The Awabakal, Worimi, Wonnarua, Geawegal, Birrpai and Darkinjung peoples are the traditional owners of the land that now makes up the Lower Hunter Region. Following European settlement in the 1790s, Newcastle became a larger town with trams operating through the centre between 1887 and 1950. Newcastle’s urban structure largely follows the old tramway alignment.

This case study is a review of a brownfield precinct with a redeveloped city centre to illustrate how a transport network can contribute towards ambitious goals for a place, such as those identified in the Newcastle Urban Renewal Strategy. While there have been some implementation issues, this example shows how prioritising public transport along corridors can activate places and encourage compatible land uses.

Figure 24 Newcastle CBD

Principle 1: Identify the desired outcomes for the precinct

The Newcastle Urban Renewal Strategy outlined a plan to revitalise a previously key industrial centre into a vibrant and innovative regional hub by re-establishing Hunter Street as Newcastle’s main street, promoting employment and population growth, connecting Newcastle with the waterfront and giving priority to transport modes other than driving.

Transport initiatives were sought to encourage the use of more efficient and sustainable forms of transport such as walking, cycling and public transport.

Principles 2 and 3: Develop an urban structure that supports successful places and encourages walking, cycling, and public transport journeys, and co-locate key land uses

The revitalised Hunter Street and Scott Street will serve as a main street with a footpath, cycleway and on-street light rail. A parallel cycleway will also be provided on King Street and along the waterfront, approximately 100m from Hunter Street.

The light rail was a catalyst for change throughout the city, allowing planners to reconsider how the city functioned. Before the light rail, Hunter Street was the main road for private vehicles and public transport. The light rail transforms the role of Hunter Street into a main street with an attractive public domain, which includes the Hunter Street Mall and Newcastle Beach as key destinations. The East End was also significantly redeveloped into a mix of residential apartments, retail and office space along the priority walking, cycling and public transport corridors of Hunter Street and Scott Street.

While private vehicles can still travel on all roads in the city, they are encouraged to use connections that travel around Hunter Street and Scott Street. This was achieved by implementing traffic calming measures such as narrower traffic lanes and reduced speed limits. Some on-street parking spaces are available on one side of the street, although they are timed and ticketed to encourage higher turnover.

Hunter Street and Scott Street, combined with key land uses, form the urban structure of Newcastle as a main street that prioritises walking, cycling and public transport as the backbone.

Figure 25 Potential urban structure for Newcastle CBD

Principle 4: Create a permeable network with a grid-like structure, short block length and high intersection density

A grid-like structure was already present in Newcastle, although it was largely focused on the movement of vehicles. Having an established grid network, however, reduces the potential amount of work needed to improve the experience for people walking, cycling and taking public transport. For example, the less-costly options of road space reallocation, filtered permeability and crossing upgrades could be considered, rather than building new connections that are significantly more complex and costly.

Principle 5: Enable connected, direct and comfortable walking and cycling movements 

A comprehensive network of walking and cycling routes has been identified to support Hunter Street and facilitate end-to-end trips to key destinations and commercial centres.

Where possible, walking and cycling have been improved on all corridors. However, the largest investments have been used to encourage walking and cycling on separated routes that are accessible and have the best amenity, such as on Hunter Street and Scott Street, the waterfront and part of King Street. These interventions generally focus on the flattest routes, nearest to the water. The walking and cycling network also supports public transport trips, with crossings at light rail stops, although more direct and separated cycling facilities are needed to access the stops.

Parts of the cycling improvements were trialed under the Streets as Shared Spaces program. This included a separated, uni-directional cycleway on each side of Hunter Street between National Park Street and Worth Place, supported by a reduced speed limit of 40km/h. These improvements resulted in a 90% increase in morning peak-hour bicycle movement and 16% in the afternoon (data was collected during the COVID-19 Omicron spike and may have impacted the typical number of users). This project was also a catalyst for new cycleway projects, including an extension of the Hunter Street cycleway trial to Ivy Street, Islington.

Figure 26 Cycleway improvements in Hunter Street have been accompanied by reduced speed limit

Principle 6: Plan public transport infrastructure, services and technology concurrently

The light rail alignment is aligned with key land uses and provides a direct connection into the centre of the precinct, making it an efficient way to access services.

Stage 1 of the light rail improved public transport offerings on Hunter Street and Scott Street as the main street. The light rail is supported by a priority lane to ensure the public transport services are not only frequent but also reliable.

As Newcastle continues to grow, more connections beyond the light rail may be needed. With a permeable network that provides direct access to the light rail stops, more public transport services can be introduced to expand the network, such as by introducing fast, frequent and reliable bus services on Union Street and Darby Street. Plans for an extension to the light rail are already underway.

Principle 7: Accommodate the movement of goods, freight and urban services based on the desired place outcomes

While the city has changed significantly, it still needs strong freight connections to support the port and industrial areas, as well as last-mile freight into the city centre. King Street provides efficient connections for the latter; however, it still shares the corridor with walking, cycling and public transport.

Principle 8: Design self-explaining street environments following the NSW Movement and Place Framework

To deliver the desired Movement and Place functions of each corridor, appropriate features and space allocation have been used to prioritise the preferred users and behaviour. Wide footpaths, dedicated lanes for light rail, regular crossing points for people walking and cycling, and traffic calming measures reinforce Hunter and Scott streets’ role as a main street. Similarly, the dedicated walking and cycling facilities reflect the waterfront’s role as a civic space and key destination.