Federal Labor announced on Wednesday that they would invest $500 million into Brisbane City Council's Northern Link tunnel, while the Fedearl Coalition has promised even more.

The tunnel will run from the inner-city bypass in Milton to the roundabout at Toowong where Milton Road meets the Western Freeway.

Claims that the tunnel will reduce traffic on Milton Road and Coronation Drive are unfounded, and the proposal is likely to lead to increased traffic congestion on the Western Freeway, Hale Street and the Inner City Bypass, and most other connecting roads.

Overall, congestion will increase as a result of this short-sighted and ignorant proposal. It will do the opposite of what the proponents claim, just as road tunnels have failed in Sydney.

The North South Bypass Tunnel (currently under construction) will lead to increased congestion on Lutwyche Road, Shafston Avenue, Wellington Road, Ipswich Road, O'Keefe Street, the Southeast Freeway, Northey Street and Newmarket Road.

The Airport Link tunnel (currently in the tendering stage) will lead to increased congestion on Stafford Road, Gympie Road, the East-West Arterial, Bowen Bridge Road, Campbell Street and St Pauls Terrace. It will also exacerbate the traffic problems on Newmarket Road caused by the North-South tunnel.

The supposed traffic reduction "benefits" on Lutwyche Road are illusionary as the Airport Link will simply take some of the cars off Lutwyche road that will be spewing out of the North-South tunnel. Lutwyche Road would be better off without either tunnel and with money instead invested into more buses and bus lanes on Lutwyche/Gympie road or a light rail link to Chermside. The Airtrain should also be brought back into public ownership.

Similarly traffic increases on Cornoation Drive and Milton Road which the Northern Link tunnel will supposedly "fix" will be created by the operation of the controversial Hale Street Bridge.

The +$700 million of government funding that will go into the Northern Link should be invested in improved public transport services in Western Brisbane such as buying more trains for the Western Line, upgrading tracks, extending rail lines (Darra to Springfield to Ipswich), providing more feeder buses to train stations and local shops. Light rail should also be considered. Cost effective improvements to public transport such as Transit lanes should also be implemented immediately on Coronation Drive and Milton Road to ensure Brisbane people are rewarded for making responsible transport choices.

Road freight should be reduced by investing federal money into Southeast Queensland's freight rail network to get dangerous trucks off the road and goods onto rail.

Improvements are also urgently needed to walking and cycling infrastructure in the area, including more bike paths, more bike lanes, wider and better pedestrian connections and pedestian priority at traffic lights.

The decision by Federal Labor and the Coalition to support this proposal shows their total hypocrisy on climate change and demonstrates their inability to provide affordable transport options for people as petrol prices hits new highs.

The justification that Federal investment will lead to "affordable tolls" is absolute rubbish, just as government subsidisation of the Airport Link and North-South Bypass tunnel will not lead to "affordable tolls" ($8.20 return for each).

Driving is the most expensive mode of urban commuter transport, and if politicians want to reduce household transport costs they need to give people better alternatives, rather than keeping them car dependent.

Increased traffic on the Western Freeway, Hale Street, and across the whole Brisbane area will lead to more road accidents and fatalities, and driving in tunnels is also a very unsafe evidenced by tunnel crashes in Melbourne and all across the world.

The Greens and the Democrats have publicly opposed Federal funding of the Northern Link tunnel and have again demonstrated that they understand Brisbane's transport system far better than Labor or the Coalition. Socialist Alliance have actively opposed the North-South and Airport Link tunnel and should be expected to oppose the Northern Link.

Contact the following politicians to let them know how foolish their decision is –

Martin Ferguson – Shadow Transport Minister martin.ferguson.mp@aph.gov.au

Mark Vaile – Transport Minister Mark.Vaile.MP@aph.gov.au