A LOCAL man who has created his own website arguing against the duplication of the Great Western Highway from Lithgow to Katoomba says Member for Bathurst Paul Toole won't meet with him.
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Mr Toole's office, however, says a number of meetings have already been held, including with Mr Toole and the Transport for NSW Project Team.
Chris O'Rourke is advocating for an investment in rail, not road, in the Blue Mountains - specifically, a European-style "rolling highway" in which cars and trucks roll on and off flat bed rail wagons at the beginning and end of a journey.
His idea is for the rolling highway to have terminals at Marrangaroo, near Lithgow, and St Marys, though he says it would also be possible to make minor alterations to the existing intermodal at Rooty Hill.
Mr O'Rourke says he does not have a professional background in transport but has been collating and presenting the work of professionals to government for a long time.
"I've been requesting a meeting with my local member [Mr Toole, who is Minister for Regional Transport] for over two months," he said.
"I want to discuss with him some key aspects of the proposed dual carriageway from Lithgow to Katoomba. Last week his staffer finally phoned me to say that my MP would not meet with me."
Mr O'Rourke said Transport for NSW, meanwhile, had provided "little meaningful response" to the many questions he had been asking since November last year, including the final bill for the highway duplication and whether the trip from Katoomba to Lapstone will actually be slower after the work because there is more traffic and congestion on the road.
He said Mr Toole and Transport for NSW should be prepared to defend their decision publicly and explain why it is better than the alternatives.
In response, Mr Toole's office told the Advocate that Mr O'Rourke has had "numerous meetings, phone calls and correspondence regarding the Great Western Highway upgrade from Katoomba to Lithgow".
"This has included a meeting with the minister, a meeting with the local member's staffer, a meeting with the Transport for NSW Project Team (29/5/2020), and multiple discussions with the minister's policy adviser, even one in the past few weeks," Mr Toole's office said.
"Mr O'Rourke has made a number of suggestions with respect to issues both within and outside of the scope of the upgrade, which have been responded to.
"The Great Western Highway upgrade includes extensive and ongoing community consultation.
"Mr O'Rourke, like anyone interested in the project, has been encouraged to provide feedback or commentary through this process."
The duplication of the Great Western Highway from Lithgow to Katoomba, which was announced in Bathurst in the lead-up to the 2019 state election, has $2.5 billion committed to it by the NSW Government so far.
Small businesses in Bathurst and Lithgow have formed a group, the Western Link, to encourage support for a quicker, safer and more reliable route from the Central West to western Sydney.
