Fatter, sicker and lonelier

Developments in the Arden Macauley precinct will bring 20 000 extra residents into North Melbourne. Ten thousand more could settle a possible new development of the rail yards between North Melbourne Rail Station and Dynon Road.

That's the same as putting a town as big as Warnambool right on the edge of Royal Park.

People need open space and sporting fields. Without them they get fatter, sicker and lonelier. Recreation is proven to be good for mental health, reduces obesity and builds social cohesion.

Good clubs create positive peer pressure. They help people build self-respect and create opportunities to be part of a community.

The tunnel builders claim to be "linking Melbourne". Community sport in places like Royal Park already connects people. The tunnel threatens those connections.

Royal Park draws people from surrounding suburbs to its great sporting fields and natural wonders.

Its bushland is an airport for migratory birds. Ancient gum trees, old when Burke and Wills set off for their misadventure, still stand tall.

The East West Tunnel doesn't just destroy sporting fields in Royal Park. It also rips through open space in Moreland and Moonee Valley.

The knock-on effect of loses in surrounding municipalitieswill be to increase competition for what open space and sporting fields remain in Royal Park.

There just won't be enough to go round.

Five years of disruption and displacement during tunnel construction will play havoc with the financial viability of community clubs.

The Victorian Government will force communities into bitter contests between passive and active recreational use in remaining parkland.