FEATURE 9 IIt’s no secret that Parramatta is on the rise but if you need proof just take a look around at what’s happening with the city’s development, infrastructure and its skyline. A state-of-the-art 30,000-seat stadium, the largest museum in NSW, one of the country’s biggest urban renewal projects, an urban road transformation program, and direct connections to the rest of Australia and the world via a nearby airport are just some of the new projects that will continue to transform the city. The ‘build it and they will come’ attitude seems to be working, with Parramatta’s population forecast to grow by over 50 per cent between now and 2036 to almost 400,000 people. Even independent think tank The Committee for Sydney recognises the importance of the western suburbs’ city and has proposed building a fast train link from the Sydney CBD to Parramatta, to create tens of thousands of new jobs. In a report released earlier this year, The Committee argues that Metro West has the potential to be a game-changing transport investment, and assessed scenarios focusing on travel times between Parramatta and Sydney CBD of 15, 20 and 25 minutes. It found that under every scenario there would be an increase in new jobs across the route, with 45,000 additional jobs created under the 15-minute model. Chief Executive Officer Eamon Waterford said the Sydney Metro West would be city-shaping. “With a fast journey to Parramatta, it will support the NSW Government’s vision of rebalancing jobs from the eastern Sydney CBD towards the Central River City focused on greater Parramatta and, in future, the Western Parkland City,” he said.