The State of Transport in Macquarie Park 31st August 2015 Overview Macquarie Park is a major economic centre that contributes over $9billion to Australia’s economy each year. Providing access to and from Macquarie Park is a major task that requires significant resources and co-ordination. This report outlines the ‘state of transport’ in Macquarie Park through a discussion of the challenges facing Macquarie Park, and recommendations for further action to address these challenges. Some of the key challenges facing Macquarie Park are: • High levels of development are planned for the near future, which will lead to significant growth in employment, students and population. • The existing road-based transport is congested leading to slow travel times and poor reliability for drivers and public transport users alike. • There are barriers to walking and cycling access, including limited crossing opportunities, delays at intersections and incomplete footpaths. • Public transport access will be enhanced in the future with the Sydney Metro, priority bus corridors and a potential light rail link, but many areas served by bus will not receive priority infrastructure. • In the coming years, leading up to and including the temporary closure of the Epping to Chatswood Railway, travel will be constrained, with longer travel times and lower reliability for public transport users. • Without proper co-ordination of transport and development during this period, there will be an even greater impact on people’s access to Macquarie Park during these times. Based on these challenges that face Macquarie Park, further action is recommended according to four key themes: • Gather information to fill knowledge gaps • Co-ordinate development activity and rail station closures • Fast-track infrastructure for walking and cycling • Develop long-term transport strategy Page 20 of this document provides a more detailed list of recommendations for further research and action. The State of Transport in Macquarie Park 2 Location and importance Macquarie Park is located approximately 12 kilometres north-west of the Sydney Central Business District and one of Australia’s largest employment precincts. In 2014 the Property Council of NSW released office market reports citing Macquarie Park as the second largest business precinct in NSW, ahead of both North Sydney and Parramatta, with over 850,000 square metres of commercial space1. Modelling released by PriceWaterhouseCoopers found Macquarie Park’s output was $9.1 billion and ranked the precinct as the tenth biggest location for economic output in Australia2. N 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 kilometres Figure 1: Macquarie Park in its regional context. 1. Australia Uncovered Report- PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2014 2. Australia Uncovered Report- PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2014 The State of Transport in Macquarie Park 3 Location and importance People working, studying and living in Macquarie Park Macquarie Park and the adjacent Riverside Corporate Park in North Ryde are first and foremost places where people work in a range of offices, technology and laboratory buildings, warehousing and logistics spaces. Macquarie Park is also home to a major university – Macquarie University, a teaching hospital, a major shopping centre and several housing precincts. Currently, in Macquarie Park there are approximately: • 53,800 workers; • 37,900 students; and • 3,300 residents. Figure 2 shows the distribution of employees throughout Macquarie Park. Figure 3 shows the distribution of residents. This mix of land uses in Macquarie Park means that it is first and foremost a ‘destination’ location for travel with large amounts of travel to the area in the morning, and away from the area in the late afternoon and evening. Figure 2: Macquarie Park employment in 2011. 3. Bureau of Transport Statistics, 2011 employment 4. Macquarie University Masterplan, 2013 students 5. Bureau of Transport Statistics, 2011 population The State of Transport in Macquarie Park 4 Transport in Macquarie Park - An Overview Figure 3: Macquarie Park population in 2011. The State of Transport in Macquarie Park 5 Overview of transport networks Road network Macquarie Park is served by Sydney’s road and rail-based transport networks. It is located adjacent to the M2 Motorway, which provides a direct connection to the Sydney Central Business District, Sydney Airport and north- western suburbs for people travelling in cars and buses. There are also major arterial road connections around and through Macquarie Park that provide regional connections to north and central-western Sydney, the North Shore and Northern Beaches areas for people travelling by car and bus. Public transport network The public transport network serving Macquarie Park is comprised of both train services and bus services. Train services operate along the T1 Northern Line to and from train stations at Macquarie University, Macquarie Park and North Ryde. These stations are served by direct services connecting the Sydney Central Business District, Chatswood, Hornsby and Epping every 15 minutes throughout the day, with a high degree of reliability. Having opened just six years ago, train stations serving Macquarie Park handle a combined 31,000 daily passenger trips to and from Macquarie Park each day. Between 2013 and 2014, the number of people travelling on trains to and from stations in Macquarie Park increased by 14 per cent, amongst the highest growth in Sydney6. Buses serve a range of stops throughout Macquarie Park, with many commencing or terminating at a large bus interchange at Macquarie Shopping Centre, adjacent to Macquarie University Station. Buses provide direct connections between Macquarie Park and the Sydney Central Business District, North-West and Hills District, North Shore and Northern Beaches, as well as to a variety of nearby locations in the Ryde area. Individual services generally serve the park every 10-15 minutes throughout the day, with higher frequencies during peak hours. Key bus corridors on Waterloo Road, Lane Cove Road and Epping Road carry many bus routes, with buses serving stops every 2 minutes or more frequent during busy morning and evening travel times7. Although Macquarie Park is served by a variety of bus services, the network is highly complex, with bus routes serving the same location departing from a range of different locations. The complex bus network in Macquarie Park is a confusing to customers, and potentially negatively impacts the experience of public transport travel to and from Macquarie Park. Figure 5 shows the road and public transport network serving Macquarie Park. 6. Sydney Trains Barrier Counts, 2009 - 2014 - Bureau of Transport Statistics 7. Analysis of Transport for NSW operational timetable, 2015 The State of Transport in Macquarie Park 6 Overview of transport networks Figure 5: Transport network serving Macquarie Park. The State of Transport in Macquarie Park 7 Challenge: Macquarie Park is growing rapidly Macquarie Park is set to experience some of the highest levels of growth in New South Wales, with the number of people working, studying and living in Macquarie Park expected to increase significantly in the near future. By 2021, Macquarie Park is expected to have almost 61,000 workers – 7,000 more than it did in 20118. This is amongst the highest employment growth forecast throughout Sydney over this time. The additional jobs expected in Macquarie Park will add to the number of people travelling to and from Macquarie Park each day. If each of these people were to drive to Macquarie Park, that would mean an additional 5,800 cars on the road. If they caught public transport, it would be enough to fill 140 buses, or six trains each morning and evening. Macquarie University’s growth in the past years has largely exceeded predictions. University forecasts anticipate that the number of people studying at the University could grow from 27,000 to 50,000 full- time equivalent students by 2023 under a high-growth scenario9. This would see almost twice as many student accessing the university each day, placing an additional strain on roads and public transport services. Major residential ‘Priority Precincts’ are planned at Herring Rd and North Ryde. At Herring Rd, up for 2,400 additional homes (6,800 people) are planned to be built by 202110. At North Ryde, an additional 3,000 homes (8,500 people) are planned to be built by 2031. This residential development is expected to drive a 75% increase in people living in Macquarie Park since 2011. The increase in people living in Macquarie Park will lead to a greater number of people travelling within Macquarie Park to access jobs, shopping and recreational facilities and regional public transport services. This likely means there will be a greater number of people travelling to and from Macquarie Park at different times of the day, as Macquarie Park’s role as an ‘origin’ location increases. In addition to these increases within Macquarie Park, the surrounding region is expected to be home to an increasing number of people in the future. By 2021, an additional 150,000 people are expected to live within ten kilometres of Macquarie Park11. In October 2014, Macquarie Centre finished the first stage of major redevelopments, making it the largest shopping centre in New South Wales with 250 retail stores, a cinema complex and an ice rink12. Travel between the shopping centre and growing residential areas will result in further increases in trips to and from Macquarie Park each day. Figures 6 and 7 show the expected population, employment and student growth in Macquarie Park from 2011 to 2021. Differences in population and employment forecasts: There are a variety of figures used to describe future population, employment and students in promotional, planning and strategy documents relating to Macquarie Park. These are generally from similar datasets, but can relate to different areas or geographical definitions of Macquarie Park and the adjacent North Ryde area. This report generally uses figures drawn from the September 2014 release of the Bureau of Transport Statistics population and employment forecasts, and have been summarised according to the 477 hectare geographical area shown in the maps within this document.