Principle 2: Develop an urban structure that supports successful places and encourages walking, cycling, and public transport journeys
Urban structure is the arrangement of green and blue networks, public open spaces, paths of movement, pedestrian permeability and cycling infrastructure integrated into the pattern of blocks and streets that connects activity centres and public transport nodes to form urban neighbourhoods, paired with suitable built form and land uses (see Principle 3). A precinct’s urban structure should encourage walking, cycling and public transport journeys, creating streets as public spaces that communities enjoy, and reduce private vehicle mode share.
A well-established urban structure creates attractive, centre-serving, main-street corridors that extend into adjacent precincts, providing an interconnected network for walking, cycling and public transport and an opportunity to serve higher intensity land uses between centres. Main-street corridors need to be designed and managed for a moderate speed and volume of vehicles that will sustain centres and commercial frontages but will not be attractive to private vehicles seeking faster through-routes. Some forms of filtered permeability, such as walking and cycling-only bridges and bus-only streets can be considered in certain contexts.
Figure 8 The precinct's urban structure should prioritise walking, cycling and public transport
The urban structure may need to be developed iteratively for greenfield precincts as future land uses are identified over time. Even in a relatively remote precinct with low demand or justification for conventional public transport, the urban structure can support active modes, approved forms of micromobility and on-demand services. Although dynamic, the movement of these modes can still be shaped through infrastructure provision.
In brownfield precincts, this means identifying existing and desired main-street corridors and ensuring they facilitate direct connections within and beyond the precinct. This may mean creating new access points and walking and cycling routes to neighbouring precincts, reallocating road space to prioritise walking, cycling and public transport, or using filtered permeability to limit private vehicle access.
Best practice guidance |
Identify priority walking and cycling corridors that connect precincts and centres
People walking and cycling should be able to enjoy the freedom of travelling anywhere in the precinct and to neighbouring precincts and centres to make these modes more attractive than driving for short or medium trips, and achieve the 15-minute neighbourhood vision.
In some cases, priority walking and cycling corridors may be found in the planned cycling network, supported by designated low-speed zones. Otherwise, you can identify network gaps by mapping areas that can be accessed either via segregated footpaths and cycleways, or corridors with a speed limit lower than 30 km/h (see Distance to Cycling Network on the Movement and Place Built Environment Indicators web map). The precinct’s priority walking and cycling corridors should be positioned to enable direct connections within the precinct and beyond, forming a dense network that is attractive and comprehensive.
Having priority walking and cycling corridors does not mean people cannot walk or cycle beyond those corridors – rather, people should be able to walk and cycle everywhere, but their access is prioritised on those key walking and cycling corridors (see Principle 5).
Identify priority public transport corridors that connect precincts and centres
Easily accessible public transport can be an attractive alternative to driving for most medium and long trips between precincts and centres. To deliver the 30-minute city vision, precincts should maximise the percentage of the population that can access metropolitan or strategic centres, major health and education precincts and significant cultural or leisure destinations within 30 minutes by public transport.
Precincts that are anchored by major public transport investments such as a new metro may already incorporate these transport connections in their master plans. However, identify any other potential public transport services that may traverse through or near the precinct, and identify their hierarchy in the transport network.
If such information is unavailable for the precinct, the priority public transport corridors need to be positioned to enable direct movements within the precinct and beyond, including inter-regional travel. Prioritise direct connections to key land uses (see Principle 3) and avoid circuitous public transport routes. These public transport corridors should also be accessible by walking and cycling.
| With separated facilities, walking, cycling, and public transport movements can typically share a corridor, as they are often complementary – people often walk and cycle to access public transport, and vice versa. These modes also support higher amenity and activity places. The zero-emission bus fleet and the light rail network also make these corridors even more attractive to walking, cycling and civic uses as they create quieter, cleaner environments than along conventional bus routes. These corridors should directly front key land uses (such as shops and parks) and need to be supported by priority infrastructure to optimise walking, cycling and public transport movements and reduce congestion. |
Separate high-speed and high volumes of private vehicle movement from places
Precincts should be designed to reduce trips by private vehicles. High volumes of private vehicle movements often result in road environments with a low amenity that conflict with many other journeys and desired place outcomes, creating urban barriers and severance between neighbourhoods, places and communities.
Where needed (such as on the motorway), high-volume and high-speed private vehicle movements should be located away from key places and priority walking, cycling and public transport corridors at a distance of at least 1km. The severance caused by this movement activity can be strategically used to create areas of self-containment and neighbourhood identity, reducing the need for people walking and cycling to traverse these corridors.
| High volumes of private vehicle movements are compatible and can be co-located on the same motorway corridor. However, clustering such movements beyond the motorway network typically creates unattractive street environments that are dominated by traffic, requiring larger intersections, expensive signalling and, in the worst cases, grade separation, which undermines the safety and attractiveness of walking, cycling and public transport. To avoid this outcome, private vehicle movements in a precinct can be distributed onto a network of streets with medium speed and medium volumes of private vehicle movements. |
Ensure rational and serviceable land releases with sufficient road reserve
Staging of land releases should be rational and serviceable to form viable walking, cycling and public transport networks. When new land is released, the transport network should be easily adapted with minimum rerouting required to limit the impact on the network’s efficiency. Construction vehicles should also be able to access the development site without affecting residents’ access to, and use of key land uses within and near the precincts.
Corridor preservation is vital in planning for growing precincts. The corridors’ road reserve should have sufficient space considering the desired network functions, street width relative to adjacent building height, quality of surface finishes, and provision of utilities and adequate canopy.
| If a corridor is mainly intended for walking and cycling, it should be relatively more compact to make it an attractive option. To ensure bus routes can be easily adapted, all corridors on which general traffic can travel (except on laneways) should have enough road reserves to allow bus movements, also considering any potential to convert them for light rail or rapid bus services at later stages (see Guidelines for Public Transport Capable Infrastructure in Greenfield Sites). |
Typically transport corridors are reserved for their ultimate width even though physical infrastructure or public services will be established over time. How streets evolve relative to land-use changes should be considered, so they don’t feel undesirably empty while the area is established. A staging plan matching transport and development should accompany greenfield developments.
Enable walking, cycling and public transport from the outset and during all stages
A precinct’s residents, workers and visitors should be able to walk, cycle and take public transport from the outset and during staged development – driving should not be the only viable way to travel at any point of the precinct’s development. Provisions can be delivered incrementally to encourage their usage from the inception of place. For example, a precinct may be served by high-frequency bus services before the corridor is upgraded into metro, heavy rail or light rail in the future.
Resources |
- Integrated network plans (TfNSW and other agencies)
- Cycleway Design Toolbox (TfNSW 2020)
- Walking Space Guide (TfNSW 2020)
- Bus Priority Infrastructure Planning Toolbox (TfNSW 2021)
- Guide to Transport Impact Assessment – Section 5.2.2 Network Assessment Process