Myth - Option 1 Respects the HeritageOption 1 will place a high, wide arterial road through Thompson Square and funnel through traffic (including large double D trucks) through this important civic space. On the 18 October, 2012, the three local members, Messrs Williams, Conolly and Bassett, all proclaimed in Parliament that the heritage would restored, and even enhanced. Mr Conolly even stated the we now had the opportunity to "...restore the square to its original shape and move the traffic from the middle of the square down along one side following the alignment of Bridge Street, which was the traditional access to the bridge." However Bridge St was never the original alignment to the bridge. When Governor Macquarie formalised Thompson Square in 1811 no road was marked as running through it and subsequent roads running through the square regularly changed their alignment, often being little more than dirt tracks for horses and carts. (Read more on the Precedent Argument below.)
Further, the Heritage Council of NSW has stated, in a letter to the RTA dated 9 September 2011, that: Option 1 is, “likely to have a long term irrevocable and negative impact on Windsor as a whole and Thompson Square in particular.” Every heritage group, including consultants hired by the Government, state categorically that the impacts on heritage will be significant. Read more here. The Precedent Argument. ![]()
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