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Enough wasted

Janice TeoMelville Gazette

I AGREE with Milos Nedved (Melville Times, April 19) that we should be very concerned about the harmful emissions from vehicles leading to more deaths annually than road accidents.

However, I cannot agree with him that the Roe 8 will improve on this situation. It still leaves transport on trucks and traffic on the roads.

There will be some reduction in emissions by reducing the number of stops. Nevertheless, after all the arguments there still is no solution to what happens when the road arrives at the Swan River.

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Never mind that surely we want to reduce this heavy vehicle traffic in Fremantle and North Fremantle. Both major parties had agreed previously to get more of the freight on to rail and to commence the development of the outer harbour in Kwinana.

Yet then, out of the blue, this mad plan to build more roads arrived, and here we have wasted valuable time and money on the road to nowhere.

The arguments against building roads to solve transport problems and the evidence of how economies and communities enormously benefitted by decommissioning of roads have been aired extensively. Those who want to hear have surely by now heard.

The adjacent letter by Ted Zeffertt is nostalgic about the memories of the lovely nature of the Melville military camp, now Sir Frederic Samson Park, and the convenient public transport past it during the war.

The Kwinana harbour will have environmental impacts. However, both in terms of sustainable planning of development of this part of the city, her access to the marine trade routes and her economy, this is where we should be putting our efforts.

There has been enough waste; let us plan for a better future now.

LOUIS DE VILLIERS, Ardross.