Sydney Olympic Park V8 Supercar races
The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts is currently accepting public comment regarding the proposal to convert Sydney Olympic Park into a street circuit for the V8 supercar races. The public had 10 days to submit a comment from when it was posted on the departmental website on 6 March 2009, so only five days remain. Submissions must be directed towards the very specific terms of reference, which include: Is the area of national significance? Is it home to migratory bird species? Would the event damage protect wetlands? Does the area shelter ecological communities or threatened species? In the case of Sydney Olympic Park the answer is a resounding yes to each of these questions.
I have submitted my own comment to the proposal, but today I point out a number of questions left unanswered in the proposal that may be of more interest to locals. Firstly, I note that no noise impact studies were done for human beings or domestic animals in the area around the parklands and that any noise testing undertaken involved testing during events at the showground or parkland, such as the Big Day Out, which generated no more than 51 decibels of noise and had no effect on the birds. Racing cars generate noise in the order of at least 90 to 95 decibels, so the proposal has purposely glossed over the real noise threat of the supercar event to birds and other wildlife.
Secondly, the timetable included in the proposal has the preparation work starting 7 weeks before the race but elsewhere the document states that work will start 13 weeks before the race. I wonder what is supposed to happen between 13 and 8 weeks before the race and why it is not detailed in the timetable proposed? In all, I note that the community will be disrupted for 17½ weeks for an event that will only last three days! Thirdly, the removal of immature trees is part of the preparations planned. Local councils define immature trees as trees under five metres, with any tree over five metres protected by the Tree Preservation Act. The spotted gums along Australian Avenue, which the proponents intend to remove, are all over five metres tall—I have checked this—so they should fall under the Tree Preservation Act. In any case, the proposal does not stipulate a time frame for removal of the trees nor any mention of where alternative trees will be planted. Residents would like to know exactly how many trees along each median strip are to be removed.
A number of safety concerns have been raised. The proposal being assessed by the Commonwealth department does not stipulate when the road lane markings and cycle lane markings will be removed and replaced. This includes stop and give way signs, which are basic to road safety. These heavily used roads will be expected to re-open at 6.00 a.m. on the Monday following the race, so very little time is being given to have all the signs replaced. That poses a major safety issue for automobile traffic and cyclists. I ask whether that risk is one that road users of the area should be required to face. For whose benefit are we risking their lives?
I would like to point out many more points of concern to the public but instead I encourage residents and all other concerned citizens to read the proposal. Hopefully people can find it on the website of the Commonwealth Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts under “EPBC Act”, which appears in the left-hand column of the site. If people click on “Latest Referrals and Public Notices”, which can be found on the top right-hand side, they will be taken to a page entitled “Invitations to Comment”. They should then scroll down to “V8 Supercar Events”. Those who make it that far should receive a medal.
I ask those who read the proposal to please consider making a comment to the department on the plan to hold V8 supercar racing in Sydney Olympic Park, which was never designed for this purpose. It is my firm belief that this proposal is seriously wrong and I hope the department does not permit the event to proceed. Rather, the event should go to the purpose-built racetrack at Eastern Creek.
