Understanding movement

Movement is how people get about to live their lives and access their jobs, education and services, as well as the movement of goods required for our cities and towns to function.

Movement enables people to connect with one another and pursue leisure and recreational activities. It is also about efficiently delivering goods and services to drive economic growth.

Movement is also a key enabler of places – done well it can enhance and contribute to successful places, by improving connectivity, liveability, services and economic success. Designed poorly, movement can diminish places and contribute to their decline.

Individual links that support movement need to be understood in relation to an overall transport network, and its role in delivering services to all people via various modes.

Step 3: Understanding Movement

The aim of this step is to understand how transport networks are integrated with land use and public space within the study area, and how they serve different users’ needs.

This should inform a better understanding of the movement implications of achieving the place-based vision and objectives identified in Step 1. Transport infrastructure and services need to support the vision. This understanding will inform your subsequent discussions, decision-making and evaluation of options.

Detailed guidance on Step 3 of the Movement and Place Core Process can be found in the Practitioner's Guide to Movement and Place.

Three types of movement

Types of movement can be classified into three distinct groups:

• movement through a place
• movement to and from a place
• movement within a place.

Generally, movement through a place does not engage with the place but can impact on it such as an express bus passing by. The movement to and from a place interacts with the place and connects it to other places, and movement within a place is contained within the local catchment of the place. The factors of movement can be further considered by travel mode and time of day.

Each kind of interaction needs to be considered in relation to the importance of that kind of movement in the place, not just in volume. For example, a village main street may contain all of the short trips (e.g. walking) within the village, and is, therefore, a primary street for movement within the village, even if those trips are low in volume. Conversely, analysing the volume of through-movement may not recognise the existence or desirability of alternative routes.

Understanding movement patterns and functions

As a precursor to aligning movement and place, we need to understand movement patterns and functions. Movement patterns and functions may contribute to better places, as well as making space (and time) for place. We need to consider:

• the most efficient, integrated and reliable way to connect people to jobs and key services (e.g. a network strategy or integrated transport framework)
• how to best facilitate the delivery of goods and services essential to economic prosperity and growth (e.g. freight strategy)
• the degree of access to places required to support vital economic, social and recreational activity (e.g. local access strategy)
• trip segmentation by journey purpose to understand which trips could be made by other means (e.g. strategic and switchable trip analysis)
• the modes by which journeys can be made most efficiently (e.g. desired mode split)
• improving safety and encouraging sustainable transport modes to reduce emissions and contribute to public health (e.g. targets for walking, cycling and public transport).

Assessing movement options

Considering a range of options for improving transport networks is a necessary part of any movement assessment. Design, planning, and development of movement links need to consider whether existing infrastructure could be reused, repurposed or used by a different mode, or whether new or replacement capacity or modality is required. In all scenarios, understanding the service required of all potential modes of transport is crucial. 

All road users need to be considered when assessing options. For example, people walking and cycling should be considered in both defining the issue (how walkable or cyclable an area is, and what improvements are required), as well as the solution (how to use the whole street most efficiently, and achieve the desired movement patterns).

Option assessment and selection needs to involve all agencies affected, including local government as the authority for local streets, so that components assigned to agencies for delivery, such as parallel cycle routes, are correctly identified, funded and delivered.

Functions of streets

A street is the basic unit of urban space through which people experience cities and towns. Streets are multi-dimensional and serve multiple functions. They are dynamic public spaces that evolve over time to adapt to our changing needs and values, and in response to both local and broader challenges.

To support and align these various functions at different scales, we put road and street users at the centre of understanding streets. This is further discussed in the Network Planning in Precincts Guide and Design of Roads and Streets manual.

Across the breadth and diversity of our communities, different streets do different things. However, all streets perform common core functions that are universal regardless of their location across NSW. Click on the arrows next to each function to learn more.