Services Special Committee Agenda 14/08/17 SC3 North East Link Corridor Options Abstract On Monday 8 August the North East Link Authority (NELA) released corridor options for the North East Link (NEL) project. The options are shown in Attachment 1. The corridor option that would have the most direct impact on the City of Boroondara is Option A. This option would follow the Greensborough Highway south and connect with the Eastern Freeway near Bulleen Road, Balwyn North. Option A would potentially involve: A major interchange at the intersection of Bulleen Road and the Eastern Freeway. An upgrade of the Eastern Freeway between Chandler Highway and Springvale Road. Indicative modelling by NELA indicates Option A may carry between 100,000 to 120,000 vehicles per day, 10 years after opening, including high numbers of truck traffic. Out of the four options, Option A has been scored highest by NELA against a range of measures it considers relevant for the project. Officers’ initial assessment of Option A indicates a number of potential impacts on Boroondara. These include impacts to land housing important recreational facilities, open space, additional traffic volume, noise, and concerns on the future provision of Doncaster Rail. More specific information is needed from NELA in order for Council to fully assess the corridor options and Option A in particular. NELA is holding 10 community information sessions and seeking community feedback during August. NELA has prepared a Community Update brochure on the NEL (refer Attachment 2) and has distributed this to around 300,000 properties, including the Boroondara suburbs of Kew, Kew East, Balwyn and Balwyn North. None of the information sessions have been scheduled in Boroondara, with the closest being in Bulleen on 17 August. Council has written separately to around 4,000 properties in the north of Boroondara, in the areas closest to the Option A NEL interchange point, to draw residents’ attention to the NEL project and NELA information sessions. Officers' recommendation That the Services Special Committee resolve to: 1. Note the information provided by NELA on corridor options for the NEL project. 2. Request NELA to schedule an additional community information session within the City of Boroondara to better allow Boroondara residents to participate in the NEL consultation process. City of Boroondara North East Link Page 1 of 15 Services Special Committee Agenda 14/08/17 3. Request NELA to extend the consultation period to allow the community and Council sufficient time to consider and provide a submission on the corridor options. 4. Request NELA to provide additional information on all corridor options as a matter of urgency, in particular Corridor Option A, to enable Council to better understand the potential impacts of Corridor Option A on Boroondara, including but not limited to: Designs for the interchange at Bulleen Road with the Eastern Freeway and the upgrade of the Eastern Freeway. Impacts on Koonung Creek Reserve and other reserves/parks abutting the Eastern Freeway extending to Chandler Highway as a result of upgrades to the Eastern Freeway including possible additional lanes. Impacts to the Freeway Golf Course and Boroondara Tennis Centre Impacts on traffic levels on the Eastern Freeway including truck traffic. Impacts on traffic levels on the arterial and local road network in Boroondara, including truck traffic and possible changes to these roads. Impacts on noise levels along the Eastern Freeway corridor due to an increase in traffic and notably truck traffic Noise attenuation measures that would be applied in any widening of the Eastern Freeway and specifically whether noise would be attenuated to a standard of 63dBA or 68dBA Impacts on the future provision of the Doncaster Rail Public transport initiatives associated with the NEL project. 5. Write to local Members of Parliament seeking their support for NELA to provide better opportunities for Boroondara residents to participate in the consultation process and for NELA to provide additional detailed information regarding the impacts of the corridor options, in particular the impacts of Option A on Boroondara. Document information City of Boroondara North East Link Page 2 of 15 Services Special Committee Agenda 14/08/17 Responsible director: Bruce Dobson Environment & Infrastructure ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Purpose The report provides information on the North East Link (NEL) corridor options released by the North East Link Authority (NELA). It highlights potential issues for the City of Boroondara and recommends that Council seek further information from NELA in order to fully understand the impacts and enable a more thorough assessment of the options. 2. Policy implications and relevance to council plan The NEL is a Victorian Government project. It is a recommendation from Infrastructure Victoria’s 30-year strategy. The NEL would impact on the following items as defined in the Council Plan 2017-21: Theme: ‘Enhanced amenity’. Strategic objective: ‘The character of our neighbourhoods is protected and improved’. Strategy 11: ‘Parking, traffic and transport - we will respond effectively and efficiently to community needs on parking, traffic and appropriate transport issues’. 3. Background NELA was established by the Victorian Government to oversee delivery of the NEL project. On 8 August 2017, NELA released four corridor options for the NEL. 10 information sessions have been held from 12 - 24 August and NELA has circulated a Community Update brochure to around 300,000 properties, including the Boroondara suburbs of Kew, Kew East, Balwyn and Balwyn North. NELA has stated it is seeking feedback from the community in August in order to help it narrow down to a preferred corridor. 4. Outline of key issues/options Corridor options The four corridor options are shown in Attachment 1. Further information on each option is included in the NELA Community Update in Attachment 2. In summary, the four options are: Option A - this corridor would follow the Greensborough Highway south using the existing freeway reserve and connect with the Eastern Freeway near Bulleen Road. It would involve upgrades to the Eastern Freeway between Chandler Highway and Springvale Road to cater for additional traffic. City of Boroondara North East Link Page 3 of 15 Services Special Committee Agenda 14/08/17 Option B - this corridor would provide a direct connection from the M80 to EastLink. It would not require upgrades to the Eastern Freeway. Option C - similar to Option B, this corridor would connect to EastLink and not require any upgrades to the Eastern Freeway. Option D - this corridor would connect with EastLink south of Ringwood and travel east using part of the proposed Healesville Freeway Reserve. Option A would have the most direct impact on the City of Boroondara and would potentially involve: A major interchange at the intersection of Bulleen Road and the Eastern Freeway. An upgrade of the Eastern Freeway between Chandler Highway and Springvale Road. Indicative modelling by NELA indicates Option A may carry between 100,000 to 120,000 vehicles per day, 10 years after opening, including high numbers of truck traffic. Out of the four options, Option A has been scored highest by NELA against a range of measures it considers relevant for the project. These measures include: Reducing congestion in the north-east. Getting trucks off residential roads in the north-east. Connecting more people to jobs and education. Connecting businesses. Making freight move more efficiently. Improving public transport connections and travel times. Improving connections for pedestrians and cyclists. Ability to protect the environment, culture, heritage and open spaces. Ability to minimise impacts from construction-related traffic. NELA considers Option A performs very well against four measures, performs well against two measures, and is neutral against two measures. The scores for all other options are significantly less than Option A. Option D is the only option considered to perform very well against any of the measures (and this is only the case for one measure). Option A is also the shortest corridor (11km), with the other options ranging between 24km and 40km. Officers’ initial assessment of Option A indicates there are a number of potential impacts on Boroondara. These include: Impacts to land housing important recreational facilities, specifically the Freeway Golf Course and Boroondara Tennis Centre, both located close to the intersection of Bulleen Road and the Eastern Freeway Impacts on open space and in particular Koonung Creek Reserve and other reserves/parks extending to Chandler Highway arising from upgrade works on the Eastern Freeway including possible additional lanes City of Boroondara North East Link Page 4 of 15 Services Special Committee Agenda 14/08/17 Higher traffic volumes on Boroondara roads, including truck traffic on Bulleen Road, connecting arterial roads and local roads, and possible changes to these roads Higher noise levels along the Eastern Freeway due to an increase in traffic and notably truck traffic Impacts on the future provision of the Doncaster Rail. The information published to date by NELA does not contain sufficient detail to understand the likelihood and impact of the points noted above. Significantly more specific information is needed from NELA in order for Council to fully assess the corridor options and Option A in particular. The officer