| Mode shift | - A car-centric transport network leads to congestion, unattractive places and high levels of carbon emissions. However, without good provisions for walking, cycling and public transport, people will choose to drive out of convenience.
- Too many parking spaces in well-connected urban areas can lead to low walking, cycling and public transport use and unintended traffic congestion.
| - A well-designed transport network at district, neighbourhood and street scales enables efficient movements of large numbers of people and goods.
- High uptake of walking, cycling and public transport delivers significant health, environmental and economic benefits, creates resilient communities, and enables our communities to be more equitable, inclusive and liveable for everyone. It also reduces congestion.
- Fewer car parking spaces means more space for footpaths, playgrounds, safe crossings, street trees, outdoor dining and bike lanes.
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| Land-use integration | - Low-density development with dispersed land uses is difficult to serve by modes other than cars. Destinations can be too far apart for walking and cycling, and public transport routes will need to make a lot of detours to serve them.
- Residential development is sometimes staged with limited consideration for walking, cycling and public transport, requiring residents to drive from the outset.
| - Appropriate levels of density can provide and sustain better local public services, including public transport.
- A precinct with integrated land use and transport makes it more convenient to walk, cycle and take public transport between destinations. This results in less congestion, lower average vehicle kilometres and lower emissions.
- The initial transport options available to residents, workers and visitors will shape their travel behaviour in the long term. Sustainable transport infrastructure and services need to be in place before new residents move in or workers travel to a precinct, to ensure sustainable travel behaviour is established from the outset.
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| Permeable network | - Subdivisions in greenfield areas, as well as newer brownfield areas, may have been built as separate discrete neighbourhoods with limited connections, dead ends and large block sizes, rather than forming an interconnected district for the longer term, leading to over-reliance on arterial road corridors to support the areas’ transport needs and limited public transport connectivity.
| - A transport network with a grid or modified grid structure allows for the maximum number of connections, enabling people to have shorter, more direct journeys. The wider choice of routes leads to a more resilient and efficient transport network, dispersed demand and increased catchment for various centres and facilities.
- Better walking catchments support more public transport usage as people can easily access their stops, enabling public transport to provide a greater reach into the community. The precinct network is also more legible to residents, workers and visitors.
- Permeable streets need less road space, leaving more space for other public amenities, commercial and residential developments and future growth. It provides flexibility to change the role or function of streets as the land use evolves.
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| Infrastructure, services and technology | - Multiple modes often need to be accommodated on one corridor while also minimising the overall road footprint. Without clear guidance, the resulting road space allocation has been historically car-centric and created large road footprints, which make walking and cycling less safe and less convenient.
- Walking, cycling and public transport are often considered last with the assumption they can be incorporated into the road network once it’s completed. This results in poor walking and cycling experience with indirect connections and limited infrastructure.
- Transport demand and supply can vary over time in predictable patterns and unpredictable disruptions, requiring flexible, adaptable solutions.
- Lack of coordinated plans for freight movements and servicing at the precinct level result in inadequate freight and servicing provision despite a projected increase in freight activities.
- Heavy focus on infrastructure-based solutions with limited consideration of short, medium and long-term service plans and technological advancements results in investments that are not fit for purpose and may require future retrofitting.
| - The best vibrant streets have multiple users whose needs are well-balanced.
- Prioritising walking, cycling and public transport creates multimodal transport networks that become the backbone of accessible precincts. This leads to successful places, a stronger economy and better safety, public health and wellbeing.
- A permeable network that prioritises efficient modes and is supported by technology can help balance the trade-off between different movement and place functions, as well as between modes, to create a connected precinct.
- Technological advancement has shifted travel demand, with many people working flexibly from home. An efficient precinct network allows people to access their local centres and destinations easily while working from home.
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| Processes | - The current framework for precinct planning and network development, particularly in residential and regional areas, often focuses on road network infrastructure and vehicle counts, which results in car-dependent developments.
| - A more integrated precinct planning process, presenting an opportunity to better coordinate land use and transport planning.
- Incorporating the NSW Movement and Place Framework makes network planning more supportive of place, balancing movement and place needs. This includes refining our catalogue of standard road environments, such as ‘local, collector, and arterial’, to include road environments with a focus on place outcomes, such as ‘main streets’ and ‘civic spaces’.
- The recent TfNSW Road User Space Allocation Policy provides a clear framework for safely and equitably allocating road space across users.
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