Blacktown City Council Riverstone Town Centre Masterplan Transport Assessment Rev A | 30 January 2018 This report takes into account the particular instructions and requirements of our client. It is not intended for and should not be relied upon by any third party and no responsibility is undertaken to any third party. Job number 243692 Arup Arup Pty Ltd ABN 18 000 966 165 Arup Level 10 201 Kent Street Sydney NSW 2000 Australia www.arup.com Blacktown City Council Riverstone Town Centre Masterplan Transport Assessmen t Contents Page 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Study Appreciation 1 1.2 Study Objectives 1 1.3 Study Area 2 2 Planning Context 3 2.1 North West Growth Area 3 2.2 Riverstone Release Precinct 3 3 Existing Transport Conditions 4 3.1 Travel Patterns 4 3.2 Road Network 5 3.3 Parking 9 3.4 Traffic Volumes 10 3.5 Traffic Conditions 11 3.6 Heavy Vehicles 12 3.7 Rail Services 13 3.8 Bus Services 14 3.9 Walking 15 3.10 Cycling 16 4 Future Transport Upgrades 17 4.1 Crossings of the Richmond Rail Line 17 4.2 Sydney Metro Northwest 19 5 Masterplan Development 20 5.1 Options Development 20 5.2 Potential Development Yields 22 6 Transport Assessment 23 6.1 Transport Planning Objectives 23 6.2 Traffic Generation 23 6.3 Traffic Conditions 24 6.4 Parking 27 6.5 Pedestrian Movements 28 6.6 Public Transport 30 6.7 Cycling 30 | Rev A | 30 January 2018 | Arup J:\243000\243692-00 RIVERSTONE CENTRE MASTERPLAN\WORK\INTERNAL\00 - TOWN CENTRE MASTERPLAN\REPORT\RIVERSTONE TOWN CENTRE - TRANSPORT ASSESSMENT_300118.DOCX Blacktown City Council Riverstone Town Centre Masterplan Transport Assessmen t 7 Summary 31 Tables Table 1 Existing services along the Richmond rail line Table 2 Forecast traffic generation Table 3 Parking Rates –Residential Uses Table 4 Parking Rates – Non-Residential Uses Figures Figure 1 Study area Figure 2 North West Growth Area Figure 3 North West Growth Area Structure Plan Figure 4 Final indicative plan Figure 5 Existing travel patterns of residents Figure 6 Windsor Road Figure 7 Garfield Road East Figure 8 Schofields Road upgrade Figure 9 Richmond Road Upgrade Figure 10 Off-street car parking Figure 11 2014 Traffic Volumes Figure 12 Riverstone Parade level crossing Figure 13 Heavy vehicle proportions Figure 14 Bus services Figure 15 Existing pedestrian facilities Figure 16 Blacktown Bike Plan 2013 map Figure 17 Road hierarchy and rail crossing alignments Figure 18 Sydney Metro Northwest map Figure 19 Preferred town centre Masterplan Figure 20 High Pedestrian Activity Area Signage Figure 21 Summary of road improvement measures Figure 22 Summary of pedestrian improvement measures Figure 23 Lane Cove Road / Epping Road overpass Figure 24 Preferred town centre Masterplan | Rev A | 30 January 2018 | Arup J:\243000\243692-00 RIVERSTONE CENTRE MASTERPLAN\WORK\INTERNAL\00 - TOWN CENTRE MASTERPLAN\REPORT\RIVERSTONE TOWN CENTRE - TRANSPORT ASSESSMENT_300118.DOCX Blacktown City Council Riverstone Town Centre Masterplan Transport Assessmen t 1 Introduction 1.1 Study Appreciation The Riverstone town centre is situated within the Riverstone Precinct – one of the first release precincts of the North West Growth Area (NWGA). The town centre is supported by Riverstone railway station which functions as the primary public transport hub serving the area. Road connectivity to the centre is focused along the Garfield Road East corridor, however high traffic volumes (including large proportion of heavy vehicle movements) along this route act as a major barrier to pedestrian and cycle movements. Noise and exhaust fumes generated by heavy vehicles along Garfield Road East significantly detracts from the town centre environment. Arup, as a sub-consultant to Elton Consulting, has been engaged to provide transport planning services to support the development of a Masterplan for the Riverstone town centre. It is envisaged that the Masterplan will create a thriving, economically viable, well designed and safe town centre. 1.2 Study Objectives Given that the Riverstone precinct could accommodate up to an additional 30,000 residents in the coming years, it will be important that the traffic impacts arising from this growth are properly considered. A transport network must be developed which supports the overall objectives of the town centre Masterplan. Specific objectives of the study will be to: x Identify existing transport infrastructure and traffic and transport trends; x Consider the current function of the transport network including local and arterial roads, public transport services, car parking, pedestrian networks and cycling routes; x Identify any improvements to the transport network that are necessary to implement the recommendations of the town centre Masterplan; and x Identify future transport needs to manage growth within the area | Rev A | 30 January 2018 | Arup Page 1 Blacktown City Council Riverstone Town Centre Masterplan Transport Assessmen t 1.3 Study Area The Riverstone Town Centre is located approximately 15 km north of Blacktown and 50 km northwest of the Sydney CBD, wholly within the Blacktown Local Government Area (LGA). The study area is located adjacent to the Richmond railway line – generally within a 400m radius east of Riverstone train station. The study areas is illustrated in Figure 1 and is bounded by King Street, Picacadilly Street, Elizabeth Street and the Richmond Railway Line. The Town Centre comprises of business zoned land fronting Garfield Road East, the Council owned Marketown Shopping Centre, a range of community services and recreation uses, as well as low density residential housing. There are a number of heritage listed buildings within the Town Centre. Figure 1 Study area | Rev A | 30 January 2018 | Arup Page 2 Blacktown City Council Riverstone Town Centre Masterplan Transport Assessmen t 2 Planning Context 2.1 North West Growth Area The NWGA comprises of 16 precincts. It is approximately 10,000 hectares and is expected to contain around 90,000 new dwellings for 250,000 people over the next 25-30 years. 11 of the 16 precincts have been rezoned for development, those being: x North Kellyville x Marsden Park Industrial x Alex Avenue x Schofields x Riverstone x Box Hill x Riverstone West x Box Hill Industrial x Colebee x Marsden Park x Area 20 Figure 2 North West Growth Area | Rev A | 30 January 2018 | Arup Page 3 Blacktown City Council Riverstone Town Centre Masterplan Transport Assessmen t The NWGA spans three local government areas (LGA) – Blacktown, Hawkesbury and The Hills Shire. The NWGA is undergoing a streamlined planning process to enable land to be rezoned in a shorter period. Figure 3 illustrates the current North West Land Use and Infrastructure Plan. Figure 3 North West Growth Area Structure Plan | Rev A | 30 January 2018 | Arup Page 2 J:\243000\243692-00 RIVERSTONE CENTRE MASTERPLAN\WORK\INTERNAL\00 - TOWN CENTRE MASTERPLAN\REPORT\RIVERSTONE TOWN CENTRE - TRANSPORT ASSESSMENT_300118.DOCX Blacktown City Council Riverstone Town Centre Masterplan Transport Assessmen t 2.2 Riverstone Release Precinct The Riverstone Precinct was one of the first release precincts of the North West Growth Centre, rezoned for development in May 2010. It is bounded by Bandon Road to the north, Schofields Road to the south, the Richmond Rail Line to the west and First Ponds Creek and Windsor Road to the east. The precinct plan allows for up to an additional 9,000 dwellings accommodating an additional 27,000 people. The final indicative layout plan for the rezoning of Riverstone is shown in Figure 4. Importantly no changes to the zoning of the Riverstone Town Centre were made as part of the release of the wider precinct. Figure 4 Final indicative plan Source: http://growthcentres.planning.nsw.gov.au | Rev A | 30 January 2018 | Arup Page 3 J:\243000\243692-00 RIVERSTONE CENTRE MASTERPLAN\WORK\INTERNAL\00 - TOWN CENTRE MASTERPLAN\REPORT\RIVERSTONE TOWN CENTRE - TRANSPORT ASSESSMENT_300118.DOCX Blacktown City Council Riverstone Town Centre Masterplan Transport Assessmen t 3 Existing Transport Conditions 3.1 Travel Patterns Existing travel characteristics in the Riverstone Town Centre and suburbs under the Blacktown City Council jurisdiction have been identified based on 2011 Journey to Work Census data. 3.1.1 Place of Residence The journey to work method of people living in these areas are shown in Figure 5. Vehicle as Driver Train Vehicle as Passenger Walked Bus Other 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Blacktown City Council Riverstone Town Centre Figure 5 Existing travel patterns of residents Source: Bureau of Transport Statistics, 2014 Other includes motorcycle, bicycle and mode not stated The results indicate the significant majority of journeys for residents of these areas are made by private vehicles. A higher user rate of private vehicles is observed in the study area when compared to other areas in the Blacktown City Council jurisdiction – reflecting the greater accessibility of public transport in many areas of the Blacktown Council area compared to Riverstone. Train travel accounts for 10% of total work trips in the study area, however this would be expected to increase following the completion of the North West Rail Link (anticipated for 2019). | Rev A | 30 January 2018 | Arup Page 4 J:\243000\243692-00 RIVERSTONE CENTRE MASTERPLAN\WORK\INTERNAL\00 - TOWN CENTRE MASTERPLAN\REPORT\RIVERSTONE TOWN CENTRE - TRANSPORT ASSESSMENT_300118.DOCX Blacktown City Council Riverstone Town Centre Masterplan Transport Assessmen t 3.2 Road Network The existing road network supporting the Riverstone Town Centre, as well as potential future road infrastructure upgrades, is outlined in this section. 3.2.1 Windsor Road Windsor Road forms the primary access route into the precinct, providing north and south traffic access. It is located east of the study area and is classified as a sub-arterial road, with two traffic lanes in each direction with provision of a third lane for right turn vehicles at certain intersections.