They build a suburb, then find the buses don't fit (Sydney Morning Herald)
Glenmore Park, opened in 1990, was designed without consideration for public transport, an urban planning expert says. The bus company serving the area says it is difficult to manoeuvre around, and residents say buses are infrequent and unreliable.
Macquarie Park rail links don't add up (Sydney Morning Herald)
A GOVERNMENT plan to make Macquarie Park the fourth-largest CBD in Australia, behind Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, may be undermined by the NSW cabinet's decision to dump the North West Rail Link.
Concentrate Sydney, Parramatta is talking to you (Penrith City Star)
People with jobs in Parramatta are attracted to relocate to Parramatta’s surrounding suburbs in order to enjoy reduced daily commuting times, take advantage of cheaper housing compared to suburbs further east, and enjoy Parramatta’s increasingly cosmopolitan lifestyle.
Recycled water system takes off (Campbelltxown Macarthur Advertiser)
MOST new housing estates being built around Macarthur and Liverpool will be equipped with infrastructure that allows recycled water to be used for toilet flushing and watering the garden.
New buses added to M2 route (ABC News)
The New South Wales Government has announced 20 new buses on one of Sydney's busiest bus routes, the M2 corridor.
Think outside the square (Penrith Press)
This is the simple message to government and business delivered by Penrith Mayor Greg Davies at the recent Sydney The Other City two-day conference in Penrith. He warned of a looming crisis in western Sydney if public transport infrastructure, job creation and housing needs were left unaddressed.
Sustainability must start in cities (The Age)
In Sydney our work showed that reductions could be achieved most effectively by bringing power generation to the city.
Werrington green lighted (Western Weekender)
Werrington has come of age, moving into the 21st century with Sydney’s first railway station powered by renewable energy.
Rail plan gathers pace (Inner-West Weekly)
As fuel prices reach record highs, campaigners say extending the Lilyfield light rail services an additional 6km along the Rozelle freight line through Haberfield and Summer Hill is a "no brainer".
Iemma hunts for metro troubleshooter (Sydney Morning Herald)
WITH work on the $12 billion North West Metro about to begin, the State Government has shortlisted four international firms for the job of "shadow operator".
Concrete wins green stars (Selector.com)
Being awarded the prestigious two Green Stars recognises Hanson’s green concrete as a viable environmentally-friendly alternative and is increasingly sought-out by builders involved in ‘sustainable living’ projects. That includes Abigroup, who are pouring 45,000m³ of the concrete for their $345 million development project; “The Village” in Balgowlah, on Sydney’s northern beaches.
Minister rules out road congestion tax (News.com.au)
THE NSW Government has ruled out a congestion tax for Sydney, in response to a report which predicts a major surge in peak-time traffic for the city's already clogged roads.
Stuck in traffic? Get used to it, Sydney (Sydney Morning Herald)
THE equivalent of 14 Lane Cove tunnels would need to be built every year for the next five years just to stop traffic getting any worse, a study by the University of Sydney has found.
It's a two-car city, despite rising costs (Sydney Morning Herald)
Despite soaring petrol prices and rising road tolls, the number of households in Sydney with two or more cars has climbed to more than 635,000, a breakdown of census figures shows.
No bendy-buses but 'no problems' (Sydney Morning Herald)
The State Transit Authority claims Sydney's bus network is holding up well, despite the withdrawal of 80 bendy buses.
Congestion tax for drivers (Sydney Morning Herald)
SYDNEY'S ever-worsening traffic congestion could be dramatically eased if a congestion tax averaging 10 cents a kilometre were introduced throughout the road network, transport experts say.
Sydney's rental squeeze 'worsening' (ABC News)
New figures show Sydney's rental crisis has worsened with the vacancy rate now below 1 per cent.
Rail transport's future bold (Parramatta Advertiser)
TRAINS from Parramatta to Dee Why have been backed by Parramatta Council in a bold transport vision for Sydney.
Rail revamp 'to meet growing demand' (ABC News)
The New South Wales Government is revamping CityRail services in a bid to reduce overcrowding. From next month, an additional fast service from the city to Penrith will be put on in the evening and extra carriages will be added to other services.
Cool reception for extra services (Sydney Morning Herald)
COMMUTERS on Sydney's crowded trains are unlikely to notice much improvement when the Government adds a few extra peak-hour services, a public transport group has warned.
The $1bn toll bribe that bought Labor votes (Sydney Morning Herald)
THE Carr government knew in October 1996, when it announced its Cashback scheme to repay motorists' tolls on the M4 and M5, that it could cost taxpayers $962 million - but it did it anyway.
Big brother satellites to put brakes on speeders (Sydney Morning Herald)
A NEW speed detection system that acts like a police officer inside your car is being tested in NSW in the hope it will help cut the number of road fatalities.
Roads audit after M5, Spit debacles (Sydney Morning Herald)
The NSW government has commissioned an independent audit into sections of Sydney's road network, after technical problems left motorists stranded in Sydney's north and south this week.
METRO//NEWS - 26 June 2008
TRANSPORT//COLLOQUIUM
While commuters complain about congestion and lack of roads, environmentalists cry foul as jet fuel usage increases. This week's //SMOKESTACK// looks at the people who are doing something about it at the 8th Annual BITRE Transport Colloquium.
Last week the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) held its 8th annual Transport Colloquium in Canberra. The annual colloquium's theme this year was Australian Transport - Building Capacity and Competitiveness. The bureau was recently renamed to include the Australian Government's focus on infrastructure, so I guess we can expect to see Infrastructure Colloquiums (colloquia?) in coming years, but for now the bureau presents some of Australia's top minds to look at national transport issues.
The colloquium was opened by Anthony Albanese, Minister for Transport, and the keynote speaker was Professor Ken Button, Director of the Centre for Transportation Policy, Operations and Logistics, Virginia USA. The topics included aviation growth, supply chain efficiency, emissions, climate change, industry skill gaps and transport security. Of more significant interest to FDS were presentations on airport urban integration, transport infrastructure and urban public transport and freight.
With inner Sydney's ongoing airport noise and congestion issues, it was refreshing to hear some expert opinion about integrating airport planning into local and regional planning. With Sydney airport becoming so much more commercialised since privatisation, it has diversified into other non-aviation related areas such as parking, property, advertising, investment and, of course, retail. It's bid to put a new shopping and business park into the space between runways was shut down last year only because of noise issues. It really has become, as one speaker put it, a shopping mall with runways. Professor Douglas Baker, from the School of Urban Development in the Queensland University of Technology, suggested major urban airports in metropolitan areas should work with local and state governments to produce an Airport Area Plan and an independent tribunal should be set up to adjudicate planning disagreements. When asked about a second airport in Sydney, Brad Geatches said that existing airports should be developed to their full potential before adding new airports. I'd say that too if I was CEO of Perth Airport.
On the topic of the Australian Government's move into the world of infrastructure Professor Bill Russell, from the Australasian Centre for the Governance and Management of Urban Transport at Melbourne Uni, said it was appropriate given the state of national infrastructure and the effects of bottlenecks on the national economy. Although he did raise some good points about the Australian Government's lack of experience in the industry and the need for freight to be prioritised before passengers. He also made a point about the $20bn Building Australia Fund and the high quality of transport infrastructure in Perth. He said, with the WA Government doing such a good job with transport infrastructure, why should the eastern states, who failed to produce equally good results, get all the cash? I think this argument fails to take into account the imbalance of population and productivity condensed into the eastern centres. Clearly these states' infrastructure needs to be improved for the good of the country, regardless of bad governance or neglect on the part of the relevant governments. Still, it's not looking like a good day for WA. The Federal Government's new Major Cities Unit will focus on PT and infrastructure in cities and work closely with Infrastructure Australia to look for ways to facilitate metropolitan life and productivity. BITRE figures estimate the cost of congestion will be around $20bn by 2020 and an investment of the same amount of money now to ease the problem before it takes hold is well advised. I fully support the Feds for jumping into the arena and look forward to seeing the work get started.
The discussion on public transport and congestion was the most interesting for me. There was a broad range of topics and ideas but a few strong themes emerged. The key words in public transport (or PT in the transpo lingo) were priority, frequency, capacity, accessibility and connectivity. Everyone agreed that the debate over PT versus roads was moot and unhelpful. Buses need roads, freight needs roads. PT reduces cars on the road, which increases the reliability of our freight and buses. Trains are just downright expensive but at least they're independent of the freight-bus-car mess.
All the PT speakers touched on the need for more live, kerbside information to the travelling public. Heather Webster, from the South Australian Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure said one of the major barriers to increasing PT mode share was that people didn't know where, when or how to get on! Suggestions included live electronic displays at all bus stops, SMS and web services, elimination of timetables in favour of frequent services and enhanced route bookends. This last point was very interesting. She was referring to the idea of whole route planning - that is, if I want to catch a bus I have to walk to the nearest bus stop, catch the bus, get off the bus at the other end and walk to my final destination. The bookends refer to the walks at either end of the trip and making sure they are smooth and safe. This means clearly marking bus and train stops, making them highly accessible, providing as much live info as possible and putting them where people need them. Speakers also noted the need to enhance bus stops, even calling them bus stations, and giving them the same status as train stations instead of a rotten wooden bench and a yellow sign. Other ideas were fairly straightforward - add more park and ride car-parks near PT, improve PTIPS, better weekend services, routes that aren't all radial (with the CBD at the hub) and facilitating cycling and walking in the inner city.
One point I feel wasn't emphasised enough was marketing. If the government doesn't laud the benefits of buses and trains then who will? Me? Sure, but who else? Without any other input, the travelling population starts to feed off its own rumour mill - repeating and embellishing horror stories of trains breaking down on the Harbour Bridge and 90-minute bus rides from Dee Why to the city. We are living in a world of environmental awareness, rocketing fuel prices, and congestion. There has never been a better time to facilitate the move to public transport. Let's not squander this opportunity by reducing excise on petrol for inner city commuters.
The highlight of the colloquium for me was the presentation from Professor David Hensher from the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at Sydney Uni, who argued that a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was the best option for Sydney and that there was too much focus on rail trunks. He argued that while the city wasn't dense enough for a major metro trunk he felt increasing the density of the city wasn't the answer either. An increased use of buses as more than just feeders for rail lines to the city would be the best way to service outer Sydney. His vision was for continuous bus lanes connecting city centres like Parramatta, Liverpool, Penrith and Chatswood to each other in a branching network system instead of corridors. This idea really appeals to me because it makes best use of the roads, that run a triple shift servicing PT, cars and freight. Having bus routes connect nodes makes use of less travelled routes in rush hour, leaves the radial CBD routes to mass-transit rail, allows more employment closer to home and facilitates all those other daily trips we do like the shopping and picking up the kids from after-school care.
Professor Hensher suggested that PT uptake only increases as car attractiveness falls. He suggested converting bus lanes to 'non-car lanes' to allow freight to use these lanes too. One problem with that suggestion is the lack of bus stop bays. I'd hate to be a truckie stopping behind a busy bus every 400 metres! He also suggested super-tolls - restricted lanes that incur a higher toll for those who are willing to pay. This would allow some users to pay for a faster trip, while taking them out of the general traffic lanes and improving flow there too. I think some of these 'outside the box' ideas are a great idea and would resonate with commuters. My own idea is for companies to start offering subsidised PT travel instead of corporate vehicles in salary packages and increasing the use of cabcharges for travel through the day, not just going home after dark.
His ideas on planning were to integrate all transport planning into a single department and focus on holistic route planning instead of building disjointed corridors along busy routes.
Overall, the colloquium was a dynamic mix of ideas and opinions from private, public and academic speakers across the country. I got a strong sense that while the general public and mass media moan about the problems, this bunch is actively and optimistically working behind the scenes to fix the problems, keep Australia open for business and maybe save the planet along the way.
Article by Adam Rosalky.
To submit your own //SMOKESTACK// article for review and publication, email smokestack@futuredesignsydney.com.
STATE///INFRASTRUCTURE//STRATEGY
In 2006 the State Government released a comprehensive plan for infrastructure spending called the State Infrastructure Strategy or 'SIS'. The SIS is a 10-year plan that brings together the goals of the 25-year Metropolitan Strategy, the 10-year State Plan and the four-year State Budget projections. The SIS is a biennial rolling strategy, which means it's updated every two years as new spending priorities emerge. This week the SIS 2008 was released and in URBAN//FOCUS we look at some of the big changes in infrastructure spending.
The SIS looks at spending across three major time frames, namely the annual budget (one year), the budget projections (four years) and the SIS horizon (ten years). Each time it is updated, it also aligns itself with the ongoing 25-year growth plan outlined in the Sydney Metropolitan Strategy (I discussed the metropolitan plan here). With the release of this month's budget figures the SIS shows how this year's infrastructure figures fit in the next decade of strategic infrastructure expenditure - and how it differs from the plan drawn up two years ago.
The SIS focuses on infrastructure capital expenditure - that is, money spent on infrastructure assets that facilitate our personal and professional productivity. In NSW, there are five broad areas of infrastructure. These are Human Services (health, education and housing), Justice (courts, police and corrective services), Transport (rail, buses, freight, ports and roads), Electricity (generation, transmission and distribution) and Water (retail and catchment).
The main difference between SIS 2006 and SIS 2008 is clearly the huge increase in infrastructure spending, both in the current and projected budget periods and in the coming decade. In SIS 2006, total spending looks like this:
2006-07 budget $9.9 billion
four year projection $41.3 billion
ten year strategy $110 billion
In SIS 2008 total spending has increased by around 35 percent:
2008-09 budget $13.9 billion (40% increase)
four year projection $57.6 billion (39% increase)
ten year strategy $140 billion (27% increase)
Interestingly, while NSW has announced some major transport projects since the previous SIS, like the $12bn North West Metro, the proportion of expenditure for transport this financial year remains the same as the 2006-07 financial year - around one third of total infrastructure expenditure. In coming years, this proportion will change as projects get past the planning stage and construction dollars start rolling out the door. The State Government has announced an increase in state debt of around $20bn over the next four years to help fund projects.
The two graphs below show a trend of 4.6% growth per annum in infrastructure spending in both the 2006 projections and the 2008 projections. While the 2006 projection shows a small area of above average expenditure between 2006 and 2010, the 2008 projection shows an enormous surge above the average growth target totalling over $25bn between 2006 and 2016. This increase is in response to the growing public pressure to fix Sydney's transport, health and education woes.
Here below I have summarised the main areas of transport spending outlined in SIS 2008:
Epping to Chatswood Rail Link - $2.3bn to complete the project this financial year.
North West Metro - $378m for land acquisition over then next three years and $12bn for the total project over nine years.
South West Rail Link - $159m for land acquisition over the next two years and $1.4bn to complete the project over five years.
New train cars (rolling stock) - $3.6bn for 626 new train cars to replace all non air-conditioned cars adn increase total numbers. Rollout will be over three years starting in 2010 and will be run through a public-private partnership.
New buses - $222m over the next four years to buy over 400 new buses to replace some of the older buses and augment the current fleet for both STA buses and private bus companies.
Super-metro buses - $5m this year to fund a two-year trial of five super-metro buses in inner Sydney.
Western Metro - $30m this year to conduct a feasibility study for the proposed Western Metro between Parramatta and Sydney CBD. This study will be jointly funded by NSW and the Australian Government, who will be contributing another $20m.
Highway upgrades - Duplication and upgrade projects to major highways. $1.2bn for the Hume over the next two years; $345m for the Princes Highway over three years; $1.9bn for the Pacific Highway over five years; $405m for the Great Western Highway over four years; and $119m over two years for the F3.
Victoria Road - $545m over four years for works to upgrade Victoria Road, improve traffic management and duplicate the Iron Cove Bridge.
F3 to M2 link - planning is continuing for this project. I discussed the F3-M2 link here. There is no allocated funding yet but estimates have been incorporated into the $140bn figure over the next ten years.
M4 East - This project has been flagged for rollout over the coming decade. The SIS doesn't identify any specific funding yet but has incorporated estimates into the $140bn figure.
Other major projects relating to urban development and sustainability are:
Barangaroo - $2.5bn over the next ten years for the total project. I have discussed the Barangaroo project here.
Desalination Plant - The desalination plant, under construction in Kurnell, has been allocated $1.9bn over the next two years to complete the project. As a point of interest, the plant will be powered by 100% renewable wind energy from the Capital Wind Farm nearBungendore, currently under construction.
Western Sydney Recycled Water Scheme - $250m over four years to build an advanced water treatment plant to provide recycled water to the North West Growth Centre and local agricultural lands.
METRO//NEWS - 12 June 2008
Bridge battle to continue (Inner West Weekly)
BOTH of the big ticket items that are on inner-west residents' minds the Iron Cove Bridge and the M4 East link were given honourable mentions in the State Budget.
Sydney program to slash business greenhouse gasses (City of Sydney)
City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP has announced that Sydney's world leading sustainability program CitySwitch Green Office is going national.
Private operators score new buses (Mt Druitt Standard)
UP to $49 million will be spent on new buses for private operators in metropolitan Sydney and outer metropolitan areas, according to Transport Minister John Watkins.
Metro link project hinges on power sale (Daily Telegraph)
A NEW multi-billion-dollar metro link to western Sydney could be placed under threat if the Government's controversial $25 billion power sale doesn't succeed.
Green corridor's $5.4m grant (Mt Druitt Standard)
THE Western Sydney Parklands will receive $5.4 million to develop it into one of the largest public urban parks in the world.
More please: councils seek rate rises (Sydney Morning Herald)
TWENTY-FIVE councils across NSW have sought permission to increase their rates above the 3.2 per cent cap set by the State Government in April, including a 17.6 per cent rise in Willoughby.
'No plans' to axe CityRail jobs (Herald Sun)
THE NSW Government has no plans to axe CityRail jobs and has rejected claims that rising costs justify a 30 per cent rise in ticket prices over the next four years.
First down payment (Inner West Weekly)
PREMIER Morris Iemma yesterday made his first down payment on the new northwest metro link, promising in the State Budget to spend $106 million to make the much-needed project happen.
Green supermarkets - the way of the future (Australian Food News)
A wave of ‘green’ supermarkets is set to hit Australia as supermarkets begin to tackle alarming emission rates. The concept, which follows similar commitments by European supermarkets, primarily revolves around the improvement of refrigeration systems to lower global warming potential of refrigerants.
Pay more for trains that work (Sydney Morning Herald)
TRAIN fares should rise by up to 30 per cent in just four years and almost 1700 rail jobs should be axed, says a review of CityRail services by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.
Costa's spending spree cuts off the peninsula (Manly Daily)
THE northern beaches were spectacularly snubbed in yesterday's NSW budget, with no money promised for upgrading Brookvale Oval or fixing Spit Rd bottlenecks, and just a token sum for the new super hospital.
Treasurer in $13.9bn Budget splurge (The Australian)
THE New South Wales Government has trumpeted the "largest capital expenditure program in Australian history", with its 2008-09 Budget containing a record $13.9 billion in infrastructure spending.
Infrastructure splurge gets tick of approval (ABC News)
Economic analysts have given the thumbs up to the New South Wales Government's decision to go further into debt to finance a massive splurge on infrastructure.
Smog alert for Sydney's vulnerable (Daily Telegraph)
AN alarm system designed to warn Sydneysiders about high pollution levels will go live today in a bid to reduce the health impact of smog.
It's all relative: study reveals our most affordable suburbs (Sydney Morning Herald)
IT'S A LEAFY neighbourhood in the heart of Sydney's lower North Shore, but Greenwich could be one of the most affordable suburbs in Sydney for first home buyers.
Costa: funds will back the M4 East (Southern Weekly)
WITH the State Government battling a restive back bench and Opposition demands over its power legislation, the Treasurer said yesterday funds freed from the sale of the state's power industry would be used to kickstart the M4 East and the West Metro project, both of which remain in limbo.
Western Sydney to be 'jobs centre' of $140bn spending (Daily Telegraph)
WESTERN Sydney is set to become the "jobs centre" of NSW boosted by a $140 billion statewide spending spree on infrastructure over the next decade.
$140bn NSW Infrastructure plan released (The Australian)
THE NSW Government has outlined how it will spend $140 billion over the next decade to improve the state's infrastructure.
NSW unveils infrastructure plan (ABC News)
The New South Wales Government has set out how it intends to spend $140 billion on new and upgraded infrastructure projects over the next 10 years.
Court win for Parramatta project, but fight continues (The Australian)
GROCON'S $1.4 billion Parramatta Civic Place development got the green light yesterday via a NSW Court of Appeal decision, but the court battle shrouding the development may be far from over.
Bondi's Westfield installs solar panels (Sydney Morning Herald)
Global property giant Westfield Group Ltd is pushing to become more environmentally friendly after allowing a shop at its flagship shopping centre at Bondi Junction in Sydney to install solar panels.
NSW on knife edge over planning powers (Northern Rivers Echo)
North coast politicians at state and local government level are united in their opposition to legislation that could introduce new state government planning powers as early as next week.
Commuters don't care for sharing cars (news.com.au)
COMMUTERS are refusing to embrace carpooling - despite skyrocketing petrol prices and traffic congestion.
Work starts on CBD bikeway (ABC News)
Construction has started on the first Sydney city cycleway to be kerbed off from traffic.
Sydney: the world's 10th best city (Sydney Morning Herald)
Sydney is a little less liveable than last year, but it is still better than Melbourne, which in turn is better than Perth, which is way better than Adelaide.
Link's all go but Epping stagnates (Hills Shire Times)
PREMIER Morris Iemma has yesterday made his first downpayment on the new northwest metro link.
FEDERALISM///AND//INFRASTRUCTURE
Since the election of the new Federal Government, Kevin 'Hit-The-Ground-Running' Rudd has put in place people and programs to look into transport infrastructure, an area which has been, up until now, a state responsibility. Are we seeing a hostile takeover or a return to cooperative federalism, and do we care?
Clearly one of the Rudd Government's priorities during the 2007 election and since taking office has been infrastructure. In taking the front foot on the national infrastructure problem, the feds are rapidly muscling in on a lot of areas that State Governments would normally have autonomy. In the case of NSW, this is not necessarily such a bad thing. Morris Iemma has been repeatedly publically embarrassed about the state of Sydney's transport infrastructure - especially out west - since taking office from Bob Carr in 2005. So where do the Federal and State Governments stand on roads, rail and public transport?
With the exception of the national highways and interstate rail system, NSW has always had responsibility for major roads, suburban rail infrastructure and operations, and public transport. Over the years, as NSW transport infrastructure crumbled through lack of concrete investment, more and more of the Commonwealth's money went towards state projects - usually in the form of Special Purpose Payments via the federal payments system set up through COAG - the Council of Australian Governments. These substantial yet passive payments were made at the request of state governments and provided no oversight or control to the Commonwealth. Today, seven months after taking office, the Rudd Government has taken a massive chunk of that control through a concerted campaign on two fronts.
Firstly it has set up a massively increased infrastructure focus in the old Department of Transport and Regional Services. The department, now called the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (officially giving it the worst ever government acronym) contains new divisions called "Infrastructure Investment", “Infrastructure and Surface Transport Policy" and "National Transport Strategy". This latter division contains the National Transport Policy Branch, Urban Congestion Branch and Public Transport/Cities Branch. These names alone suggest a headstrong charge into the ranks of well-entrenched state matters. Infrastructure minister, Anthony Albanese, has also announced the creation of a new independent infrastructure council called Infrastructure Australia. Supported by the Office of Infrastructure Coordination, Infrastructure Australia's role is to stocktake nationally significant infrastructure and prioritise the missing bits. In addition to being a major step forward in infrastructure coordination, it will also be the first time the Aussie Government has commissioned a major statutory body to create a list of things that aren't there. Moving in a slightly different direction (mainly to save them constantly having to type the annoying word "infrastructure") the Government has announced the Major Cities Unit. Sounding like a new Law & Order spinoff, the MCU hasn't been very well defined as yet but clearly intends to be the Federal Government's first significant foray into the realms of public transport and metropolitan planning.
The second major front in Rudd's infrastructure plan rollout takes place at COAG - the meetings of the PM, state premiers and a few extra sundries, where the machinations of federalism take place. Here, in addition to whispered personal attacks caught on overly sensitive microphones, we can find Mr Rudd bringing about a new wave of cooperative federalism. In order to achieve all the new infrastructure goals of the new Federal Government, the PM needs state support, and at COAG he is getting it. States have all agreed to participate in the new Rudd regime, with the first step being the delivery to COAG of Infrastructure Australia's list of missing bits in March 2009. From there, a system of prioritised federal funding will no doubt deliver a multitude of state infrastructure project pipelines leading into the distant future beyond the financial horizon of even the 20-year Sydney Metropolitan Plan.
So why are the states so happy to go along with the Federal Government's aggressive infrastructure framework? Given the viciously negative response Victorian premier, Steve Bracks, gave John Howard over the Federal Government's attempts to take over the Murray-Darling Basin, I was quite surprised to see such unanimous support of what looks like an even bigger federal takeover. Of course, the Murray-Darling Plan has now taken effect with only a small $1b concession to the Victorians. The first reason is, of course, party politics. Wall-to-wall Labor as Costello so strenuously objected to back in November is having a goodwill effect on the current round of intergovernmental negotiation. I don’t know how long it will last, but Mr Rudd is definitely making hay while the sun shines. The other major reason I see is the vote-winning money that States and the Commonwealth have committed to. The state budget has allocated over $4.4b to transport infrastructure this financial year and every extra cent from Mr Swan can only help. For their part, the feds have committed to a lot of money to state projects that are so critical they can't wait for Infrastructure Australia's list of priorities. This includes millions for feasibility studies for the Western Metro and the M5 tunnel duplication as well as hundreds of millions for the Great Western Highway, the Moorebank intermodal terminal and the widening of the F5.
I think the right set of conditions has allowed a very unique situation where the Federal and State Governments and the Australian people have all reached a consensus about the state of transport infrastructure in our cities and the time has come for a coordinated effort. Kevin Rudd sees a genuine national infrastructure problem requiring a genuine national solution. Morris Iemma is planting the seeds for his 2011 re-election with $57b in infrastructure spending over the next four years coupled with his statesman-like ability to draw cash from the feds.
And as for you and me? We just want to get to work on time.
Article by Adam Rosalky.
To submit your own //SMOKESTACK// article for review and publication, email smokestack@futuredesignsydney.com.
METRO//NEWS - 4 June 2008
Council has forum seat (St George and Sutherland Shire Leader)
SUTHERLAND Shire Council has won representation on the Sydney Airport Community Forum after it was initially denied a seat at the forum table earlier this year.
Green buildings good for business (The Age)
Environmentally friendly businesses are more likely to attract and retain employees, a sustainable development expert says.
Credit-hit developers shy away from city renewal project (The Australian)
THE NSW Government is likely to reap a much lower price than expected for Sydney's Barangaroo, the site of Australia's biggest urban regeneration project, as developers shy away in the wake of the credit crisis.
Suburb goes public/private (Campbelltown Macarthur Advertiser)
CONSTRUCTION is under way on the Minto urban renewal to create a mix of public and private housing to be on offer.
Australia's first 6 star Green Star rating for a heritage building (Green Building Council of Australia)
39 Hunter Street in the Sydney CBD has become the first heritage building in Australia to achieve a 6 Star Green Star rating.
4700 new homes for north-west (Sydney Morning Herald)
COMMUTERS from the Hills district could soon be sharing the roads with an extra 14,200 people.
Petrol prices fuel bus, train crush (Sydney Morning Herald)
Analysis released this week by the energy economics group EnergyQuest shows motorists are being squeezed by petrol prices and have resorted to self-imposed rationing. Consumption of unleaded fuel fell by 4.4 per cent in the first three months of this year. Overall, petrol sales fell by 1.2 per cent to 55.7 million litres.
Melbourne-Sydney in $500m rail boost (Herald Sun)
RAIL journeys to Sydney will be faster and more reliable in a $500 million upgrade of Victoria's north-east rail corridor.
Commuters 'stranded' in transport surge (ABC)
The New South Wales Opposition says the State Government has failed to prepare for an increase in the use of public transport due to rising fuel costs.
Little to cheer up rail commuters: Opposition (Sydney Morning Herald)
SYDNEY commuters are ditching their cars and packing on to public transport - but State Government spending on railway infrastructure will not increase in Tuesday's budget.
Going the extra mile (Sydney Morning Herald)
A SEARCH for a developer to transform Sydney's most prestigious urban renewal site has reached out internationally.
Give better public options outside CBD (Sydney Morning Herald)
SYDNEY'S public transport is fine if you want to go into the central business district to work and then come home again. It's terrible if you need to drop kids at school or day care before work, or need to travel across the city, rather than into it.
Iemma needs to get moving (Sydney Morning Herald)
It's the core job of a politician - especially one lucky enough to sit on the treasury benches - to manage competing demands.
City to grow by a million people (Sydney Morning Herald)
SYDNEY'S population will grow by nearly 1 million people by 2021 due to the Rudd Government's expansion of the immigration program - putting huge strain on the city's public transport, health, education and housing.
Cate Blanchett wants Walsh Bay to have a Barangaroo ferry (The Daily Telegraph)
THE Sydney Theatre Company has backed plans for a public transport overhaul at Walsh Bay, which includes a possible new ferry stop.
Splurge on transport infrastructure (Sydney Morning Herald)
The State Government has splurged on a large-scale transport infrastructure spending program in this year's budget.
Sartor's 'dumb' blast (Sydney Morning Herald)
NSW Planning Minister Frank Sartor hits back at an outcry over planning law reforms - "rammed through" the NSW Legislative Assembly at 2am today - by calling peak local government bodies "dumb".
SCATS///AND//PTIPS
Did you know that traffic lights around Sydney change their red-green phases differently at different times of day? Did you know that traffic lights automatically go green to let late-running buses through? This week in URBAN//FOCUS we look at two of the RTA's most sophisticated systems: SCATS - the worldwide standard for traffic light coordination; and PTIPS - Sydney's latest high-tech public transport coordination system.
///SCATS//
Have you ever noticed the grey box that stands around near intersections quietly clicking away when the lights go green? Every intersection has one - have a look next time you're waiting for the lights to change. Those boxes are the face of SCATS - Sydney's traffic coordination system. SCATS stands for Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System. It was developed in the early 1970s and recently celebrated 35 years of operations as a centrepiece at the APEC transport ministers' summit in April 2007.
SCATS was rolled out widely across NSW in 1974 and soon after across most Australian capitals and other major cities. It is owned and marketed worldwide by the RTA, who also mange the system in NSW. Today, it is the world standard for traffic coordination systems. As of June 2007, SCATS operates at over 8900 intersections across the country, including over 3400 in NSW alone, as well as over 16,700 sites in over 21 countries worldwide. The biggest growth at the moment is in south east Asia and China.
So how does SCATS work? Each intersection is controlled by a computer that collects data about local traffic conditions, manages the light changes and passes data to a regional control computer. The regional computers are spread around the city and each one can manage up to 250 intersections. The SCATS system counts cars waiting at intersections and measures throughput (cars passing per minute) and delay (time spent not moving) at each traffic light at the intersection. This live data is sent to the regional computer, which can make decisions about how long the lights stay green (phases) and what light comes next (cycles). SCATS collects the data though embedded sensors in the road and cameras with special software for counting cars. SCATS can manage each intersection independently or coordinate them to create green corridors and other coordinated flow patterns. You may have noticed this happening on main roads when the light goes green you can see the next light go green by the time you get there and so on, creating a temporary uninterrupted flow until the next cycle.
At the heart of the SCATS system in the central controller. This is a single server computer situated in the CBD that receives live data from all the regional computers. Basically, the central controller has a live model of traffic for the whole metropolitan area. The server can manage up to 8100 intersections in a single model. The central controller can be programmed with traffic modelling software that helps it manage citywide flow, especially during rush hours by changing the cycle pattern, phase length and phase coordination of sets of traffic lights. The software can improve flow and waiting times at key bottlenecks around the city by following some simple strategic guides.
For example a simple model may look something like this:
Traffic flow Strategy
heavy (rush hour) - Maximise point throughput or route throughput
nominal traffic - Minimise stops along route (number of red lights)
light traffic - Minimise delay along route (length of red lights)
SCATS has the ability to respond to changes in normal traffic conditions. It can slow down flow leading up to a traffic accident or other incident and optimise flow around the affected area. The system can also optimise traffic flow during special events like football matches and visiting dignitaries.
The results from implementing SCATS has been positive all around the world. Cities all over the world are showing reduced rush hour wait times and overall reduced trip times as well as reduced pressure at bottlenecks and pinch points. The system really does improve the way we move around our cities.
///PTIPS//
With all this high-tech traffic management you'd think they could do something about the buses running late all the time. Well, they have with a new system currently being trialled called PTIPS, or the Public Transport Information and Priority System.
In addition to the bus lanes, bus-only intersections, bus initiative traffic lights lights (B-lights) the RTA has developed PTIPS to give buses an extra edge in rush hour by coordinating with SCATS to adjust traffic lights to let buses through.
PTIPS was developed in the early 2000s and was rolled out for testing in 2003. Today, the system is being used on three main routes in Sydney: Miranda to Hurstville, Liverpool to Bankstown and the STA route 400. It will be rolled out across the entire Sydney bus network in 2008 or 2009.
PTIPS is made up of two separate systems that work in conjunction with each other and with SCATS. The first system is the bus on-board system that continually monitors and collects the bus location via a GPS system as well as information such as time and route number. This data is sent live to the second system, which identifies buses that qualify for priority (like late buses and 'bus bunches') and sends a request for priority to the SCATS system. SCATS will then try to give the bus as many green corridors as possible to get it back on time.
INTO///THE//FUTURE
This network of bus and traffic flow data has revolutionised the business of traffic management and already companies are looking to the next application for live traffic modelling and wireless bus data transmitters.
In Europe, companies are looking at road and air sensors to collect data about weather and road conditions. The information can be used to warn bus drivers about potential fog wet road and visibility hazards and send automatic warnings to other nearby buses. Soon we will see bus stops that display live information about approaching buses, waiting times and live local traffic updates. Systems are also being developed to automatically contact local police if an on-board camera detects attacks on drivers, fights and other anti-social behaviour. There are even discussions about whether buses could use their forward cameras to catch bus-lane violators and send the images to the police or council for fines and prosecution.
As more and more technology comes to our roads and public transport we should see even more improvements in service, efficiency and a more sustainable road and public transport systems in our cities.
