With the North Ryde Station Precinct DCP in place further to many years of planning, we were engaged by Urban Growth to undertake a critical review of the transport and planning background to the DCP, and then the refinement of development across the Precinct.
This required consultation with City of Ryde Council, TfNSW and the Department of Planning & Environment over 3 years; a critical review of the traffic modelling, public transport and pedestrian/cycle infrastructure proposals/strategies upon which the Precinct was ultimately approved for development; and then a detailed assessment of site-specific DA proposals to ensure that they ‘fit’ within that ‘approvable’ framework.
Key refinements resulting from the assessment related to the provision of access to the local road network from the various Precinct ‘sites’; an upgraded schedule for the allocations of millions of dollars to broader road and intersection upgrades; and the development of a Public Transport Facilities Plan incorporating all public and active transport strategies into a single coherent plan, linking Places within and outside the Precinct. arc traffic + transport was also instrumental in the design and location of the active transport bridge over Delhi Road, a prime example of Movement & Place in one.
A significant project. Perhaps the key issues relating to the redevelopment of the old ABC Site at Gore Hill was establishing the parameters by which a Technology Business Park could be developed without having significant impacts on the surrounding traffic and parking environment, while at the same time providing a sustainable level of on-site parking.
A previous consent for the Site – championed by Council - significantly limited the provision of on-site parking, effectively restricting the potential car driver percentage to less than 25%, while at the same time providing infrastructure upgrades to the road network based on ‘standard’ traffic generation rates, i.e. rates that account for car driver percentages of 60% - 70%
A site that does not provide a standard level of parking will not generate a standard level of traffic generation; certainly it can generate a standard level of traffic generation to a broader area – perhaps including a site and surrounding on-street parking – but limited on-site parking means that employees are simply unable to drive to the site, thereby increasing travel by other modes. But in St Leonards, where the underlying mode to car driver was more than 60%, for the Site to provide for less than 25% car driver was simply unrealistic.
The traffic assessments successfully provided for an increase in the provision of parking on-site to a sustainable level, while also implementing numerous strategies to reduce car dependency to a realistic level.
A large unused site, earmarked for many years for recreational purposes, good connectivity to the local and sub-regional road network, the possibility of a future rail link – what could possibly go wrong!
This was a challenging project simply as a function of the characteristics of a large netball centre – over the course of an hour, vehicle trips are concentrated to significant arrival peaks in the 20 minutes before a ‘game start time’ and then a significant departure peak in the 10 – 15 minutes after the end of games; with 40 courts, we’re talking a lot of traffic!
There need to be trade-offs for development such as these, given the substantial infrastructure required to manage operating peaks (not only road/intersection infrastructure of course, but parking as well) would be largely unused at other times. Finding the right balance is the key.
In additional, the upgrade of The Northern Road (directly adjacent to the Site) also required detailed consideration; finding significant issues with the modelling conducted for the upgrade was not a good start.
Notwithstanding, appropriate consultation with key stakeholders (Council and the RMS) led by ARC laid the groundwork for a solution that appropriately provided for the peak Site activity demands while maintaining good levels of service at key intersections through all weekday and weekend peak periods, and a level of parking provision that at all times meets peak demands.
This project provided for the upgrade and extension of the Catherine McCauley and Marist High Schools in Darcy Road, Westmead, including a new primary school and pre-school and significant new access and parking infrastructure both on and off-site.
The assessment was grounded in comprehensive surveys, including traffic and parking surveys and student and teacher travel mode surveys, as well as research into the new traffic generation components of the Site. It necessarily also had to account for existing and future local traffic generators – most particularly the ever-expanding Westmead Hospital.
Traditional SIDRA intersection modelling of the key intersections through Westmead was accompanied by WITNESS, a micro-simulation model that recorded and assigned all of the variables within a local traffic/transportation network and the way each interacted with the other to provide what is essentially a ‘video’ of what actually occurs and what will occur in the future.
This required consultation with City of Ryde Council, TfNSW and the Department of Planning & Environment over 3 years; a critical review of the traffic modelling, public transport and pedestrian/cycle infrastructure proposals/strategies upon which the Precinct was ultimately approved for development; and then a detailed assessment of site-specific DA proposals to ensure that they ‘fit’ within that ‘approvable’ framework.
Car parking in the Coffs Harbour CBD (and indeed across the LGA) has historically been plentiful, provided in close proximity to destinations, and free; however, with the CBD destined to become a vibrant and desirable place in and of itself, developing and adopting and indeed adapting equitable and sustainable parking strategies now will be a key factor in shaping the CBD so that it can grow to its full potential.
Parking is also intrinsically tied with traffic generation; analysis of travel modes for those journeying to the City Centre indicates that private vehicle trips are by far and away the dominant mode of choice, with no significant generation of public or active transport trips. This is partly a factor of the lack of residential development within or immediately adjacent to the CBD, but moreover over the result of poor transport options where [for example] a trip from one of the northern suburbs can take 3 – 4 times as long by bus as opposed to car.
Critically, the provision of public and active transport options must therefore be prioritised as part of any parking strategy to ensure mobility equality; it is essential that no one is ‘priced out’ or otherwise displaced further to proposed parking strategies without providing an equitable alternative.
As Principal Transport Consultant at Ason Group, Anton also developed parking management strategies for consideration by Council and the community, including the positioning of new car parks outside of the CBD, new parking restrictions, the potential introduction of paid parking and also parking monitoring systems.
What to do with the former IBM Site at 55 Coonara Avenue, Castle Hill? Once a significant commercial site, since IBM relocated only a portion of the Site’s floorspace was utilised, and little chance of returning to peak occupancy. However, with the arrival of Metro North West and moreover Cherrybrook Station within 800m of the Site, the opportunity arose for the rezoning of the Site to provide for residential development.
A key part of the assessment was the ‘benchmark’ established by the existing (and past) commercial operations of the Site; with some 1,600 parking spaces, the Site generates a significant number of vehicle trips in the commuter peak periods even at half capacity.
And trip rates? Sites within 800m of rail/metro stations generation significantly few vehicle trips in the peak periods than sites outside of 800m, but it was noted that the walk to Cherrybrook Station was significantly uphill.
While noting that the walk home would therefore be downhill (!) detailed research into the relative distances that residents will walk to rail/metro was also undertaken, noting of course that someone living 801m from a station is just as likely to walk as someone living 799m from the station.
Using appropriate trips rates, even the highest residential yield scenarios were found to generate fewer trips than the Site under commercial usage. However, the distribution of residential trips differs from commercial distribution; whereas commercial usage generates primarily arrival trips in the AM peak, residential generates primarily departure trips (and vice versa in the PM peak). As such, detailed modelling of key intersections was required to demonstrate that the residential proposal could be appropriately provided for by the local road network.
While Principal Transport Consultant at Ason Group, Anton worked in close consultation with Coffs Harbour City Council in the development of a broader ranging Opportunities & Constraints Report to inform the Coffs Harbour Transport Strategy.
While the ultimate Strategy will guide the development of a connected, sustainable and thriving compact Regional City, the O&C Report was essential to initially identify future growth and employment centres, key drivers, destinations and future land use patterns; providing a comparison with other regional cities with regard to demographics and transport planning innovations; identifying trends and innovations coming to Coffs; and providing summary of key traffic and transport opportunities and constraints in Coffs, specifically referencing the Placemaking, Movement & Place and Compact City planning frameworks.
The O&C Report focused on the 6 key precincts within the broader City, and examined the way in which each could be developed to meet key expectations and priorities in line with broader Council policies and strategies, including high density residential precincts, opportunities provided by the Coffs Harbour Bypass, improving public and active transport opportunities and of course growing social, employment and business opportunities in a sustainable manner.
The Penrith Homemaker Centre is one of the largest bulky goods and homewares sites in western Sydney, and further to significant residential growth across the region, an expansion of the Centre was inevitable.
Along with the increase in floorspace and parking, the proposal also provided for the realignment of Wolseley Road, a short section of public road leading into the Centre from Mulgoa Road.
Therein lay a twist; Roads & Maritime chose the same moment to unveil funded plans for the upgrade of Mulgoa Road, which had significant implications for Site access at the key intersection of Mulgoa Road & Wolseley Road, which for years had operated by a tunnel (the Mousehole!) providing for the critical right turn movement to the Site from the north.
The assessment required a range of traffic, parking and pedestrian surveys across different weekly demand peaks; the development of a distribution model which accounted for the proposed changes within the internal access road network and parking locations; and, of course, consultation and coordination with Roads & Maritime and Penrith City Council to determine what the Mulgoa Road Upgrade would mean for the design and operation of local intersections.