Nimby decision

However, I would concur when he is quote as saying “Roe 8 was well planned and thought out decades ago”.

If one looks at a very old Perth UBD street directory one will find most of the main roads such as the Reid, Tonkin and Roe highways already ‘pencilled in’: most have now been built.

Of course, not all road building goes without conflict and objection – witness the fights over Servetus Street in Swanbourne several years ago.

But it was built and I’m sure nobody doubts the benefits now.

The building of roads, widening of freeways and bridges is just the inevitable result of the expansion of Perth (or any large city).

With the large rise in population, there has been a commensurate rise in traffic volume.

Just wishing it would all go away is not realistic.

As we live in a democracy, we sometimes have to put up with the decisions of others that may have negative consequences for some.

The halting of the Roe highway extension to connect with the Fremantle by-pass was a Nimby (Not in my back yard) decision that certain voters were able to screw out of their Labor representatives in the Fremantle area.

Most Fridays, my wife and I travel down Leach Highway into Fremantle. The amount of heavy commercial traffic on Leach is compounded by the influx of trucks from Stock Road that then travel the remainder of Leach, then High Street before turning on to Stirling Highway and heading for the port.

I bet Mr Nardi wouldn’t want to live on this section of High Street with wall-to-wall container trucks and semi-trailers streaming by constantly.

There is talk of widening this section of road, so what goes: the houses on one side or a chunk of Fremantle golf course on the other, or both?

Roe 8 and its connection to Fremantle via Stirling must be built; it is absolutely nonsense not to.

I’m sorry if this offends some but we all want the benefits of modern living, which includes the benefits of goods and services moved by trucks.