Parramatta Council has called on the construction of the Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 to be fast-tracked over concerns 2031 is too long for the community to wait.
In its first Council meeting of the year, City of Parramatta discussed its recommendations in response to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the controversial project.
The second stage of the Parramatta Light Rail will have 14 stops over a 10-kilometre two-way track, which will connect Parramatta’s CBD to Sydney Olympic Park via suburbs like Melrose Park and Wentworth.
Last year it was revealed Stage 2 was not expected to be completed until 2031, five years later than originally planned, but Parramatta Councillors say this is far too late.
Cr Paul Noack successfully moved an amendment to call on both the State Government and Opposition to bring forward the date of the project’s completion.
“In areas like Melrose Park, Wentworth Point, Sydney Olympic Park and the Carter Street Precinct, to wait to the year 2031 is just a mess in terms of not linking in infrastructure with development, which is a great problem that we face,” he said.
Noack said Stage 2 of the Parramatta Light Rail is “absolutely vital” for local communities.
“I had a call from a woman that works in Rydalmere that finds it incredibly difficult because of the bus change to get to Wentworth Point, where she travels on a regular basis,” he said.
“Bit hard to say to her wait until 2031, your problems will be fixed. It’s a long [time] to wait.”
Among the recommendations, Council also suggests the light rail stop adjacent the Sydney Olympic Park Ferry Wharf should be retained and a short spur with turnback introduced along Hill Road. The Council report said it would be “incredibly shortsighted” to not include it.
Lord Mayor Donna Davis, who is also NSW Labor’s candidate for Parramatta, called for an “extra layer of transparency” when it comes to preserving heritage buildings.
“There was a number of significant heritage sites that were impacted by the construction of the Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1 and one of the biggest challenges during that time was that, for want of a better word, the community was left in the dark about what was happening,” she said.
“It was because the requirements to provide that transparency of information was not put forward right from the outset. While there isn’t as much built heritage that is going to be impacted by the Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2, it is still going to be an issue if we don’t address it now.”
The NSW Government said it will start works on Stage 2 of the Parramatta Light Rail in 2024, with NSW Labor promising to begin construction in its first term, if elected.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.