The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) has called for the Australian Government to review the way local roads are funded as part of its infrastructure funding reform.
WSROC President Stephen Bali said, “While motorways are very important, we should not forget that the major transport task in Sydney, and particularly car-dependent regions like Western Sydney, is carried by the local road network.”
WSROC includes the local government areas: Blacktown City Council, Blue Mountains City Council, City of Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland Council, Fairfield City Council, Hawkesbury City Council, Liverpool City Council, City of Parramatta and Penrith City Council.
Councillor Bali said a funding backlog means council-maintained roads are falling into a state of disrepair and Federal leadership on the issue is critical.
“The federal Roads to Recovery funding is a great and much needed initiative, but it is not enough. The backlog is growing. Roads are getting worse and councils still can’t pay for it,” he said.
“WSROC agrees that we need to have a serious discussion about the way transport infrastructure is funded, but local roads must be part of that debate.”
Councillor Bali said road usage charges was an option, but affordability for Western Sydney residents would have to be made a key concern.
“Road usage charging has been identified by the Australian Government as one option for consideration, however equity must be a core principle in any future discussions.
“Western Sydney residents are Sydney’s biggest road users, due to the region’s huge scale, jobs deficit and limited public transport network.
“It would be unfair to lock Western Sydney residents into paying significant road usage charges when they already pay tax to support government-subsidised public transport services they don’t have access to.”
Image credit: Tim J Keegan via Flickr.
