In a phone interview I conducted with Mary Baker, the manager of communications for the City Link Authority, she told me councils do not have any guidelines for the construction of noise barriers. The State Government has guidelines relating to noise reduction, but not to relating to the appearance of noise barriers. Ms Baker said there could not be predetermined guidelines because the appearance is determined by the area they are in. However OCED Road Transport Research in their report into Roadside Noise Abatement claim that in Australia one of the official specifications for noise barriers is that "The barrier must be acceptable from an aesthetic point of view"

When asked if the appearance of the noise barriers was a major issue for the developers, Ms Baker replied that it was a major issue for the state. She said after initial consultation with the community it was decided that not enough had been done, so the state funded the installation of transparent panels into the walls. Ms Baker said quiet noise surfaces were included in the design, but stressed they were only a small part of noise management.

According to Ms Baker, councils and Transurban had good relations along the entire City Link project. She admitted consultation with residents was difficult, but did not see the fact the community feedback dates being held over the 1997 Christmas period as a cause for concern. Ms Baker said the community consultation was held over an extended period of time and several attempts were made. She said many of the residents’ comments were inappropriate, but believed most were taken into consideration and amendments made accordingly.

Ms Baker claimed that as part of the urban design the noise barriers are intended to tell a story as you move into the city, so their appearance was carefully designed and varies as you move along the tollway. She said some landscaping was still to be carried out so appearance was not yet fully complete. Ms Baker said some residents near the barriers had expressed their concern that landscaping on the outside of the walls had not yet been carried out, and they were worried it might not be carried out at all.

Many areas along the Western Link had problems created by the pre-existing Tullamarine Freeway. However Ms Baker believed that some areas around Melbourne had been improved by increased accessibility and faster travel times as a result of the project. She also admitted that there were some areas which had problems with the size of the noise barriers as well as loss of views.

The State funded the installation of transparent panels in the City Link barriers

The Barriers are intended to tell a story as you move into the city