Australia: Sydney's Randwick Council plan to spend $68M on light rail works

Randwick Mayor Scott Nash says Randwick needs to get behind the light rail project. Above an Artists Impression images for the Sydney CBD Light Rail - Martin Place Source: Supplied

• Thanks to: RAYLENE BLISS
• SOUTHERN COURIER
• APRIL 18, 2014 10:27AM

Randwick Council is planning to pitch in $68 million to smooth the way for light rail.

In the face of a the long list of community concerns, including interchange locations, loss of parking and loss of footpath amenity, for starters, the council is pressing ahead with its support for the CSELR project.

Up for debate at the April 29 meeting is the release of the council’s draft light rail support plan which proposes to spend $68 million over five years to increase parking and ease the roll-out of light rail in Randwick. On March 24 the City of Sydney agreed to increase its contribution towards the CBD’s light rail network by $40 million, upping its total contribution to $220 million.

The planned CSELR corridor will wipe out 774 parking spaces in the Randwick and Kensington-Kingsford precincts. The council is trying to claw back these spaces in the draft plan with a multi-storey car park at Kingsford 9-ways roundabout as well as the creation of new on-street parking spaces - by changing parallel parking to angle parking in local streets near Anzac Pde.

The plan also includes the creation of public plazas in Waratah Ave/Belmore Rd, Randwick and Meeks St/Anzac Pde, Kingsford as well as new cycleways that connect with the light rail stops.

The residents of Wansey Road, Randwick, are calling for assurance from the State Government that the planned light rail expansion will not go along their road but parallel through the Randwick Racecourse site.Source: News Limited

“Our draft plan is about supporting light rail and making sure Randwick City gets the most out of this once in a generation opportunity to revitalise our City,” Mayor Scott Nash said

Other major points of contention with the current CSELR plan include the High Cross Park interchange. The council wants it moved to at High St to better serve the Randwick hospitals campus. And the council wants the Kingsford interchange, now located within the wide central median island of Anzac Pde, south of the nineways intersection, extended to Maroubra Junction. While there are now discussions around relocating the Wansey Rd/Alison Rd stop onto Alison Rd, the preferred option for the council is for it to move within Randwick

Racecourse.

The council is proposing to allocate $68M over five years to:

■ create hundreds of new onstreet parking spaces (to reclaim those lost by the introduction of light rail) by changing parallel parking to angle parking in local streets near Anzac Parade;

■ purchase land and construct a multi-storey car park at Kingsford 9-ways roundabout;

■ build new public plazas and close streets at Waratah Ave/Belmore Rd, Randwick; and Meeks St/Anzac Pde, Kingsford;

■ upgrade stormwater drainage;

■ build east-west cycleways that connect with light rail stops;

■ build bicycle lockers and racks near light rail stops; and

■ undertake traffic calming works in residential streets.

The council is continuing to work with Transport for NSW over the details of the proposed light rail lines to Kingsford and Randwick. Some of the issues that council considers should be included in any development agreement with Transport for NSW are:

■ inclusion of council’s Light Rail Urban Design Guidelines;

■ pedestrianisation of High Street between Wansey Rd and Botany St.

■ relocating the light rail stabling facility;

■ extending light rail to Maroubra Junction;

■ provision of a table of minimum footpath widths along Anzac Pde;

■ undergrounding power lines along Anzac Parade;

■ swapping the construction compound site from the Rainbow St site to Anzac Pde south of Sturt St to provide for an additional 50 car parking spaces for the Kingsford Town Centre and Souths Juniors;

■ maintaining some car parking on Anzac Pde where configuration allows;

■ developing an agreed process to assess trees for retention along the alignment (Wansey Rd), instead of leaving it to the discretion of the PPP;

■ provision of a business liaison officer by TfNSW for our town centres;

■ development of a business continuity plan in liaison with Council and Chambers of Commerce; and

■ input into naming rights of light rail stations.

Randwick Mayor Scott Nash says light rail will revitalise Randwick. Picture: John Appleyard. Source: News Limited

Mayor Scott Nash said:

“Light rail will bring considerable benefits to our area. It will create between 500 and 700 jobs as a direct result of construction, and it will support the growth of more than 4,000 jobs in education health and research in Randwick City.

“But with the benefits also come many challenges and inevitable disruption to residents and businesses. Our plan is to ensure we address these as much as possible.

“I want everyone in Randwick City to know that Council is well aware of their concerns and that we are working hard on developing the right solutions. Although this is a State Government project, not a Council project, we’re working with all stakeholders to get the best outcome we can for our City.”

Randwick Precinct: There are 304 existing on-street parking spaces directly in and surrounding the CSELR corridor in the Randwick Precinct (including loading zones, taxi zones, car

share, disabled spaces, permit, short term and unrestricted parking) that will be

removed as a result of the proposal. All existing on-street parking on the light rail route on Alison Road, Wansey Road and High Street will be removed. This includes existing taxi and loading zones on High Street, and resident parking permit spaces.

Kensington-Kingsford precinct:

There are 173 and 297 existing on-street parking spaces directly on the light rail

route in Kensington and Kingsford respectively. The CSELR project will involve the removal of a total of 400 spaces

PUBLIC DOMAIN IMPROVEMENTS

The introduction of the light rail would bring about loss of a significant number of onstreet

parking spaces along the route of the light rail. This is estimated to be

approximately 700 – 750 spaces.

To mitigate the loss of parking Randwick council commissioned GHD in January 2014 to

undertake a parking study to assess the potential for providing angled parking on

local roads adjacent to the light rail alignment.

The study concluded that the additional parking spaces provided by introducing angle

parking within the study area would be sufficient to offset the number of parking

spaces lost along the proposed light rail corridor in Kensington and Randwick. There

will be a net loss of 108 spaces in Kingsford.

The provision of a construction compound at Rainbow St and Anzac Pde,

Kingsford has been identified. It is also proposed that in discussion with Transport for NSW (TfNSW) thatthe construction compound site be swapped to RCC’s land in the middle of Anzac

Pde, south of Sturt St as this will provide approximately 50 additional parking

spaces for the Town Centre.

At the outset the council officers requested that TfNSW ensure that the light rail project

is fully integrated with the community and is in keeping with the community’s needs.

For a number of years council has been collecting and allocating section 94 funds for

works around the UNSW, Randwick Racecourse and the Kingsford and Kensington

Town Centres. A substantial s94 contribution has been provided to council as a

result of the recent Racecourse and UNSW developments.

The provision of car parking at the Rainbow St site has also been discussed with

TfNSW. This would provide a long term solution for Kingsford’s Town Centre.

The support plan measures to provide additional parking, public domain enhancement

and additional public works such as drainage over the next 5 years are estimated to

be approximately $68 million.

DIVIDED VISIONS

At the release of the EIS a number of issues including the Randwick and Kingsford

terminuses remained unresolved. Discussions with TfNSW continued towards a

satisfactory resolution of the outstanding issues during the exhibition and public

submission period of the EIS. However, in late 2013 TfNSW advised that the work on

an alternative Randwick terminus would not continue and that the TfNSW’s solution

would remain at High Cross Park.

The Light Rail Urban Design Guidelines details Randwick Council’s preferred designs for:

■ Randwick Terminus and the creation of an Urban Plaza with provision of

facilities such as lockers, cycle facilities, coffee carts, toilets and

undergrounding of substation.

■ Alternative to Randwick Terminus at High St should Private Public

Partnership (PPP) operator decide to consider this option.

■ “Nine-ways” intersection configuration at the Kingsford Terminus.

■ UNSW upper campus stop noting council’s and UNSW’s preference for the

location of the stop closer to Botany St and the creation of a pedestrian

plaza between Wansey Rd and Botany St to provide for the present and

projected passenger demands.

■ UNSW lower campus stop which addresses the present and future commuter

demands.

■ Options for Wansey Rd alignment to enable retention of significant trees.

■ Provision of public domain design and improvements along the route of the

Light Rail in particular along Kensington and Kingsford Town Centres.

Should no development agreement be signed between the TfNSW and the Randwick Council,

TfNSW will need to compulsorily acquire council’s assets such as footpaths and parks

eg (High Cross Park) to construct the alignment, stations and to undertake the

required storm water drainage works

Randwick Interchange: artists’ impressions of the CBD to South East Light Rail show design changes that will be made to the Randwick interchange and to the Moore Park stop, which includes a new pedestrian bridge over Anzac Parade. Changes made as a result of public feedback to the environmental impact statement Source: Supplied

UNDER DISCUSSION:

■ TfNSW to arrange a meeting with RMS, council & UNSW to discuss the

pedestrianisation of High Street.

■ TfNSW & council’s arborist undertake a joint inspection of trees along the

Wansey Rd alignment to ascertain which trees may or potentially could be

retained. Further development of a form of words that we could include in the

Development Agreement regarding the process for determining which trees

could be retained when the PPP was engaged.

■ An indication of the possible number of car spaces along Anzac Pde that

may be able to be used for on-street parking.

■ TfNSW position on the swapping of the construction compound in Kingsford

from Rainbow St to Anzac Pde. As discussed this could potentially

provide an additional 50 car spaces for the Kingsford Town Centre and South

Juniors.

Discussions on these issues are continuing in parallel with the Development

Agreement. TfNSW recently advised council that a joint arborist inspection of the

trees in Wansey Road will be arranged shortly.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS

The estimated cost of the construction of CBD and South East Light Rail (CSELR) is

$1.6 billion. The cost benefit of the project over a 30 year period has identified $4

billion of benefits which equates to a benefit of $2.50 for each dollar spent. TfNSW

notes that the majority of economic benefits relate to a faster, more comfortable and

more reliable journey. In addition, TfNSW notes the following benefits:

■ Road users with benefits worth $264 million from decongestion, operating

savings and road safety improvements.

■ Journey time savings and amenity improvements worth an estimated $333

million for pedestrians.

■ Around $707 million in public transport operational savings, including

increased revenues, reduced bus operating costs and efficiencies from

integrating with the existing inner west light rail.

■ Environmental and social benefits worth $308 million, including a reduction in

air and noise pollution, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and

improvements in health.

■ Wider economic benefits worth $222 million, including the sustainability

benefits associated with improved urban renewal opportunities.

■ Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 700,000 tonnes of CO² over 30

years.

■ Around 77 per cent of the greenhouse gas reduction is due to a decrease in

car use, with around 23 per cent due to a reduction in bus use.

The EIS also estimates that the project will help the creation of over 10,000 direct

and indirect jobs from 2014 to 2020.

Within the Randwick LGA the project will:

■ Support the growth of 4000 jobs in research, health and education in the

Randwick Education and Health Specialised Centre which employs 37% of the

LGA’s workforce and contributes $1 billion annually to our local economy.

■ Provide the flow on jobs in other sectors (retail, commercial and services).

■ Support the demand for 50,000 trips per day to the Education and Health

Specialised Centre.

■ Provide a more reliable service (97% reliability for light rail vs 23% for buses)

for our LGA’s residents who travel to and from the CBD (11,000 residents).

COUNCIL MEETING

The $68 million light rail support plan will be discussed by councillors at this month’s public council meeting on Tuesday April 29, 2014 at Randwick Town Hall starting at 6pm.

STORY SO FAR

In 2003, as a part of the preparation of the Randwick City Plan, council

commissioned a traffic study which among other things recommended a light rail

system to Kensington and beyond.

An outcome of Randwick City Plan 2006 was to “advocate and/or plan for integrated

local and regional transport improvements including high capacity transport such as

light/standard rail”.

This position was further reaffirmed by council in adopting both 2010 and 2012 City

Plan reviews.

In 2010 the council entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with our major

institutions (UNSW, ATC, NSW Health, TAFE and Centennial Park and Moore Park

Trust as well as the City of Sydney) to cooperate in progressing the provisions of light

rail transport infrastructure to Randwick City. Subsequent to this in

In 2011 a joint prefeasibility study was undertaken which noted that the study area offers strong

potential for a viable light rail system

In December 2012 the NSW Government announced the construction of a light rail

system from the Sydney CBD to Randwick and Kingsford study was undertaken which noted that the study area offers strong potential for a viable light rail system

The proposed route for light rail to Randwick. Source:Supplied

In July 2013 council signed a MOU with TfNSW for the CBD and South East Light Rail

Project with the aim of parties working cooperatively to achieve the best possible

outcomes for all stakeholders

June 25, 2013 council meeting resolution: Wansey Road residents seek assurance from the NSW State Government that the light rail will not go along Wansey Road but parallel to Wansey Road and through the Australian Turf Club land, therefore, Randwick council needs clarification from the State Government regarding the proposed route for the light rail; and council advise Transport NSW that the preferred route for the Light Rail to Randwick is to run parallel with Wansey Road on the Australian Turf Club land between Alison Road and High Street, in order to minimise any impacts on the Wansey Road residents

Council Planning Committee meeting December 3, 2013: council notes the report by Infrastructure for NSW (October 2012), which supported light rail to Randwick and also indicated the next extension of heavy rail to the Eastern Suburbs should be from Bondi Junction to Randwick and Maroubra Junction and that council request the State Government to commit to

this as part of its Strategic Transport Masterplan; that the State Government be asked to commit that the light rail should not being used to justify the Urban Activation Precincts and notes that light rail is justified by the existing densities under the Randwick LEP 2012.

April 29, 2014: EIS response: Overall support for the project

Objections: to the location of the Randwick Interchange at High Cross Park; to the location and, in particular, the layout of the Kingsford Interchange; to the location of the proposed Randwick light rail vehicle stabling facility at 66A Doncaster Avenue; to the proposed light rail alignment on Wansey Road; to the loss of substantial on-street parking along Anzac Parade, High Street, Wansey Road, Alison Road and within the Anzac Parade median island carpark outside South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club;

Concers about: any reduction in footpath width or capacity as a result of the light rail alignment; the impact of the project on traffic flows both on the light rail alignment and in the local street network; the lack of certainty about changes to the south-eastern bus network; about noise and vibration impacts on sensitive locations; that the ticket pricing of the light rail system may not be consistent with existing bus services or other public transport network pricing

Ordinary council meeting, March 25, 2014: The council resolved to write to the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, Minister for Transport and local state government members calling on them to respond to council’s concerns and to accommodate these concerns through appropriate changes to the CSELR design.