RESIDENTS from across the WestCONnex route will come together on Sunday 6 December for UPROOTED, a family picnic and tree-wrapping event to highlight the community destruction the $16.8 billion toll road would cause.

UPROOTED is being organised by WestCONnex Action Group (WAG), and will involve three simultaneous events in Haberfield, St Peters and Kingsgrove.

“People are furious that the Baird Government wants to destroy so much of our precious green space, parklands, homes and communities for the WestCONnex toll road,” said WAG spokesperson Pauline Lockie.

“Scores of forcibly acquired homes, businesses and buildings in St Peters are to be destroyed for WestCONnex. This would devastate our small and close-knit community and irreparably damage the fabric of our local area.

“Sydney Park, where our local UPROOTED event will be held, is also slated for WestCONnex destruction. A huge chunk of this precious and much-loved family park will be bulldozed to widen Campbell and Euston Roads to a staggering 6-7 lanes. Hundreds of trees, including the mature paperbarks that line these roads in Sydney Park, will be destroyed.

“Sydney Park and suburbs like St Peters, Alexandria, Newtown, Mascot and Tempe will be dwarfed by WestCONnex’s massive spaghetti interchange and poison stacks if this toll road is built.

“And for what? Even the Baird Government’s own figures show WestCONnex will make congestion on many of our local streets worse, not better, with an extra 50,000 cars predicted on Euston Road alone.

“And because people won’t pay $6 tolls on the old and new M5 to drive straight into an inner-city traffic jam, this taxpayer-funded toll road would be a massive financial failure.

“This event will give our community a chance to stand with affected residents across Sydney to tell Premier Baird we won’t be UPROOTED for his secretive and destructive WestCONnex toll road.

“We’ll be wrapping blue ribbons in WestCONnex’s corporate colours around trees and heritage homes to symbolise our protection, and raise awareness of what would be lost if this $16.8 billion toll road is built. 

“We can stop this disgusting waste of taxpayer funds and destruction. And we encourage everyone to join us at UPROOTED on Sunday 6 December to stand up for our local environment and community.”

Media contacts: Pauline Lockie 0414 470 106, Janet Dandy-Ward 0411 633 676

Event URL: http://www.westconnexactiongroup.org.au/uprooted_family_picnic_tree_wrapping