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Never right option

Staff ReporterMelville Gazette

IT is pleasing to see Jim Reddyhough acknowledging that the Fremantle Bypass is not an option, as suggested by Daryl Binning, even if it is only for financial cost reasons. (Now or never, Melville Times, September 2)

However, Roe 8 is still not the right option, for environmental, economic and practical reasons.

Environmentally Roe 8 is a disaster as it will destroy one of the few remnant wetland areas and devastate the indigenous fauna. Moreover, if you don’t care about the environment it is still not practical.

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Jim Reddyhough writes about widening Stock Road and Leach Highway from there to Stirling Highway, which will, he argues, ‘leave the normal traffic to and from Fremantle undisturbed’. How?

In reality, the plan will only deliver more trucks, and cars, to the bottleneck ” simply extending it further back along Leach Highway.

To my knowledge, there is no suggestion to add or increase lanes on the Stirling Bridge so vehicles will just be jam-packed while waiting their turn to cross the bridge.

For local and small (domestic) vehicles, there are only three routes east/west to Fremantle: Leach and Canning highways and South Street.

With the faster arrival of trucks along Leach to Stirling Bridge, local traffic will be more vulnerable on Leach and more will rat race to Canning Highway and South Street.

Whichever way you look at it, Roe 8 does not solve the problem ” it is just an electioneering gimmick that will last out the terms of the present crop of ageing conservative dinosaurs and make some road builders more money.

The only realistic alternatives are to increase rail to/from Fremantle port while the development of a container port in Cockburn Sound is brought forward.

This needs to be done and provides some real profit options in redeveloping the harbour.

JIM MECKELBURG, Beaconsfield