CUMBERLAND Council has reiterated its call for a light rail link between Lidcombe and Sydney Olympic Park and more bus and train services at an inquiry into public transport needs in Western Sydney.
Earlier this month Mayor Lisa Lake and the council’s Director of Environment and Planning, Daniel Cavallo, gave evidence to the NSW Legislative Council’s Portfolio Committee for Transport and the Arts, stressing the importance of “not bypassing Cumberland to focus solely on the pressing public transport issues further west of our area”.
The purpose of the inquiry is to inquire into and report on the availability and accessibility of public transport services across Western Sydney, the current and anticipated levels of demand for these services, the changing nature of public transport needs and the social, economic, and planning impacts of vehicle dependency and poorly integrated public transport.
“Given our population growth projections, that 40 per cent of our community rent their homes and that 23 per cent have very low to moderate incomes and pay more than 30 per cent of their income in rent, we stressed that good public transport is critical in Cumberland,” Mayor Lake said.
“It makes it cheaper to travel to work, school, shops and visit others and increases the money available for other essentials. And it can mean the difference between a person taking a job or not.”
The council’s submission also called for more frequent and faster trains, an extensive network of services, improvements to transport infrastructure, such as our bus stops and train stations, to increase amenity and security, improved bus services outside peak periods and community consultation sessions to identify transport gaps.
Mayor Lake said the Committee was “inquisitive and appeared genuinely interested in hearing about our transport needs and hopes for the future” and Chair said she was hopeful the Committee could make some recommendations that would be pleasing.
Call for light rail link
