of 273,000).
It
will be seen, therefore, that there will be
substantially
more containers passing through
Rockdale
than engendered the wrath of the public at
Mort
Bay, Balmain.
The
Terminal Operators maintain that these containers
will
be lost in the traffic stream because unlike
Balmain
there are so many other vehicles. The
Inquiry
accepts that there is this difference but
maintains
that the analogy with Mort Bay still holds.
First,
a container vehicle, even in a sea of cars,
stands
out as an elephant would stand out amidst a
flock
of pigeons.
-------------(xi)----------------
Secondly,
the container will pass through certain
areas
which are sensitive to truck traffic and
especially
container truck traffic. The following
is
an extract from the Rockdale Council submission:
"Within Rockdale, container trucks wil1pass through Brighton-Le-Sands, Rockdale,Bexley and Bexley North shopping centresand pass schools, churches and hospitals.The route adjoins residential areas forthe greater portion of its length bothwithin Rockdale and the neighbouringmunicipality. "
Thirdly,
the passage of containers through Rockdale,
Bexley
and Campsie will take place some ten years
after
it began at Mort Bay. In 1969 when Mort Bay
began
its operations no one quite knew what the
impact
of containerisation would be. No one
envisaged
that it would overwhelm the shipping
industry
within the space of ten years. No one
quite
appreciated the impact which container
vehicles
would make upon the environment and upon
the
public mind. But those lessons have been
learned.
The community is less likely to be
tolerant
now, ten years on, than it was when Mort
Bay
began.
Fourthly,
it is obvious from the submissions made
to
this Inquiry (to which reference will be made
shortly)
that the community senses that the
environmental
degradation is unnecessary because
of
the rail alternative which offers an immediate
solution.
Even those who advocate the Kyeemagh/
Chullora
Road, or some other road proposal,
recognise
the long lead time required for the
implementation
of that solution. It is to trespass
unduly
upon the good-wil1 and patience of a
community
to expect it to wait a period of ten years
if
it be the case that there is a solution, which is
available,
and can be implemented immediately.
-------------(xii)----------------
Finally,
there is a great deal of evidence that
the
areas through which containers would pass (Bay
Street,
Rockdale, Harrow Road, Bexley and Bexley
Road)
already suffer significantly from the effects
of
noise and the other forms of environmental
degradation
that follow in the wake of a heavy
traffic
stream. It is against that background
that
the superimposition of an additional load
of
container traffic must be judged.
l.5
The Effects on Decentralised Depots
Depots
have been established in the Western suburbs
(at
Chullora and Villawood) because there was not
the
space at Port Jackson to stuff and unstuff
containers
or to handle containers efficiently.
There
is the space at Botany. What, then, will
happen
to the depots? There is a body of evidence
which
suggests that they are threatened and they
may
c1ose. Were this to happen, a substantial
number
of men and women would be displaced.
Obviously
a scheme cannot be justified simply to
keep
the Villawood or Chullora depots open. Insofar
as
the pursuit of a legitimate government purpose
(such
as the preservation of the environment) has
this
incidental effect, that is a bonus which
cannot
be ignored.
1.6
The Clamour for Rail
Almost
1,500 submissions have been made to the
Kyeemagh/Chullora
Road Inquiry. The view they
present
on the container issue has been almost
unanimous.
There is a clamour for the movement
of
containers by rail which is all but deafening.
That
public response is not lightly put to one side.
Nor
does the public stand alone. The same view was
put
by the following Local Councils:
--------------(xiii)---------------
- the Botany Municipal Council
- the South Sydney Council
- the Marrickville Council
- the Rockdale Council
- the Canterbury Council
- the Kogarah Council
- the Hurstville Municipal Council
The
Inquiry supports that view. It is firmly of
the
view that there is a problem which will become
increasingly
evident as port Botany becomes fully
operational.
It
is the Inquiry's view that the Free Market Case
is,
therefore, unacceptable.
2.
THE STATE RAIL AUTHORITY OPTION
2.1
The Option Described
The
State Rail Authority proposed an option in
which
four decentralised container parks would
be
established at the following locations:
- the Cooks River goods yard
- the Rozelle goods yard
- the existing depot at Chullora
- the existing depot at Villawood
Importers
would be obliged to rail a container to
a
depot closest to his premises. The same procedure
would
be followed for exports in reverse. In this
way
the road transportation of containers would be
kept
to a minimum.
2.2
The Environmental Advantaqes
The
scheme assumes that in every case there are
environmental
advantages in railing a container
to
the closest depot or from the closest depot,
as
the case may be. Ordinarily, that is a safe
assumption.
It is demonstrably true in the case
--------------(xiv)---------------
of
the Western suburbs depots. Upon analysis,
the
environmental benefits of railing a container
to
the Cooks River goods yard or the Rozelle goods
yard
are dubious.
2.3
Problems Inherent in the Scheme
It
is plain that the implementation of the State
Rail
Authority Option would add considerably to
the
cost of handling each container. There are,
in
addition, a number of operational and practical
difficulties
which make the option unacceptable.
If
a contrast is made between a number of containers
presently
handled, and the number of, containers
to
be handled under the proposed scheme, the strain
upon
the resources of the state Rail Authority is
obvious:
- in the
year ended the 30.6.80 the
State Rail Authority carried a
total of 136,115 TEU (Twenty foot
equivalent units) - assuming
a 70% share for both port
Jackson and Port Botany the number
of TEU carried in 1985 would be
292,600 (i.e. more than twice as
many as presently carried)
The
Inquiry accepts that doubling the container
task
in the space of less than 5 years must create
significant
capacity problems for the railways.
2.4
The Scheme is Too Complex and Too Ambitious
It
is the Inquiry's view that in the transformation
from
a free market to some form of regulation one
must
tread warily in the beginning. The proposals
should
be modest. The state Rail Authority scheme
has
much to commend it. It is, at this stage, too
ambitious
and too complex.
-------------(xv)----------------
3.
THE WESTERN SUBURBS OPTION
3.1
The Option Advocated by the Planning and
Environment
Commission
The
essential features of the option are:
- Sydney should be divided into an Eastern
zone and a Western zone. - The Western zone is depicted in the map
figure A. The local government areas on
the boundary of the Western zone included
Campbelltown, Liverpool, Bankstown,
Strathfie1d, Concord, Ryde and Hornsby. - Under this scheme import FCL containers
destined for the Western zone would be
carried by rail to the decentralised depots
at:
Villawood or Chullora
4. Export FCL containers coming from the Western
suburbs are to be delivered to the same
decentralised depots rather than directly
by road to the port.
5. The scheme would not apply to LCL containers
which would continue to be handled in. the same
way as they are now handled (i.e. distributed
between the various depots according to
shipping line agreements or affiliations).
The scheme would embrace country and interstate
FCL containers. It would include empty
containers.
It
is necessary to address two other issues:
- what
arrangement is suggested for the
division of containers between Villawood
and Chullora? - what
arrangement is suggested for the
road delivery of containers?
-------------- (xvi)---------------
---------------(xvii)--------------
The
Inquiry investigated both these matters. It
will
recommend the following:
- The
service areas of the Chullora
and Villawood depots should not be
defined. Both depots should serve
the entire Western region and should
be permitted to compete with each
other for whatever share of the
market they can capture. - There
should be no regulation of the
road transportation of containers to
or from the decentralised depots.
Specifically, there should be no
exclusion of owner-drivers in favour
of large transport companies from
that portion of the trade.
3.2
The Inquiry's View on the Inclusion of Empty Containers
Empty
containers should be excluded from the scheme.
Their
inclusion achieves 1itt1e environmentally.
Yet
the cost of the scheme as a whole is doubled.
Their
exclusion will not jeopardise the scheme
itself.
3.3
The Exclusion of Interstate and Intrastate Containers
The
Inquiry differed from the planning and
Environment
commission concerning the inclusion of
intrastate
and interstate containers.
Most
intrastate and interstate containers are
already
carried by rail as the following
statistics
demonstrate :
- 23% are carried by rail
- 8% are carried by road
Rail
is the cheaper mode over long distances. The
8%
which choose road probably make that choice for
--------------(xviii)---------------
good
reason. The cargo may be urgent or there may
be
no handling facilities where the container is
being
transported or the cargo may be unsuited to
rail.
For
the time being, these containers should be
excluded
from the scheme.
3.4
The Rail Share Under the Inquiry's proposal
Under the Inquiry's proposal the rail share is
approximately
41% as opposed to approximately
26%
under the Free Market Case.
This
share is not remarkably different from the
share
contemplated by the Botany Terminals:
- The ANL
contemplated a 2O% rail
share but has experienced 28%
since the Port opened. - CTAL
contemplates a 36% rail
share.
Yet
the difference is vital to the environment.
Figure
A depicts a screen-line in the Rockdale
area.
Calculations were made by the planning and
Environment
commission and by STSG of the number
of
vehicles crossing the screen-line under the
Free
Market Case and under the western suburbs
Option.
The result is as follows:
- The PEC
estimate 5l2 trucks per
day in Rockdale under the Free
Market Case. - A
maximum of 89 trucks per hour
during peak periods. - If the
scheme they propose were
implemented (472 rail share) the
number of trucks in Rockdale would
reduce to 57 trucks per day (inclu-
ding empty trucks)
-------------(xix)----------------
- STSG
estimate between 250 and 400
trucks per day in Rockdale (exclu-
ding empty trucks for which they
did not feel able to make an esti-
mate) under the Free Market Case. - If the
PEC scheme (47% rail share)
were implemented the number of
trucks carrying a container either
empty or fu1I would reduce to 26
per day. - If the
rail share were 41 or 42% as
suggested by the Inquiry the number
of trucks in Rockdale would reduce
to 67 per day.
The
scheme, in short, would reduce the total daily
number
of trucks crossing the Rockdale screen line
to
a lesser number than would be experienced each
hour
(in the peak) under the Free Market Case. In
the
Inquiry's view that is a substantial achievement.
3.5
The Cost of the Scheme
The
Inquiry accepts that there is a cost which
attaches
to the implementation of the scheme. We
calculate
that cost to be approximately $20 per
container.
It is like1y, in the Inquiry’s judgement,
that
the shipping lines will adopt a box rate for
all
metropolitan containers without differentiating
between
those destined for the western zone and
those
going to the Eastern zone. They will, in
other
words, generalise and spread the additional
cost
entailed by the scheme.
The
Inquiry has investigated a number of suggested
indirect
costs:
- the
delay occasioned to containers
caught by the scheme - the
diversion of containers to
Melbourne to avoid the scheme - the
suggestion that a scheme would
operate as a disincentive to industry
in the Western suburbs.
--------------(xx)---------------
It
is clear, beyond argument, that Melbourne
poses
no threat to Sydney. The scheme will not
operate
as a disincentive to industry in the
Western
suburbs. Some delay, of a minor nature,
will
come about as a result of the scheme. The
delay
is like1y to be far less than experienced
by
importers and exporters in the past when
Port
Jackson was not assisted by Port Botany in
handling
the Sydney throughput.
3.6
Operational and Practical Difficulties
A
number of operational and practical difficulties
were
suggested by the terminal operators. They
are
not to be underestimated. The Inquiry does not
suggest
that they are trifling. Upon examination,
neither
alone nor in combination are they suffici-
ently
weighty to cause one to jettison the scheme
and
thereby lose the environmental advantages
which
flow from the scheme.
The
Inquiry has suggested a number of safeguards
which
will protect the legitimate interest of
persons,
concerned with the importation and export
of
containers.
-----------------------------
IV THE SOLUTION
1.
THE FREE MARKET CASE
The
Free Market Case advocates no regulation of
the
Port and no attempt to divert containers
from
road transportation to rail transportation.
RECOMMENDATION: The
Inquiry recommends against
the adoption of that view.
the adoption of that view.
2. THE STATE RAIL AUTHORITY OPTION
The
State Rail Authority recommended a scheme
which
envisages the establishment of four
decentralised
depots at the following locations:
- Cooks River goods yard
- Rozelle goods yard
- Chullora (the existing depot)
- Villawood (also an existing depot)
Under
the scheme import containers would be carried
by
rail to the depot nearest their final destination,
Export
containers would be taken to the depot closest
to
their origin.
RECOMMENDATION: The
Inquiry recommends against
the adoption of that option.
the adoption of that option.
3. THE WESTERN SUBURBS OPTION
The
Western Suburbs Option envisages the creation
of
an Eastern zone and a Western zone for the
Sydney
Metropolitan Area. Import containers
destined
for the Western zone would be carried
by
rail to the decentralised depots at:
- Villawood
- Chullora
Export
containers coming from the Western suburbs
will
be delivered to these decentralised depots
rather
than to Port Botany or Port Jackson.
--------------(xxii)---------------
RECOMMENDATION: The
Inquiry recommends the
adoption of this option
with the following essential
features:
adoption of this option
with the following essential
features:
- The service areas of the Chullora and
Villawood depots should not be defined.
Both depots should serve the entire
Western region and should be permitted
to compete with each other for whatever
share of the market they can capture. - There should be no regulation of the road
transportation of containers to or from
the decentralised depots. Specifically
there should be no exclusion of owner-
drivers in favour of large transport
companies from that portion of the trade. - For the time being, empty containers
should be excluded from the scheme though
the matter can be reviewed if the need arises. - The scheme should be confined to the Sydney
Metropolitan Area FCL containers (both
import and export) and should not, for
the time being, extend to interstate or
intrastate containers carried by road.
The
following safeguards (to protect the legitimate
interests
of various parties) are an essential part
of
the scheme:
- There should be duplication of the Botany
Goods Line. - The capacity of the State Rail Authority
to handle the expected throughput under
the Western Suburbs Scheme should be
immediately reviewed and arrangements
made to correct any deficiency in either
locomotives or container wagons.
-------------(xxiii)----------------
3. Certain categories of containers (such
as hazardous cargoes) should be excluded
from the scheme. Those concerned with
the importation and export of goods
should be invited by the government to
submit suggested exclusions within a
specified period. The exclusions should
include (for the time being) the coastal
trade of the Australian National Line.4. Steps should be taken to preserve the
residential amenity of the Villawood
area in the vicinity of the Freightbases
depot. The steps should include:
(a) At State Government expense,
Christina Road, Leightonfield
should be upgraded.(b) In consultation with the Department
of Main Roads and the Traffic
Authority, the intersection of
Christina Road, Mil1er Road and
Waldron Road should be reviewed,
with a view to easing the passage
of container vehicles to and from
Freightbases via Christina Road
to Woodville Road.(c) Vehicles carrying full containers
should leave the Freightbases depot
via Christina Road.(d) Provision should be made for land-
scaping, noise barriers and even
double glazing (if it is warranted)
in Miller Road after monitoring the
effects of the scheme upon that road
and after consultation with the local-
community. Insofar as the vehicles
are substantially confined to Christina
Road, the amenity of Mi11er Road should
not be seriously affected
--------------(xxiv)---------------
5. Consultation should take place between
the following bodies in order to work
out truck routes to be used by heavy
container vehicles:
Department of Main Roads
Traffic Authority
Planning and Environment Commission
the inner city Councils
Transport Workers’ Union of Australia
New South Wales Road Transport Association
Long Distance Road Transport Association
Chamber of Commerce
any other bodies involved in the
importation or export of goods or
the transportation of containers
4.
DEPOT AT PORT BOTANY
RECOMMENDATION: The
Inquiry recommends that the
Government permit one 6,000 TEU
depot at Port Botany subject to
the following conditions:
Government permit one 6,000 TEU
depot at Port Botany subject to
the following conditions:
- It is to be understood that there should
be one only depot for the two terminals
and not one depot for each terminal. - The lease agreement between the Maritime
Services Board and the Terminal Operators
at Port Botany (ANL or CTAL or both)
should be amended to make it a condition
of the lease that 6,000 TEU only are
handled each year at the depot. - Any planning permission given with respect to
the erection of a shed for the purposes of
stuffing and unstuffing should ensure that
proper environmental safeguards are observed,
and should be conditional upon the annual
throughput of the depot not exceeding 6,000 TEU. - The size of the shed permitted for the
purposes of such a depot should not be
greater than is reasonably required for
a depot with a throughput of 6,000 TEU
per annum.
--------------(xxv)---------------
5.
THE APPLICATION OF A SCHEME TO PORT BOTANY AND PORT JACKSON
RECOMMENDATION: The
Inquiry recommends that
the Western Suburbs Scheme
be applied to the following
terminals:
the Western Suburbs Scheme
be applied to the following
terminals:
- the
Australian National Line Terminal
at Port Botany - the CTAL Terminal at Port Botany
- the White Bay Terminal at Port Jackson
- the Glebe Island Terminal at Port Jackson
- any
other terminal or wharves connected
to rail which may be constructed at
either Port Jackson or Port Botany in
the future.
- End of Summary to Volume I -