Garfield Road East and West upgrades Review of Environmental Factors (REF)
The NSW Government has proposed a road network to support the forecast growth in the North West Growth Area. Over the next ten years, 33,000 homes will be provided in the area and once fully developed, the area will be home to around 250,000 people.
Review of Environmental Factors (REF)
The REF for both Garfield East and Garfield Road West examines potential impacts of the proposed upgrades of these sections of road and outlines measures to reduce and manage the impacts of the upgrades.
In this document, Transport for NSW (Transport) addresses how it will mitigate and manage impacts to the community and surrounding environment. As part of this process any environmental or community implications of the projects have been identified.
The concept design which is the current preferred corridor alignment has been adjusted since original investigations when the project first began. These adjustments would minimise impacts to Aboriginal land claims, heritage items and environmentally sensitive areas, whilst also tying in with the existing infrastructure and future road projects whilst also presenting a safer and more efficient road upgrade.
Other design improvements have included a new bridge through flood prone land which would improve travel and safety for the community during periods of flooding. As well as new signalised intersections, pedestrian cycling crossing points, improved access along the road for pedestrians and users of public transport.
The REF also examined potential impacts of the proposed upgrade and outlines measure to reduce and manage potential impacts. The report addresses potential environmental impacts including noise, heritage, biodiversity and property as well as impacts during construction.
Listed below are discussed in detail in the REF:
Traffic: The upgrade will result in a more efficient flow of traffic due to a reduction of intersecting local roads, and to the overall widening of the road.
Noise: Noise mitigation measures in the form of noise walls are being assessed at two key locations to reduce noise impacts to residents.
Flooding: The upgrade of existing drainage will improve drainage and allow the road to be used in severe flood conditions. The road will become a flood evacuation route, with sections of Garfield Road East able to be used in a 1 in 500 storm event.
Parking: The upgrade of Garfield Road may impact some businesses due to loss of parking. Where this occurs, Transport will investigate other opportunities for parking as part of detailed design, following REF determination.
Landscaping: Replacement vegetation including trees due to the widening of the Garfield Road corridor, will be developed in consultation with key stakeholders including Blacktown City Council and The Hills Shire Council.
To view the REF online, please visit at nswroads.work/garfieldrd
Key features of upgrades include:
- Upgrading the existing two lane road to a four lane divided road, with capacity to widen to six lanes in future
- Improving flood resilience
- Upgrading and realigning the existing road to improve road safety
- Providing a new bridge over First Ponds Creek (Garfield Road East) and Eastern Creek (Garfield Road West)
- New traffic signals at Hamilton Road/ McCulloch Street and Edmund Street (Garfield Road East) and Denmark Road, Penprase Street/Lynhurst Street and Roberts Street (Garfield Road West)
- Providing facilities for pedestrians and cyclists
- Providing bus priority at the new intersections.
Benefits of the upgrades include:
- Improving road capacity to meet future traffic growth
- Supporting residential and employment growth
- Improving freight productivity
- Improving road safety
- Improving connectivity between Richmond Road and Windsor Road.
What are the next steps?
At the end of the REF display period, a submissions report which summaries comments or questions received for each project, and our responses, will be published on the Transport for NSW website. If you make a submission, you will receive an email or letter advising of any changes to the proposal as a result of feedback. A community update will also be distributed to advise the availability of the submissions report.
We will keep community members and other stakeholders informed of progress throughout delivery of the projects.
Property Acquisition
As the project progresses, there may be a need for Transport to acquire some properties along Garfield Road. This would be a mixture of full and partial acquisitions. The Transport Personnel Manager Acquisitions has already been in contact directly with potentially affected property owners and will continue to be in contact as the project progresses.
More information about the property acquisition process is available at propertyacquisition.nsw.gov.au
Have your say
In response to the evolving Coronavirus situation, Transport is following NSW Health advice and changing the way it approaches community consultation for important transport infrastructure projects.
It is important for the community to have their say on all transport infrastructure projects. This means consultation will be carried out in different ways to ensure the community can practice social distancing and limit the spread of Coronavirus.
