URBAN DESIGN & PLANNING REPORT TRANSPORT 2018
CONTENTS 1. SITE MAP
7. OBJECTIVES
2.AREA PROFILE
8. OBJECTIVE 1 ; 1.1, 1.2, 1.3
3.SITE INFORMATION
9. OBJECTIVE 2 ; 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
4.TRANSPORT MAPS
10. OBJECTIVE 3 ; 3.1, 3.2
5.SWOT ANALYSIS
11. IMPLEMENTATION
6.VISION
12. CONCLUSION
SITE MAP
PARKVILLE
CARLTON
EDUCATIONAL USE
RETAIL/CATERING USE
RESIDENTIAL USE
AREA PROFILE
YOUNG DEMOGRAPHIC
MEDIAN AGE 18-24
RESIDENTIAL OCCUPANTS:
LOW INCOME YOUTH
AGEING FUTURE POPULATION
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Through evaluation of the area profile, we can conclude that the dominant demographic of the investigation area is relatively young and able to be active and social. The residential status of the area indicates to an ample of student housing hence these residents will be key stakeholders in the implementation of this plan. In the graph on the left, we can observe that the heaviest traffic on Swanston Street throughout the day is created by trams and pedestrians. Therefore, it makes sense for the street to become pedestrian friendly and allow for greater movement of trams. Currently, cars are second on the priority list on Swanston Street, with their lane taking over the bicycle lane for part of the street. As there is significantly less car traffic, there would not be great consequences if the cars were detoured from the main street into neighbouring streets.
TRAM ROUTES
SITE INFORMATION
East Coburg
BUS ROUTES
Kew
Melbourne University/ Swanston St #1
16
1
University of Melbourne/ Royal Pde
Lygon St/ Elgin St
Stop 14 – Royal Melbourne Hospital (corner of Grattan St and Flemington Rd
1
• 11 tram lines sprouting from Stop 1; frequency of one tram per minute in peak hours • Frequently used tram route is from University to Melbourne Central • Trams also continue out mostly towards South and South Eastern suburbs • From Royal Parade, 3 tram routes give access to back of university • Trams are essential mode of transport for the area • Quick, efficient and able to fit lots of people in one vehicle
5 major bus routes mostly towards North Melbourne Frequency of every 10-20 minutes for each tram Bus is dependent on traffic hence irregularity in use Needs upgrade to bus terminal instead of stopping traffic in middle of the road • Buses go around all the way up to Lygon St providing good transport access • • • •
East Melbourne
South Melbourne Beach
402
Melbourne University/ Grattan St
TRANSPORT MAPS
BUS ROUTES along the site are active and connect mainly the northern suburbs of Melbourne as well the inner streets along the investigation site. Bus routes are important throughout the inner streets such as Cardigan, Faraday and Grattan in order for them to finally come and connect to the main tram stop. Buses are able to navigate through the inner streets and give travellers the extra help they may need in their travel.
The three main TRAM STOPS in the investigation site provide for efficient north and southbound travel in and out of Melbourne’s CBD and Inner suburbs. In Parkville, the main Melbourne University tram stop alone gathers student and Dental Hospital traffic to various other forms of transport such as train stations, specifically Melbourne Central Station or bus stops along Lonsdale St. The tram lines are essential in connecting the people to their destination.
STRENGTHS · · ·
· ·
· · ·
Swanston St carriageway is 13.4m wide 13 tram routes; frequency in peak time every minute Dedicated lanes for each mode of transport Young population University of Melbourne architecture and faculties
· · ·
WEAKNESS
Footpath width is 8.4m Car speed is 30km/h Major conflict between pedestrians, bicyclists, cars, private vehicles and trams Bicycle lane cuts off abruptly Traffic lights not being followed by law Seen to be crossing at red lights while trams and cars are moving
SWOT
OPPORTUNITIES · · · · ·
Encourage public transport Increase social interaction Reduce carbon emissions Increase tourism Create an outstanding, unique social centre for university students
· · · · ·
THREATS
Risk of accidents Reduced social interaction Lose tourism opportunities Connecting streets lose value Housing market slowing down
VISION S WA N S TO N S T: A P E D E S T R I A N F R I E N D LY, S O C I A L H U B Before
Pedestrian safety, accessibility and walkability are top priority on Swanston St Increased social interaction between pedestrians through wider walking space as well as retail and activity centres facilitated to be “hang out� spots After
Source: Global Street Design Guide, Island Press
OBJECTIVES
CREATE A SAFER, ACCIDENT-FREE AREA • Safer: less casualties regarding pedestrians, bicyclists, cars and trams • Area refers to Swanston St between Grattan St and Elgin St • Safety also refers to a well lit and accessibility ramps for movement for all types of people
INCREASE SOCIAL INTERACTION • Social interaction refers to increased pedestrian movement, sitting and verbal exchange between people travelling along Swanston Street and on neighbouring streets such as Grattan, Elgin, Cardigan and Faraday • Bring the Lygon St tourism to Swanston St hence widen the tourist prospects
INCREASE EFFICIENCY OF MOVEMENT • Make movement quicker in heavy traffic peak times such as 9-11am and 3-5pm as well during the day • Efficiency refers to the fastest and shortest distance way to get to final destination for trams and pedestrians as they are the heaviest occupiers of the road
OBJECTIVE 1: CREATE A SAFER, ACCIDENT-FREE AREA ACTION PLAN 1.1 -SEPARATE LANES FOR TRAM ON SWANSTON ST FROM GRATTAN ST UP UNTIL ELGIN ST
STAKEHOLDERS • CITY OF MELBOURNE LOCAL COUNCIL • VICROADS • PUBLIC TRANSPORT VICTORIA • RESIDENTS AND STUDENTS
SWANSTON ST
ELGIN ST
GRATTAN ST
Monash Road Crossing
One of the main issues on Swanston St in the investigation area is the lack of clear barriers between the tram and surrounding vehicles. There is huge moral disagreement between trams and pedestrians especially at the Monash Road crossing on Swanston Street. Students/pedestrians cross the road regardless of the green light in order to quickly catch the tram they need or while hurrying to class. At the same time, trams are trying to move forward and end up almost hitting pedestrians crossing the road. During this, cars are stopped in their lane for long periods of time as at any time there is at least one group of pedestrians crossing the road when cars have the green light. In order to reduce this discrepancy, there needs to be clear barriers where pedestrians can cross safely without worry about getting hit by cars or trams.
OBJECTIVE 1: CREATE A SAFER, ACCIDENT-FREE AREA ACTION PLAN 1.2–IMPROVE STREET LIGHTING FOR NIGHT-TIME ALONG SWANSTON STREET Source: Street Lighting Consortium, Member Case Studies: LED Street Lighting Programs, 2013
Case Study: City of Asheville, North Carolina 2013
Source: Marc Bradshaw, 2012
Swanston St at night outside University of Melbourne
The picture on the right shows Swanston St at night supposedly “lit up” with street lights and although they already use LED lamps in the street lights, they clearly don’t sufficiently light up the street and restrict safe movement through the street. On the left is a case study of the City of Asheville in North Carolina which experimented with 3400K Colour Temp Fixtures which are new LED lights that light up the entire road and increase visibility as compared to the old high pressure sodium lights. In order to create a safer street, Swanston St needs to adopt higher quality lighting so students and residents feel a sense of safety as they walk along the street. Another option is to implement 4000K blue-white light which requires energy efficient sources since the blue-white light also allows for clearer visibility of the streetscape in security cameras. This has been proposed by the City of Melbourne in their 2013 Public Lighting Strategy but due to the high energy requirement these lights would need to be in cases and may need timers during the night to save energy on the street. Residents currently feel very unsafe around the area especially after recent tragic events. In order to implement a sense of safety in the occupants of the area, bright and inviting lighting is key.
OBJECTIVE 1: CREATE A SAFER, ACCIDENT-FREE AREA ELGIN ST
SWANSTON ST
ACTION PLAN 1.3 –CREATE RAISED BARRIER OF BUSHES FOR BICYCLE LANES ALONG SWANSTON ST
Source: Paul Krueger, 2011
Source: bikewinnipeg.ca, 2015
GRATTAN ST
Case Study: Protected Bike Lane in Vancouver, B.C.
A great way to separate bicycles and trams, in the case of my investigation, is to implement barriers which incorporate green space such as seen on the left. These allow for an enhanced aesthetic landscape as well as provide a serious purpose of making sure cyclists do not collide with the tram in any way. The protected bike lanes on Hornby Street in Vancouver illustrate trimmed bushes on wooden boxes as barriers. These can be placed next to the tram lane without worry of collision between trams and cyclists. Since pedestrians and bicycles may not have as serious accidents, they can do with having just a raised platform for the pedestrians while the tram and bike lanes are on the same level separated by a barrier.
STAKEHOLDERS • • •
CITY OF MELBOURNE LOCAL COUNCIL PUBLIC TRANSPORT VICTORIA VICROADS
OBJECTIVE 2: INCREASE SOCIAL INTERACTION ACTION PLAN 2.1: CREATE SOCIAL “HANG OUT” SPOTS ALONG SWANSTON ST • •
STAKEHOLDERS
• •
VICROADS CITY OF MELBOURNE COUNCIL REGARDING RESTRICTIONS TO SEATING STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE COMMERCIAL BUSINESS OWNERS IN AREA
In cohesion with the New Student Precinct of University of Melbourne and the new Parkville Railway Station, creating a new social hub along Swanston St which is completely pedestrian friendly will enhance the unique nature of the strip of road as well as increase interest in the area. This will bring energy and brighten the vibe of the University hence bringing in increased financial revenue for new and existing businesses. Along with the new railway station, this social hub will be accessible easily with public transport. Stroget in Copenhagen was pedestrianised in the 1960s and turned out to become a great success as pedestrian volumes increased by 35% and 400% increase in stopping and staying activities which in turn would help enhance the energy and liveliness of the street.
Case Study: Stroget, Copenhagen
Source: Gehl, 2010, Cities for People
In John Gehl’s book, Cities for People, he conducts a student of 12 Canadian streets and highlights the fact that there is greater ‘Staying’ time at any point which further leads to livelier and more energetic streets. This study helps us understand the need for a social hub around such a distinctly unique precinct such as Carlton/Parkville.
Source: Global Designing Cities Initiative
OBJECTIVE 2: INCREASE SOCIAL INTERACTION ACTION PLAN 2.2: ADD IN NEW CAFÉ/RESTAURANTS TO INCREASE FINANCIAL REVENUE OF THE AREA Case Study: Istikal Avenue, Istanbul
Source: Google Earth
CURRENT RETAIL SITUATION ALONG SWANSTON ST • Very limited food and grocery shops • Heavy residential zone • One convenience store – almost hidden • Bare footpath, no interest • Boring façade • Concentrated transit traffic
Source: The effect of the pedestrianization of İstiklal Caddesi on land values and the transformation of urban land use, July 2017
Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul has been observed to revive the economic and social integrity of the area when it was pedestrianised, especially bringing younger people into the picture. There is evidence that young people thrive in areas with large social interaction. The 15m street accommodates a tram as well as double storey retail centres and pedestrian walkways. On Swanston St, there would be additional bicycles lanes along with the pedestrian and tram lanes to accommodate all types of transport.
IMPROVEMENTS • Potential for new café and restaurant opening • Increasing sitting and staying activities rather than movement • Allow for greater movement along the street as people sit outside and around cafes • Bring unique character and interesting façade to the street • Enhance the landscape and parallel Lygon St tourism Source: iStock, Kantana
OBJECTIVE 2: INCREASE SOCIAL INTERACTION ACTION PLAN 2.3: INCREASE STREET FURNITURE TO ACCOMMODATE INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP INTERACTION ALLOW INTERACTION BETWEEN GROUPS OF 4+ LARGE TREES COMBINED WITH BUSHES FOR GREENER, HEALTHIER SPACE
On the right are specifications of a large commercial sidewalk of 8m in total which will be made on Swanston St for optimum walkability and social interaction space.
Source: NACTO Global Street Design Guide
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS FRIENDLY SAFE COLLISION OF PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS THROUGH DISMOUNTING ON NONBIKE PATH Source: Global Designing Cities Initiative, Pedestrian-only streets Example 2: 18m
INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION
In this case study, highlighted in the image above are examples of street furniture which is beneficial in bringing people and energy to the streets. This is excellent evidence of how appropriate street furniture which is accommodating and accessible can allow for greater social interaction in groups yet also allow for individual reflection. Bringing this to Swanston St will encourage • students and student residents to mingle outdoors and generate a lively street atmosphere to attract a wider audience of tourists. With a widened commercial sidewalk, putting in furniture suitable for sun and rain with retractable pergolas will bring • • immense numbers of student and general public out and about, living healthier.
STAKEHOLDERS CITY OF MELBOURNE LOCAL COUNCIL VICROADS REGARDING FOOTPATHS AREA DEMOGRAPHIC REGARDING COMFORT AND PREFERENCE
OBJECTIVE 3: INCREASE EFFICIENCY OF MOVEMENT ACTION PLAN 3.1: REMOVE CAR LANES ON SWANSTON ST AND WIDEN PEDESTRIANS PATHS Through eradicating private vehicle/taxi lanes on Swanston Street, the pedestrian-only street can take on a unique character in increasing foot traffic and reducing traffic congestion at intersections which have been illustrated in the heat map, the heaviest traffic is at the intersections and in order to distribute this traffic evenly along the road, there needs to be a removal of cars completely. This will allow for increased width of the sidewalk hence improving the legibility of the street. Along with that, as seen in the section below, the will be two lane protected bike paths in both directions. Raised tram platforms will allow for accessibility and efficiency in keeping the trams out of harms way. Through the widened sidewalk or bicycle lanes, there is still access for emergency vehicles. Through creating a completely pedestrian street, Swanston Street can thrive as a social hub with great public transport access.
Heavy traffic Medium traffic Low traffic
Heat map showing heaviest foot traffic in investigation area
Source: Global Designing Cities Initiative
DETOURING C AR TRAFFIC A major question that arises in removing the car lanes from Swanston St is that, where do the cars go? There is still a need for access to the university and surrounding residential/commercial spaces. As much as it is essential to encourage public transport use, those who need to travel in cars can use the parallel streets, Cardigan and Lygon St to detour from Swanston St. These routes as shown through Google Maps, illustrate that there is only a difference of 1 minute between travel time if the detour is taken as opposed to going straight down Swanston Street. In addition, the neighbouring streets have significantly less foot traffic hence cars do not have to stop for students crossing the road without road crossing signal or trams restricting the car space.
OBJECTIVE 3: INCREASE EFFICIENCY OF MOVEMENT ACTION PLAN 3.2 –INCREASE FREQUENCY OF TRAM LINES TO REDUCE NEED FOR PRIVATE VEHICLES Currently the tram frequency on Stop 1 – Melbourne University/Swanston St is every 11 minutes for each tram in peak time, then ranging from 12-15 minutes frequency for one tram throughout the day. As there are 11 trams, this counts to 1 tram per minute. As this is currently a high frequency service already, it would be beneficial to have one tram every 7 minutes in peak time hence a tram every 36 seconds which would allow more people to be transported from one destination to another. The frequency can then slow down to every 11 minutes during the day as there will still be a tram per minute for those who wish to travel during offpeak hours.
STAKEHOLDERS • CITY OF MELBOURNE LOCAL COUNCIL • PUBLIC TRANSPORT VICTORIA • YARRA TRAMS • STUDENTS OF RMIT AND UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE • LOCAL RESIDENTS/OFFICES
IMPLEMENTATION SHORT TERM OBJECTIVE1
1.1 1.2 1.3 OBJECTIVE 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 OBJECTIVE 3 3.1 3.2
MEDIUM TERM
LONG TERM
CONCLUSION CATALYST PROJECTS • REMOVING CAR LANES AND INCREASING FOOTPATH WIDTH TO INITIALLY ESTABLISH NATURE OF STREET AS PEDESTRIANONLY • CHANGING OUT STREET LIGHTS TO UPHOLD SAFETY
• TESTING TEMPORARY STREET FURNITURE • PLANTING PLANTS FOR PROTECTED BIKE LANES
Looking at the key stakeholders for the proposal, they can be categorised into education, transport and council. The City of Melbourne is responsible for the legal issues and planning restrictions that may arise during implementation of plans. VicRoads also have their set of restrictions and requirements of safety and road width. Yarra Trams, Metro and VenturaBus will be essential in providing the quality public transport service. University of Melbourne plays a huge role in providing the voice of the people as majority of the demographic affected by the change are students and staff of the university.
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REFERENCES •
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