The State Government would be unwise to erase the Fremantle Eastern Bypass road reserve from the Metropolitan Region Scheme.
It would be premature to do so until the Government’s preferred freight routes to the port are in operation and are shown to be sustainable.
The new Freight Network Strategy is controversial and dependent on a number of unknowns.
Nonetheless, industry wants to help make the Freight Network Strategy work.
This will require tighter logistical management of freight movements.
It will also require federal funding for a North Quay rail loop, which is not guaranteed, and eventually the development of outer harbour container facilities at Kwinana to cope with growth pressures on the main Fremantle port.