Concrete raiders of a stately Eden (Sydney Morning Herald) Residents of the rapidly growing district of Ku-ring-gai believe they have been forsaken for the developer's dollar.
Shrinking city's 'great definer' (Sydney Morning Herald)
AS SHIRLEY FITZGERALD sees it, Sydney is losing the funny old boatsheds, workshops, factories and even the beaches that make up its "great definer " - the harbour. And there is precious little evidence of political will to save it from the high end of the real estate market.
The boomerang train (Sydney Morning Herald)
No matter how often it is harpooned, the proposal for a very fast train to Penrith just won't die. Linton Besser takes a close look.
Costa backs mate's rejected rail scheme (Sydney Morning Herald)
THE Treasurer, Michael Costa, is keeping alive a radical western Sydney fast-train proposal backed by a close friend, despite the Premier, the Transport Minister and the NSW Co-ordinator-General all condemning the proposal as a bad outcome for the city's commuters.
Please explain: FastRail fumes over rejection (Sydney Morning Herald)
A CONSORTIUM wanting to build a privately operated fast train that would transport passengers between Penrith and the city in 30 minutes spent $6 million on its proposal, only to have the Iemma Government dismiss it without proper explanation, the consortium's chief has said.
METRO//NEWS 27/08/08
WESTERN///FASTRAIL//EXPOSÉ
The Sydney Morning Herald's transport reporter, Linton Besser, has written a very interesting article about the political battles behind the never-say-die Western Fastrail.
Check it out here.
BREWERIES//NEVER///LOOKED//THIS///GOOD
Residents of Chippendale are currently fighting a battle with the developers of the new Frasers Broadway development on the site of the Carlton United Brewery on the corner of Broadway and Abercrombie St - details here.
I can't see this revision causing too much of a stink among local residents. The main increase in floorspace, and sheer size is concentrated on the main residential building on the north-east corner of the site, standing over the Claire Hotel, opposite the famous UTS tower building. Frasers Broadway will be built using some of Australia's most advanced sustainability technology. The development is completely carbon and water neutral, with internal water recycling, rooftop gardens and the first of City of Sydney's tri-generation, gas-powered green transformers.
While the revision increases total commercial floorspace and building height, it reduces the number of car parking spots, as well as providing an underground road network to eliminate surface vehicle movements. All in all, it's a fascinating, sustainable and socially responsible development that will hugely improve the CBD's southern gateway. But that's not the best part.
With the original concept plan, the main building looked like this:
To me, this looks a little too much like an office building. It's grey, it's brown and it looks waaay to similar to 'Sydney's ugliest building' across the street.
Here are the mock-ups of the revised plan:
METRO//NEWS - 21 August 2008
Melbourne, Sydney housing becomes less affordable (Sydney Morning Herald)
First home buyer housing affordability hit a new low at the end of June in Melbourne and sank to a five-year low in Sydney. Perth's rating improved.
State begins slow squeeze on emitters (Sydney Morning Herald)
THE state's top 232 greenhouse polluters, ranging from Bluescope Steel to the Sydney Opera House, will be forced to cut their emissions from this year under new energy-efficiency laws.
Orbital is the way to go for diverse transport needs (Sydney Morning Herald)
An NRMA report last year found that travel on motorways is about 75 per cent quicker than on alternative routes, and uses up to 40 per cent less fuel.
NSW Metro–sceptics will be proven wrong (Sydney Morning Herald)
There's $100 million set aside for Sydney's North West Metro project this financial year, but the local community will be sceptical of it until people actually see bulldozers on the ground, transport minister John Watkins says.
Fast train link not off rails yet (Penrith Press)
PREMIER Morris Iemma insists his government has not closed the door on the vital fast train link needed by Penrith.
North-west metro advisers appointed (ABC News)
The New South Wales Government has appointed Macquarie Bank and Ernst and Young as financial and commercial advisers for Sydney's north-west metro rail line.
Ring! Ring! City of Sydney makes a call for bicycle users (City of Sydney)
The City of Sydney is installing 500 new bicycle rings across the local government area to encourage people to ride to work, to the shops or to their favourite cafe.
Morris Iemma worries $140bn building frenzy will clog Sydney (Daily Telegraph)
PREMIER Morris Iemma has ordered an urgent audit of the city's $140 billion worth of planned infrastructure projects over fears an unprecedented building boom could create construction chaos across Sydney from next year.
It's all in the family (Liverpool City Champion)
FATHER and daughter candidates Harry and Alexandra Stathis say an increase in large businesses in Liverpool CBD is the ideal way of developing the area.
A vision for our future (Parramatta Sun)
By the year 2025, current Parramatta residents, plus those in another 21,000 dwellings should be living in the "primary regional city of Sydney providing a focus for innovative business environments, jobs and lifestyle and work opportunities, attracting shopping, health, education, business and cultural facilities,'' according to the council's Twenty25 vision for the future.
Small rise in car pooling would slash emissions (Sydney Morning Herald)
A MINOR increase in car pooling would have a similar effect on carbon emissions as doubling public transport patronage in Australia's capital cities, a transport expert says.
Railway bombshell (Hills News)
A TRAIN marshalling yard four football fields long and three wide will be built for the metro line on Old Windsor Road, Kellyville between Burns Road and Balmoral Road. It will run day and night with no weekend shutdown.
METRO///CONSTRUCTION//TO///CAUSE//CBD///CONGESTION
Included in this development bonanza are Barangaroo, Frasers Broadway, North Eveleigh, Green Square, Pitt Street Mall and Centrepoint redevelopments, causing a massive increase in truck movements in the inner city and potentially clogging the CBD.
In particular, the article also includes the construction of three new North West Metro stations at Wynyard, Martin Place and St James to conflict with other projects also starting in early to mid 2009. This is the first time any date other than 2010 has been stated in connection with the NW Metro. If true, it's the first time the NSW Government has revealed any new timetable details about putting 'bulldozers on the ground' for this project.
Just last week Transport Minister John Watkins was forced to defend the project from sceptical council and action group reps who doubt it will ever actually get off the ground. Watkins was quoted here as saying "Until you actually get the bulldozers on the ground in 2010 I think [scepticism is] going to be out there."
If the Government really does start work on CBD stations in 2009 it will go a long way to moving debate away from the merits of the overall project and on to the detailed planning.
METRO//NEWS - 14 August 2008
Hungrier Mile ruins prize site: architects (Sydney Morning Herald)
IN A stinging attack on the State Government, the architects who won a design competition for East Darling Harbour have accused it of pandering to developers by "bulking up and dumbing down" their plans for the Hungry Mile.
A rare chance to get the city's waterfront right (Sydney Morning Herald)
Whether called Barangaroo, East Darling Harbour or the historically evocative Hungry Mile, the site is Sydney's greatest opportunity in a century to rethink the relationship between the city and harbour. The importance of the project was clearly understood by the State Government when it promoted an international design competition for the site; the most significant design competition held for Sydney since the Opera House in 1956. The competition attracted 137 entries, with a number from foreign teams and international stars.
$100m bonus in more Mile offices (Sydney Morning Herlad)
THE NSW Government stands to gain about $100 million a year by boosting the amount of office space allowed in the East Darling Harbour development, but the public may end up with a bigger harbourside park and a new ferry terminal as a trade-off.
Bulldozing the past (Sydney Morning Herald)
The Macquarie Fields riots of February 2005 showed that all was not well in Sydney's large public housing estates. As suggested by the images of dozens of youths throwing Molotov cocktails at police and firefighters, these places suffer from high levels of just about every social problem you can name.
Not worth a Spit? $48m on roads (Sydney Morning Herald)
A $48 million plan to improve traffic flow and bus travel times on the congested Spit and Military roads in Sydney's north was announced by the NSW Government today.
M4 East bid could send Labor south (Inner West Weekly)
GOVERNMENT plans to build an M4 East motorway could swing local government election results further away from Labor in the Inner West, Greens candidates have said.
NSW Government's $48m upgrade of Spit Bridge roads (Daily Telegraph)
THE State Government has today announced a $48 million major upgrade of the gridlocked Spit and Military Roads corridor, more than a year after Premier Morris Iemma ditched an election promise to widen the Spit Bridge.
We're being ignored (Western Week-ender)
Penrith City Mayor, Greg Davies, says the needs of more than a million people in western Sydney are being ignored, with the State Government’s study into a West Metro Line stopping at Parramatta.
Brewery site plan is heritage threat: locals (Sydney Morning Herald)
THE character and culture of inner-city Chippendale is under threat, say residents, from a proposal by the developer of a giant urban renewal project at Broadway to increase the amount of floor space on the site by 10 per cent.
Slump in tollway traffic hits stock (The Australian)
ALMOST $230 million was wiped off the share value of toll road operator ConnectEast yesterday after its Melbourne Eastlink road became the latest tollway to fall drastically short of its traffic projections.
M4 toll up 25 per cent (Sydney Morning Herald)
The toll for cars on Sydney's M4 motorway is rising by 55 cents.
Iemma Government's high-speed western Sydney rail link dumped (Daily Telegraph)
THE Iemma Government's transport supremo David Richmond has shafted plans for a high-speed rail link to western Sydney because it doesn't fit his dream of a European-style metro system.
Sydney begins transport studies (Business Spectator)
Sydney's controversial transport plans are being taken a step further with a review of a proposed western metro rail line and upgrades to the M5 East.
Penrith fast train link 'ruled out' (ABC News)
Penrith Council says the New South Wales Government has confirmed it has ruled out a high-speed western Sydney train link.
Use granny flats to solve rental crisis: Iemma (Sydney Morning Herald)
Sydney's rental crisis could be eased by the creation of more granny flats, NSW Premier Morris Iemma says.
$25 million to find solutions to Sydney's congestion (Media Release)
Detailed feasibility studies will start this month on two multi-billion infrastructure projects which have the very real potential to unclog some of Sydney's key roads and modernise a significant part of its passenger rail network.
Stressed suburbs - the best and worst (Perth Now)
FUEL and mortgage stress has crept steadily inward from the outer suburbs towards the inner-city, research shows.
40% of Sydney hit harder by rising prices (Sydney Morning Herald)
MORE than 40 per cent of Sydney's suburbs have become increasingly vulnerable to high oil prices and mortgage stress in the past five years, according to a study to be released today by Griffith University.
Fast rail scrapping fears (Penrith City Star)
PENRITH Council believes the NSW Government has forgotten about the residents of western Sydney in scrapping its plans for a high-speed rail that links the west to the city.
Commonwealth joins in Sydney road, metro fiasco (Transport & Logistics News)
Yet more detailed feasibility studies will start this month on two multi-billion infrastructure projects that are supposed to unclog some of Sydney's key roads and modernise a significant part of its passenger rail network.
VAMPIRE//REVEALS///SYDNEY'S//VULNERABILITIES
Researchers from Griffith University's Urban Research Program have developed an index to measure Australian urban households' exposure to the impacts of rising fuel and mortgage costs. The Vulnerability Assessment for Mortgage, Petroleum and Inflation Risks and Expenditure or 'VAMPIRE' index is based on Australian census data and was first rolled out a couple of years ago, based on 2001 data, in a report called Shocking The Suburbs. This week Dr Jago Dodson and Dr Neil Sipe, creators of the VAMPIRE Index released an updated report called Unsettling Suburbia, based on 2006 census data.
The index is based on an algorithm using inputs from four key census measures, namely:
- proportion of workers who undertook journeys to work by car
- proportion of households with two or more cars
- median weekly household income
- proportion of dwellings being purchased (mortgage or rent/buy)
The result for Sydney shows an aggregate increase in vulnerability across the board, but this is mirrored in almost every other major city. The Griffith University report identified Cabramatta, Parramatta, Fairfield East and Hebersham as examples of areas of very high vulnerability. I have circled these areas in the map below, which is courtesy of Griffith University.
The VAMPIRE Index clearly divides the city into a low vulnerability north-east and a high vulnerability south-west. This is quite interesting because most other sets of raw census data don't have such a clear discontinuity. The housing stress map clearly shows areas of high stress running through the CBD and eastern suburbs, while unemployment data shows many areas in Sydney's south-west where unemployment is very low.
In any case it doesn't make the express train from Penrith to the city any quicker; just emptier.
OVERESTIMATING///TOLLROAD//USAGE
Guess what! The projections came from the same company that projected Sydney's Cross City Tunnel figures.
Australian metropolitan tollroads are suffering from a clear trend in overestimating usage figures. It's high time we recognised this and adjust our financial models for these projects accordingly.
The Federal Government has asked the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to develop best practise guidelines for Public Private Partnerships in these types of projects. The guidelines are due in a couple of months. It will be interesting to see if these lessons are taken into account.
Recent changes in toll prices have shown us that commuters are much, much more sensitive to small changes than estimated in traffic modelling. The rising price of fuel is only increasing our sensitivity to tolls. If we can get this modelling right, it will be a very big step towards accurately modelling tollroad usage and avoiding nasty words like 'bankruptcy' and 'receivership'. It will also let us develop new traffic models using things like variable tolls and premium tolls as suggested by David Hensher in his presentation to this year's Transport Colloquium.
Note to traffic modellers: your toll models ain't working. Try something different. We're on to you.
BARANGAROO///DESIGN//TEAM///SPEAKS//OUT
Last month I wrote about the changes to the Barangaroo plan to increase commercial floorspace to the southern end of the development.
This week the architects whose design was chosen as the official concept design for the site spoke out about the changes. Their main objections was that by bulking up the commercial buildings to accommodate extra floorspace the NSW Government was sacrificing cultural, visual and accessibility elements of the original design for the sake of developer's cash.
Premier Morris Iemma responded by dismissing their concerns and saying how wonderful the development would be and how it would accommodate growth. I guess he's saying forget about the annoying details, look at the big picture, Barangaroo will be a great development!
Here again, I see two absolute views being splashed across the news when the fact of the matter is we have a compromise solution in front of us. The architects submitted a design. OK, so I'm sure all the other architects who didn't win the design competition weren't happy with the winning design. Similarly if someone else had won, I'm sure winning designers Tallis, Berkemeier and Irwin would be unhappy too. At least the final product will be a version of their design, albeit modified. It could just as easily have been completely changed! Count your blessings!
The design team also gets to think on a level of pure design: their elegant buildings satisfy design competition guidelines, look pretty, and that's that. The Government, in approving final design has to take into account all the developers, business lobby groups and local government. In voicing their criticism, the designers have become just another lobby group among many clamouring for the Premier's ear.
In their Herald article, they snipe at the Government's alterations to its own plans by saying "only government gets to approve its own bonus." And to them I'd suggest it's a power the Government would gladly give up if it meant a day off from all the whingers.
STEERING//SYDNEY
Last week the Sydney Morning Herald published details of a report into the viability of several major NSW Government transport projects including the North West Metro and the M4 East. The report was written by Jim Steer, a prominent British transport planner.
The report describes the metro line as being too long, with the upper half (Epping to Rouse Hill) running through areas of relative affluence and lower density. Steer accuses the Government of 'optimistic modelling' calling the financial viability of the line into question. The Herald article slams the Government for ignoring the report and burying it, not passing it to the Senate for review. 
In an article published a couple of days later, Transport Minister John Watkins responded by saying Steer's report was one of a number of reports considered at the time and it was responsible governing to review all expert data and make a holistic decision, and anyway, Steer didn't know Sydney very well. The Herald claims it was the only report done at the time, so someone doesn't have their facts straight. Watkins went on to say that the NW Metro was visionary and would service Sydney's needs for the next half century, while Steer's report recommended a rearrangement of the Richmond line, and the construction of a western metro - something the Government is doing anyway.
So the Metro is a plan for Sydney's future, but is it the right plan? That's the whole issue here. I agree that one buried report does not a conspiracy make. We all know anyone can have an expert produce a report on anything. The fact that there are conflicting reports on the viability of the Metro assures us that the Government is looking for a genuine transport solution here. It also means the issue of viability isn't decided and anyone who claims the project is absolutely doomed or absolutely vital is kidding themselves. Just look at the way no-one could accurately predict usage figures for the Lane Cove Tunnel and the Cross City Tunnel.
The metro is planned to run through a public transport void that is currently serviced by Victoria Road, undeniably one of Sydney's worst traffic bottlenecks. The NSW Government has a plan for growing homes and jobs to meet 2031 population demands (I wrote about it here a few months back) and this includes a huge population growth centre at Rouse Hill. Don't tell me they won't be relying on the metro every day as a lifeline to jobs and the CBD. The third stop on the planned route is Norwest, which happens to be one of the largest new specialised business parks in Sydney's Metropolitan Plan, designed to grow from 4000 to 25,000 jobs by 2031. We have been reading articles for the last couple of months on the new trend of 'Train Change' as people flock to buy homes closer to transport links. It makes sense to build a rail line through the lower density areas in the north west: if you build it, they will come!
The other big revelation in the Steer report is a series of M4 East options seen by the public for the first time. There are three major tunnel projects on the drawing board. It is unclear if they are mutually exclusive options or elements of a larger motorway network. In an article in The Age last week it seems Premier Morris Iemma has stated he has not decided on a preferred option, but "the starting point with any M4 project has to be finishing the missing link (to the city)." To me that sounds like the Concord-to-Anzac-Bridge component is the first off the mark.
Here again, Steer is reported to be critical of the project, predicting any traffic benefits will be rapidly absorbed by increased demand resulting in huge bottlenecks at Parramatta Road and the Anzac Bridge. Here, I think he may be right. New roads don't ease congestion, they expand it. Motorways, doubly so. Optimistically, though, it looks to me like the M4 East will ease congestion on Parramatta, rather than increase it. The increased traffic on Anzac Bridge coming off the M4 East may well be offset by the reduction in traffic coming from Victoria Road, thanks to the NW Metro (it's synergy, people!)
The red 'airport connection' option was revealed in the media earlier this year in conjunction with a planned widening, ventilating and possible duplication of the M5 East tunnel. A second dedicated freight line along the M5 and a possible truck route along the 'airport connection' line shown in the diagram would be a huge boon to both motorists and freight trucks. It's something I think this city needs to think seriously about - motorways are for freight, not people.
The yellow 'inner west' tunnel option is news to me, and quite an intriguing idea. It's a north-south tunnel linking the airport with Broadway, Parramatta Road, the West Link and Victoria Road. I don't quite know what the north-south demand is along this route but I suspect it might also be for the benefit of the northern freight run.
So apart from the sensationalist politicking, the Steer report has been an interesting and welcome revelation into the latest in Sydney transport planning. Keep on leaking those reports, Sydney!
METRO//NEWS - 3 August 2008
Small gas plants to make city self-sufficient (Sydney Morning Herald)
DOZENS of miniature gas-fired power plants sprinkled around the inner city and the CBD are at the heart of plans to make Sydney almost self-sufficient in energy over the next two decades.
Interfleet to oversee N/W metro rail (Sydney Morning Herald)
Rail consultancy company Interfleet Technology has been appointed to help oversee the construction of the NSW government's North-West Metro rail line.
End of the 9-5 working day (Sydney Morning Herald)
EMPLOYERS are being urged to abandon the nine-to-five work day and introduce staggered business hours to tackle Sydney's growing traffic-congestion crisis.
Cars will east Sydney, even with $50 toll (Sydney Morning Herald)
THE Iemma Government will fail to meet its State Plan target to reduce car use in Sydney even if the price of parking, petrol and road-tolls is raised hugely, says secret internal modelling obtained by the Herald.
Clear the way for buses, urges Carr (Sydney Morning Herald)
THE former premier Bob Carr has called on the Labor Government to build a network of bus-only freeways as a quick-fire way to get more people onto public transport.
More commuters using buses, rail (ABC News)
The number of Sydney commuters using public transport to get to work has grown to its highest level since 1999.
Mini-bus plans to ease Sydney congestion (The Age)
The NSW government has announced plans for mini-bus services to ease traffic congestion in Sydney, a move which the opposition calls pulling "another bunny from the hat".
Train, bus, ferry use close to 2016 target already (Sydney Morning Herald)
PUBLIC transport is booming, with peak-hour use almost at the Government's target level for 2016. Figures produced by the Transport Data Centre show 74.6 per cent of peak-hour trips into the city were on buses, trains and ferries in 2006.
Connecting Sydney's East and West...New metrobus coming soon (Sydney Buses)
Sydney Buses is introducing a new metrobus service that will run between Kingsford and Leichhardt.
Sydney car use leak 'not surprising' (ABC News)
The New South Wales Opposition has seized on leaked Transport Ministry documents that show Sydney car use is likely to climb beyond the State Government's 2016 targets.
Metro a $12b disaster, says buried report (Sydney Morning Herald)
THE Iemma Government was warned a month before it announced the $12 billion north-west metro line that it would damage the NSW economy and should not proceed, in a damning top-level report commissioned by the Treasurer and buried by the Premier's office.
NSW defends $12b metro rail line (Sydney Morning Herald)
The NSW government denies it's wasting taxpayers' money by commissioning reports from international experts only then to ignore their advice.
Minister of misery monsters metro (Sydney Morning Herald)
Former transport minister Carl Scully says it is "naive" to think the $12 billion north-west metro would solve the capacity problems on the CityRail network.
Ignore the hysteria, this metro is our best solution (Sydney Morning Herald)
The north-west metro is an international transport solution for an international city. It is a project that will deliver fast and affordable transport to the new homes and businesses that will be developed there. But as it travels through the established suburbs of Epping, Top Ryde, Gladesville, Drummoyne and Rozelle into the city it will give commuters living there faster and more convenient travel options, too.
Public Transport? You're better off on your bike (Sydney Morning Herald)
WHAT does it say about Sydney that a 60-year-old journalist - on foot - is only just beaten to the city from Ryde by an express train and a limited-stops bus?
Urban warfare erupts (Daily Telegraph)
WAR has broken out between residents of a quiet Sydney suburb and a property developer pushing to treble the number of homes in an urban renewal project.
Tollway tipped to create traffic chaos (Sydney Morning Herald)
THE State Government's secret plans for an underground inner-city motorway connected to the M4 will lead to citywide gridlock that undermines its own transport and clean air policies, says the Steer report, a cabinet-level review obtained by the Herald.
No decision on Sydney's M4 East: Iemma (The Age)
A preferred option for extending Sydney's M4 motorway is yet to be determined, but the motorway will be linked to the CBD, NSW Premier Morris Iemma says.
Iemma Govt 'buried' metro report (ABC News)
The New South Wales Government is under pressure to explain why it ignored a top-level internal report that advised against proceeding with the North-West Metro plan.
Don't go off the rails (Daily Telegraph)
THE real estate mantra location location location is old hat. Rising fuel costs and shrinking household budgets have spawned an extra requirement - be close to public transport.
Battle stations for Eveleigh (Sydney Morning Herlad)
Location, location, location. You need only to look at a map to see why the Eveleigh Railway Workshops is at the centre of a growing bunfight starring everyone from the State Government and the University of Sydney to the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, and the heritage lobby.
HERALD//DOES///SYDNEY
Early last month I wrote about the UK car show Top Gear doing a race across London via car, public transport, bike and boat. In the article (see here) I suggested a similar race from Burwood to Bondi via the CBD.
Well the boffins at SMH decided to take me up on the suggestion but instead of Burwood to Bondi they chose to race from Ryde, home suburb of Transport Minister John Watkins, to Parliament House in Macquarie Street. They decided to try six modes of transport: car, motor scooter, bus, train, bike and jogging. You can read about it here.
So last Monday morning at 8am, they set off to tackle the 16km journey. The results were very interesting:
1st - 8.25am - scooter
2nd - 8.32am - bike
3rd - 8.37am - car
4th - 9.12am - train
5th - 9.14am - bus
6th - 9.20am - jogging
On the face of things, this looks very bad for our public transport system, but we already knew that. The scooter being first certainly justifies the trends in large Asian cities where entire families cram onto their scooter to dodge between the cars.
The bike coming in second was great to see, perhaps we will start to see a few more bikes and bike paths and a bit less of Sydney's famous bike-rage.
The bus would have been a lot faster if not for the other cars on the road but it certainly doesn't look good considering it was a limited stops route. The train has no excuse - that's just how long it takes. Even an optimised trip automatically generated by the trip planner at 131500 can't beat the Herald's time by much!
Maybe this is why former Transport Minister Carl Scully found the portfolio "tough going", as he said at a recent transport conference.
The Herald, certainly no fan of the Government in its attempts to improve public transport, may have to try the race again in a few years time, and with a few extra participants. The Iemma Government is adding a few new public transport tricks including the recently announced flexible route 12-seater mini-buses, high frequency 115-seater metrobuses and, of course, the North West Metro.
