Traffic around North Richmond Bridge is nearly always a nightmare—no less so this week with floods. The people on either side of the bridge have made it clear to me that what they want with the planned duplication of the bridge is a bypass. Of the more than 700 responses I've so far received seeking input into the proposed options, three-quarters of them are calling for a bypass. They want a route that goes north or south of the existing inadequate bridge and goes around—not through—Richmond and North Richmond. More than half want the North Richmond southern bypass route and the other 20 per cent want the northern bypass. The other options were much less preferred.

I provided the New South Wales RMS project team with an overview of the responses I've received and some of the themes that have emerged. As one resident wrote:

Of the proposals presented, the North Richmond southern bypass route is the only one with some merit. The prime aim of an additional bridge near North Richmond should be to divert as much existing and future traffic as possible away from the townships of North Richmond and Richmond by way of a bypass route.

Another said:

Only the southern bypass will be effective in stopping the terrible traffic congestion in North Richmond in peak hour.

There were, of course, other views, such as this one, for example:

The Southern bypass route does not make sense, considering all the development proposed for the north side of North Richmond off Terrace Rd. People bought in Redbank development not expecting the southern proposal.

This is a project that is funded to the tune of $200 million by the federal government, supported by Labor, with a small contribution from the New South Wales government. My fear is that, in spite of the process of consultation, the decision will ultimately be based on budget, and, seriously, what can you build for a bit over $200 million in a flood-prone area? As we've seen in the last few days with the bridge going under in the flood, it is a crucial access point. Certainly, there are calls in the feedback I received for it to be as flood resilient as the Jim Anderson Bridge that state Labor constructed decades ago—the last new bridge to be completed in the area. Strong preference reflected in the comments many people made was to have a sustainable, long-term approach, including a genuine bypass rather than a duplication. We received comments like: 'The bridge needs to have enough lanes for the growing population,' and 'Don't make it a ban