13th November, 2024.
Welcome to Wilton, the heart of what developers promised would be a 30‑minute city, alleging we can go about our daily tasks within 30 minutes. Last week in one of the most fun ways to deal with a frustrating situation, we gathered locals together to have a not‑so‑amazing race. Imagine, if members will, an amazing race, but a race to get everyone to core locations that are expected in a 30‑minute city. Spoiler alert: There are no hospitals, high schools, clubs, universities, or work hubs that are local; nor can we get to the airport, new or old, within 30 minutes.
Each of us took on a persona, jumped in a range of vehicles—private, public and active transport—and off we went on our journeys. Dan and I drove to the airport. We are often promised everything with the new airport, but we get the negatives and none of the positives. As we drove this route through Wollondilly on roads that have a shared status between the State and council, we passed through our beautiful towns and villages, which are just that—towns and villages. They are not ready to cater for the infrastructure needs for the airport plonked on our doorstep without consideration for the new communities moving in, let alone the existing ones. I reached the closed gates of our newest gateway to the world in over an hour. Amazingly it takes less time to fly from Sydney to Melbourne now, which is total madness.
Bev Spearpoint headed to the bus stop in Wilton to catch public transport to the club. She had to call a friend to pick her up, because of all the bus services in Wollondilly only two are private services to take people around. She could not decipher the QR code timetable, nor could she guarantee that if a bus arrived it would have disability access. I know there is a promise for new buses, that the review taskforce recommended new buses, and that the developers are now promising their own bus services. But right now, even if you have a ticket to ride, they do not care because the services are not there. Door to door, it took Bev 80 minutes for a 20‑minute trip, and that is only after being helped by a friend. If anyone wants to meet up with their friends, they better leave early, and good luck getting back home!
Louise Edgecombe was off to the University of Wollongong. It is one of the closest to Wilton but is still a long trip. There is no public transport for those students and Picton Road is packed day to day with huge trucks constantly transporting freight and cars from Port Kembla. If only we had a government-owned link using the partially constructed bridges from, say, Maldon to Dombarton? I am being cynical, of course, but it is not a joke. That road is deadly and it is not something our students should risk using over and over. With the trip taking 40 minutes door to door, plus taking into account cost of travel and no viable public transport, it is no wonder the university struggles to place students in face‑to‑face vital services such as health and science.
Noel Lowry was on his bike once again, this time to go to the office in Tahmoor. While Wilton and the new developments in Wollondilly have amazing bike paths, there is no viable way to connect Wilton to the rest of Wollondilly. It is blocked by bridges that have no safe pathways for bike riders, unless they take up a full car width. With the steep hills and bridge over the Nepean, poor Noel was stranded on the Wilton side and had to return. That is the issue with all the new developments: there is a beautiful suburb that connects to nothing—no sewer or major infrastructure.
Benn Banasik and Carly Bibb went off for their appointments at Bowral Hospital. It is promised to take 30 minutes, but do not rely on that. It took those two over 50 minutes and they missed their appointment. It is lucky that she was not having a baby. The services in Bowral are improving. I hope for a new clinical services plan. The new equipment will be great and it will be even better with additional beds, but will someone get there within 30 minutes from our growth area? It is just not going to happen. That more than anything shows the need for the outreach services to plant the seed for what our community will need in future. I thank Dan Ilic, Carly Bibb, Bev Spearpoint, Noel Lowry, Louise Edgecombe and Benn Banasik for agreeing to put on some costumes and have some fun filming the not-so-amazing race. We did not hit on all the other services that are missing, but perhaps watch this space for the sequel. Spoiler alert: I will be fighting for the infrastructure now so the race and the towns get much more amazing.