The state and federal governments have given out very limited information about the Perth Freight Link. So, while there are many Frequently Asked Questions, there aren’t many answers (there are some answers, and we’ll get to them soon). Still, we think it is worth listing the Frequently Asked Questions, because they demonstrate how much is being kept from the public by the government. We know that planning for the PFL is being done on the run, so it’s also quite possible that the government DOESN’T KNOW the answers.

Please let us know if you receive an answer from the government to any of these questions.

SAFETY FROM ACCIDENTS

1. Will the tollway be dedicated, in whole or part, to trucks?
2. Do you propose to keep trucks and cars separate?
3. How do you propose to keep trucks and cars separate?
4. What will be the maximum speed on the tollway?
5. What was the maximum speed and the average speed used or assumed in the 2014 Business Case for the PFL when calculating time savings for trucks travelling to the port?
6. Will there be any limit on the size of the trucks allowed on the tollway? What is it?
7. Will high productivity vehicles (capable of carrying four TEU as opposed to the current maximum of three TEU) be permitted on the PFL?
8. Will placard loads, which are prohibited from travelling in the Graham Farmer Freeway Tunnel, be permitted in the Section 2, Option 2 tunnel?
9. Is the state government still contemplating the Minister’s proposal to re-write the regulations to accommodate placard loads through the proposed tunnel?

CONGESTION

1. Trucks currently have lengthy waits – often hours – at the port. Getting them to the queue at the port faster won’t make the port more productive, so why the rush to build the PFL?
2. At the East Fremantle end of the PFL (the East Freo Bottleneck), how will you merge the 3 or 4 lanes of traffic from the tollway with the existing 2 lanes of traffic on Stirling Highway to go north across the bridge?
3. What is the expected peak delay for trucks at the East Freo Bottleneck?
4. Will the expected peak delay for trucks at the East Freo Bottleneck be greater than the expected time otherwise saved by the PFL?
5. What is the expected peak delay for cars at the East Freo Bottleneck?
6. How will the congestion caused by the East Freo Bottleneck affect traffic on Canning Highway, Stirling Highway, High Street, Leach Highway, Curtin Avenue and other local roads?
7. How do you propose to funnel 3 or 4 lanes of truck traffic down one left hand turning lane onto Tydeman Road, north of Stirling Bridge (the North Freo Bottleneck)?
8. How will the congestion caused by the East Freo Bottleneck and the North Freo Bottleneck affect noise levels in East Fremantle and North Fremantle?
9. Will the greenhouse gases caused by the delays at the East Freo Bottleneck and the North Freo Bottleneck be greater than, equal to, or less than the greenhouse gases expected to be saved by diesel trucks not having to go through the traffic lights on Leach Hwy?
10. Won’t existing freight rail movements impact truck congestion, given the proposed route has trucks crossing the freight rail line in North Freo? Are you considering reducing rail freight movements to avoid disruptions to truck traffic?

FREIGHT ON RAIL

1. What are the limiting factors preventing greater use of rail for container freight to the port?
2. What would be the impact on truck numbers to the port if there was a dedicated freight rail line across the river?
3. What would be the impact on truck numbers to the city if the Tier 3 rail lines were reopened?
4. What would be the impact on truck numbers if, hypothetically, the privately-run Tier 2 lines had freight tonnage costs in line with national averages, rather than much higher?
5. In 2007, then Fremantle Ports CEO, Kerry Sanderson said that one 600m double-stacked train is equal to 80 to 100 trucks. What would be involved to enable double-stacked trains to the port?
6. If high productivity vehicles (capable of carrying four TEU as opposed to the current maximum of three TEU) are permitted on the PFL, how will the government ensure that the measure does not kill freight on rail overnight?

CONSTRUCTION

1. Will Section 2 (Roe 9) of the PFL be 6 lanes or 8 lanes or a bit of both?
2. If Section 2 (Roe 9), is build across land (no tunnel), will the PFL replace existing lanes or be in addition to existing lanes on:
   1. Stock Road;
   2. Leach Highway;
   3. High Street; and
   4. Stirling Highway?
3. How will you ensure that damage to properties caused by any tunnelling is properly identified and recompensed without undue hardship to the owners?
4. If Section 1 (Roe 8) goes ahead, how many homes and commercial properties will need to be compulsorily (or otherwise) acquired?
5. If you delay Section 2 (Roe 9), but you build Section 1 (Roe 8), will you:
   1. make changes to Stock Road, North Lake Road and other roads to cope with the increased traffic from Roe 8 in accordance with the plans submitted to the EPA; or
   2. build only what is necessary for the PFL, on the assumption that Section 2 will go ahead, and if the latter, what will be the effect of the traffic from Roe 8 on those roads?
6. If you delay Section 2 (Roe 9), but you build Section 1 (Roe 8), how much money will be spent making changes to Stock Road, North Lake Road and other roads to cope with the increased traffic from Roe 8 that:
   1. wouldn’t be required for Section 2; or
   2. will need to be redone if Section 2 goes ahead?
7. How long will construction of each part of the PFL take?

COMPENSATION

1. If you compulsorily acquire homes and commercial properties, will they be valued as if the PFL was not there or as if the PFL was there or nearby?
2. What would be the difference between the two valuation methodologies, in general terms, and will you pay on the basis of the methodology which will be most advantageous to the owners?
3. If Section 2 (Roe 9), tunnel option, goes ahead, how many homes and commercial properties will need to be compulsorily (or otherwise) acquired?
4. How will the efficacy of any steps taken to reduce noise, vibration and air pollution due to this road be measured and what subsequent recourse do the communities have along the route of the PFL if these steps prove ineffective?
5. What recourse or compensation will the communities along the route of the PFL receive from the losses incurred by it being built? These could be financial loss – loss of business, devaluation of property, or health impact – loss of sleep, loss of lung capacity.

SAFETY FROM POLLUTION

1. What air quality monitoring is the government currently doing in relation to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3, sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and particles, including diesel fuel particulates, (PM10 and PM2.5)?
2. How will traffic on the PFL (in 2019 and 2031) affect air quality in the immediate vicinity?
3. How will the congestion caused by the East Freo Bottleneck and the North Freo Bottleneck affect air quality in East Fremantle and North Fremantle?
4. In 2012, diesel fuel particulates were classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a part of the World Health Organisation, as being (Group 1) carcinogenic to humans. What improved air quality monitoring will the government put in place to monitor diesel fuel particulate levels and when?
5. The City of Paris is moving to ban all diesel fuelled engines within city limits by 2020. The first changes came into effect on 1 July 2015. Why does the government consider it appropriate to bring greater numbers of diesel fuelled vehicles into Perth suburbs?
6. Will the government impose tighter vehicle emission standards in light of the increased diesel fuelled traffic that the PFL will bring into the suburbs and inner cities?
7. What vehicle emission standards are proposed?
8. How will air quality be monitored:
   1. along the PFL;
   2. in sections of the PFL that have walls;
   3. in sections of the PFL that are in a trench; and
   4. in the tunnel (if Section 2, Option 2 goes ahead)?
9. How and where will exhaust from the tunnel be released into the atmosphere?

SECRECY

1. Why has so little information been released to the public?

SOCIAL COSTS

1. With all of your arguments based on “trucks”, “freight” and “efficiency”: where do people & communities come in the order of considerations, bearing in mind that:
   1. PFL = No net safety gain – merely shifting a problem.
   2. PFL = No net decrease in diesel pollution – an actual increase.