GREEN SQUARE TUNNEL MUST REOPEN AS URGENT PRIORITY

City of Sydney Deputy Lord Mayor Linda Scott and I have united in a call to the Transport Minister to urgently prioritise the reopening of the Green Square station pedestrian tunnel underneath Botany Road, citing the community’s concerns for pedestrian safety at one of the state’s busiest intersections.

The tunnel was closed by Transport for NSW (TfNSW), the state’s peak transport agency, in November 2018 to facilitate upgrades to lifts and stairs as a condition of approval of the “Infinity by Crown” development at 301 Botany Road, Zetland. 

The tunnel allowed pedestrians to safely cross underneath Botany Road to access the station, but its closure forces them to instead queue on a narrowed footpath and wait for the lights to change. 

The tunnel is expected to reopen in April 2019, but Cr Scott and say these urgent works need to be expedited to ensure passenger safety, which can only occur by agreement between TfNSW and the developer, Crown. We are calling on the Minister for Transport, Andrew Constance, to enter urgent talks with the developer to reopen the tunnel as soon as possible. 

Key Facts About Green Square Station 

The station is serviced by the Airport Line and is one of Sydney’s busiest stations. It is located at the corner of Bourke Street, Botany Road, and O’Riordan Street, a key heavy vehicle route and major artery servicing the CBD and Sydney Airport. 

More than 21,000 passengers access Green Square station by foot every weekday, a figure that increases 25% annually. 

A young mother was tragically killed and five other pedestrians were seriously injured in December 2018, after a truck carrying bricks plowed off the road onto the footpath just 150 metres from the entrance to the station.

More than 61 000 people will call the Green Square precinct home by the time it is completed in the next decade, making it the densest community in the country. 

This tunnel needs to finished and opened to the public quick smart. The Minister really needs to act. We know the risks that pedestrians face as long as this tunnel is closed, and we learned last year just how tragic the results can be in what was just an accident.