COMMENTS ON RTA DESIGN

Transcription

1 HARBOURLINK COMMENTS ON RTA DESIGN Prepared by: Tony Arnold On behalf of: Date: 24/11/10 1 / 23

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ABOUT BICYCLE NSW BACKGROUND...5 HARBOURLINK 5 BICYCLE NSW AND HARBOURLINK 5 PRICE WATERHOUSE COPPERS / SINCLAIR KNIGHT MERZ REPORT 5 3. INTRODUCTION DEMAND ANALYSIS...7 COMPARISON OF HARBOURLINK TO THE EPPING RD/GORE HILL SUP 7 PRICE WATERHOUSE COOPERS / SINCLAIR KNIGHT MERZ REPORT 7 BICYCLE NSW ANALYSIS OF PWC/SKM REPORT 7 5. KEY DESIGN CRITERIA...9 OVERVIEW 9 SHARED VS BICYCLE ONLY PATH DESIGN 9 LIGHTING 10 SECURITY 10 PATH DESIGN SPECIFICATION PRIORITISED DESIGN PLAN...11 PRIORITY 1: SECTION A MERRENBURN AVE TO WEST ST 11 PRIORITY 2: SECTIONS G & H BLUE ST TO SHB 13 PRIORITY 3: SECTION F RIDGE ST TO BLUE ST 17 PRIORITY 4: SECTION C & D MILLER ST TO FALCON ST 19 PRIORITY 5: SECTIONS B & E CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS / 23

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY acknowledges the commitment of the RTA, the Dept. of Environment, Climate Change & Water and North Sydney Council to achieving an excellent outcome for the provision of a shared pedestrian/bicycle facility along the Warringah Freeway corridor from Naremburn to the Sydney Harbour Bridge (referred to as Harbourlink). has considered the current design being proposed by the RTA (which focuses on the section between Merrenburn Ave and Ridge St) and would like to offer comments on the design specification and the prioritisation of the various stages of the construction. recommends the following design specifications to ensure that Harbourlink caters for future growth: Path width standard of 4m. Path width absolute minimum of 3m. Corner radii and other design choices appropriate to accommodate average speeds of 30 km/h and peak speeds of 50 km/h. is concerned that any attempt to design and build the entire project at once (or even the Northern half of the project) will result in significant delays in providing a useable piece of infrastructure for cyclists in the short to medium term. It is highly likely that plans will be affected by political, economic or community issues that may affect different components of the Harbourlink SUPs in different ways. With this in mind, has developed a Prioritised Design Plan that aims to: Maintain the long term vision of Harbourlink Identify and solve the key safety and efficiency concerns quickly. Ensure that at the completion of each stage, a continuous and safe route is maintained along the entire corridor. Minimise the risks posed by uncertain funding and the long time frame of the project The priorities of each stage are summarised below: Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Stage A Merrenburn Ave to West St Stage G Blue St to Alfred St South Stage H Alfred St South to Sydney Harbour Bridge Stage F Ridge St to Blue St Stage C Miller St to Ernest St Stage D Ernest St to Falcon St Stage B West St to Miller St Stage E Falcon St to Ridge St 3 / 23

4 1. ABOUT BICYCLE NSW is a member based association with over 30,000 members and supporters. Our association is dedicated to promoting, advocating, and supporting cycling in all its forms as an environmentally sustainable and healthy form of transport, recreation and tourism; we engage with government at all levels, business and the community. We are committed to supporting the Membership (individuals and corporates) and its 34 affiliated Bicycle User Groups (BUGS) throughout NSW. Our Membership is made up of people of all ages, cycling abilities and cycling disposition and who ride all kinds of bicycles whether for transport utility to get to places or for recreation. We maintain regular contact with our Members, Supporters and BUGs through our website ( a twice monthly e newsletter (to 30,000 recipients), and PushOn (a monthly online magazine) and Australian Cyclist (a bi monthly magazine). also publishes submissions made to inquiries and consultations. We recently published our annual report for which is available for download at 4 / 23

5 2. BACKGROUND Harbourlink Harbourlink is a piece of active transport infrastructure connecting Naremburn with Milsons Point along the Warringah Freeway. This project fills the missing link between the Gore Hill Cycleway and the Sydney Harbour Bridge and aims to provide cyclists and pedestrians with a safe, efficient and comfortable facility that is separated from motor vehicles. Harbourlink connects several major cycling routes from the Northern Beaches, Northern Suburbs and North West Suburbs of Sydney with the Sydney Harbour Bridge. These routes feed into major trip generators such as the Sydney CBD, North Sydney CBD, St Leonards, Chatswood and Macquarie Business Park. These trip generators have made the Warringah Freeway the busiest road corridor in Australia and will almost certainly lead to the Harbourlink becoming the busiest cycling corridor in Australia. This anticipated cycling growth is being supported in a broader geographical area by the NSW Government and City of Sydney who have both recently released bicycle plans that commit to infrastructure improvements and targets for cycling mode share. The NSW Bike Plan 1 has a target of 5% of trips under 10 km by the year 2016 and is focusing on providing priority routes. The City of Sydney Cycling Strategy has a target of 10% of all trips by the year and Harbourlink are strong supporters of the Harbourlink project and have been actively involved in consultation with local councils, BUGs, the RTA, PWC and SKM in order to achieve the best outcome for this significant cycling project. In particular, has collaborated with the North Shore Bicycle Group and Bike North who have both been heavily involved with promoting the Harbourlink vision for many years. Price Waterhouse Coppers / Sinclair Knight Merz Report In 2009, North Sydney Council employed Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) and Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) to perform demand modelling and economic modelling of Harbourlink. The total cost of the report was approximately $168,000 which was funded by: North Sydney Council NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW). 1 NSW Bike Plan, NSW Government, Cycle Strategy and Action Plan, , City of Sydney. 5 / 23

6 3. INTRODUCTION The objective of this report is to discuss the progress being made on the Harbourlink project and to provide feedback to the RTA based on how to achieve the best outcome for cyclists in the short, medium and long term. For the purposes of this report, the individual sections of Harbourlink have been defined using the overpasses/underpasses that cross the Warringah Freeway. These sections are as follows: A Merrenburn Ave to West St B West St to Miller St C Miller St to Ernest St D Ernest St to Falcon St E Falcon St to Ridge St F Ridge St to Blue St G Blue St to Alfred St South H Alfred St South to Sydney Harbour Bridge The RTA is currently performing detailed design on a number of the Harbourlink sections. These are sections A, B, C, D, E that run from Merrenburn Ave to Ridge St. is concerned that any attempt to design and build the entire project at once (or even the Northern half of the project) will result in significant delays in providing a useable piece of infrastructure for cyclists in the short to medium term. It is highly likely that plans will be affected by political, economic or community issues that may affect different components of the Harbourlink SUPs in different ways. recommends that the project is broken into small sections that each provide significant safety/amenity improvements on their own. It is important that at the completion of each small section, cyclists have access to a continuous and safe route along the entire corridor until the next section is completed. This report will identify the key safety and efficiency concerns along the corridor and outline a prioritised plan to address these issues. is also concerned that the design specification being used by the RTA for the Harbourlink SUPs is inadequate to meet the growing demands of cyclists using the corridor now and into the future. The report will provide information on predicted demand levels and provide an engineering guideline for the provision of infrastructure that can accommodate the continuing growth of cycling. 6 / 23

7 4. DEMAND ANALYSIS Comparison of Harbourlink to the Epping Rd/Gore Hill SUP The bicycle traffic using the Harbourlink Corridor is generated from a number of feeder routes. The Gore Hill and Epping Rd SUPs (from North Ryde to Naremburn) is one of the significant feeder routes and contributes around one third (500 weekday trips) of the current traffic levels on the SHB Cycleway (1653 weekday trips). 3 This observable three fold increase in cycle traffic from Naremburn to the SHB Cycleway (and hence Harbourlink) allows us to assess the relative distribution of bicycle traffic along the route and choose an adequate design specification for Harbourlink. The Gore Hill and Epping Rd SUPs have a standard design specification width of 4m with several stretches also providing complete separation of cyclists and pedestrians. Harbourlink will be required to carry around 3 times as much bicycle traffic and so should have a more generous design specification. This may include sections of fully separated cycleway. Price Waterhouse Coopers / Sinclair Knight Merz Report A report was recently released by PWC and SKM 4 that estimated that bicycle traffic crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge would rise to 5000 per day by By analysing the daily distribution of cycle trips that currently use that corridor, it can be found that the peak hour of demand would likely carry 26.5% of that bicycle traffic, resulting in 1325 trips in that hour or 22 trips per minute or one every 3 seconds. Analysis of PWC/SKM Report has provided an in depth analysis of the above report and has built a strong case that the assumptions made were wildly pessimistic. has provided its own estimates of likely future growth by using historical data from 2006 to 2010 and the commitments made by the NSW Bike Plan and the City of Sydney Cycling Strategy. These can be seen as follows: Table 1: Commitment to Cycling Growth and Evidence of Current Cycling Growth Factor Growth Rate (cumulative % p.a.) Actual SHB Bridge Counts ( ) 15.6% NSW Bike Plan Commitment ( ) 12.1% City of Sydney, Cycling Strategy ( ) 17.5% Assumption ( ) 12% 3 Spreadsheet data provided by the RTA, October Evaluation of the Costs and Benefits to the Community of Financial Investment in the Naremburn to Harbour Bridge Active Transport Corridor (Harbourlink), Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Sinclair Knight Merz, North Sydney Council, Sept / 23

8 Table 2: Actual Growth Rate Compared to Various Predictions Trips per Day Year Actual SKM 4% p.a. 8% p.a. 12% p.a. While the above graph shows possible scenarios if Harbourlink is not built, analysis done by shows that the number of daily trips could reach per day if Harbourlink is constructed. This results in peak flows of 55 cyclists per minute or almost 1 every second. Harbourlink Peak Weekday Demand (2026) = 1 trip every 1 second 8 / 23

9 5. KEY DESIGN CRITERIA Overview In the past few years cycling has played an increased role in improving public health, sustainability, economic equality and congestion. While previous facilities catered for occasional recreation cycling, newer facilities must cater for the continuing increase in cyclist commuters and practical utility cycling. The increased role of cycling has necessitated an improvement in the standard expected of cycling infrastructure. This is seen in recent standards/guidelines such as NSW RTA Bicycle Guidelines (2003) and Austroad 14 (Bicycles). For example, shared paths are now usually 2.5m 4m wide (rather than 2m) and on road bicycle lanes are increasingly being separated from parking lanes. Local Councils have also improved the quality and amenity of bicycle infrastructure over the last ten years. The improved standards are reflected in facilities such as: Epping Road Cycleway. M7 Cycleway. Olympic Park to Parramatta Cycleway. Bourke St and other City of Sydney initiatives. Shared vs Bicycle-Only Path Design supports the construction of shared facilities where traffic volumes are expected to be low and path gradients are flat. recommends the construction of separated bicycle and pedestrian facilities where traffic volumes are expected to be high (i.e. Harbourlink). In situations where the steep slope of a path leads to high cyclist speeds, strongly recommends the construction of separated facilities. This is the case for the section of Harbourlink between Ridge St and Blue St (Section F). The constant slope that runs for about 1km along this section has the potential to increase cyclist speed to over 50 km/h with little to no effort from the cyclist. The speed differential between pedestrians and cyclists is likely to create safety concerns if the path is not fully separated. Consideration should also be given to the type of cyclists likely to use the Harbourlink facility. The close proximity of Harbourlink to major destinations such as the Sydney CBD and North Sydney CBD suggests that many cyclists using the facility will be commuter and utility cyclists who are cycling for transport. These cyclists are focused on arriving at their destination efficiently and will tend to ride at a higher speed than most users of shared paths. This places greater requirements on the Harbourlink facility to be designed with adequate specifications. 9 / 23

10 Lighting recommends that the entire length of the Harbourlink facility is well lit to ensure that the route is safe from both a collision avoidance perspective and from an assault prevention perspective. The SUP along the Gore Hill Fwy provides a good example of path lighting. Security recommends that passive security such as adequate lighting and route design is used as an important component of security. also recommends that active security such as CCTV cameras and an active police presence are also necessary to create a safe environment for cyclists and pedestrians. Path Design Specification recommends that new sections of Harbourlink are designed with a generous design specification to take into account the unique demands that will be placed on this cycling infrastructure. recommends that the path is designed to accommodate the following: Peak loads of up to 1 cyclist per second (as predicted in earlier Demand Modelling) Average speed of 30 km/h. Peak speeds of 50 km/h. Two cyclists/pedestrians travelling side by side passing two cyclists/pedestrians travelling side by side in the opposite direction. recommends that the following general design specifications be used: Fully separated bicycle and pedestrian paths where possible < 5% gradient for sections longer than 50m. < 8% gradient for sections shorter than 50m. Full grade separation from motorised traffic avoiding all signalised and nonsignalised crossings. Regular access points (No more than 1km between access points). recommends the following design specifications where the path is shared use: Minimum of 4m width. 2 lane design with a dashed centre line (all path users keep left). recommends the following design specifications where the bicycle path is fully separated: Minimum of 3m width. 2 lane design with a dashed centre line (cyclists keep left). 10 / 23

11 6. PRIORITISED DESIGN PLAN PRIORITY 1: Section A Merrenburn Ave to West St Section A consists of widening of the path from Merrenburn Ave Southbound towards the Brook St ramp until the point where a new bridge is to be built. This new bridge will continue the SUP over the Brook St ramp and will land on the triangle of land between Amherst St and the Warringah Freeway to connect to West St. notes that the section from Merrenburn Ave to Brook St is currently very dangerous for cyclists. As cyclists travel Southbound from Merrenburn Ave the barriers between the path and freeway disappear and the path narrows. There are several telegraph poles in the middle of the path and in one place there are barriers that force cyclists riding in each direction to pass each other with no room for error (with the freeway only centimetres away). notes that the crossing of the Brook St on ramp can result in significant time delays (in peak hour especially) and creates a highly dangerous situation. As path users gather on either side of the freeway ramp, pressure is put on other path users to take unsafe crossing opportunities. recommends that the section from Merrenburn Ave to where the new SUP bridge begins be improved immediately. The relocation of telegraph poles, addition of freeway barriers and widening of the path would not impact on any heritage, environmental or community elements and could be carried out as general path maintenance. recommends that the bridge over the Brook St ramp (Section A) is made the highest priority Harbourlink section. This will remove significant conflict points and will result in a much more gradual climb towards West St, thus improving comfort. This bridge can be built independent of any other section and can provide significant improvements immediately. Once cyclists join West St, they are able to use it for a significant distance between Amherst St until Ridge St. recommends that cycling conditions be improved along this major bike route by converting West St to a bicycle boulevard with significant traffic calming measures. 11 / 23

12 Figure 1: Section A Merrenburn to West St 12 / 23

13 PRIORITY 2: Sections G & H Blue St to SHB Overview Sections G & H provide a significant improvement in safety and efficiency for cyclists. These sections are currently not being considered by the RTA who are instead concentrating on Harbourlink North between Merrenburn Ave and Ridge St. recommends that the focus is shifted from sections B C D E and directed towards sections G & H which will provide a massive improvement for relatively little cost. Section H - Alfred St South to SHB Between Alfred St South and the SHB, cyclists are required to negotiate the heavy volumes of pedestrian traffic leaving Milsons Point Station and crossing Alfred St South and Burton St. Cyclists are then required to climb 55 steps to reach the deck of the SHB to use the SHB Cycleway. Section H provides a smooth transition from the crest of Alfred St South to the deck of the SHB. The resulting path will pass over the entrance to Milsons Point station thus avoid all pedestrian conflict. The path will join seamlessly to the SHB Cycleway and remove the bottleneck experienced at the top of the stairs where cyclists dismount, pass through the U Rail chicane and prepare to descend the stairs. recommends that Section H be constructed as a Priority 2 section. This section can be built independently and provide significant benefits immediately. All that is required is to create a short access road between Alfred St South and the point adjacent to the rail line where this section will reach the road grade. Then it is simply a matter of building around 160m of elevated path. Figure 2: Section H: Alfred St South to SHB Key: Rail line Harbourlink Existing roads Existing structures 13 / 23

14 Figure 3: Section H: Alfred St South to SHB 14 / 23

15 Section G - Blue St to Alfred St South Between Blue St and Alfred St South, cyclists can currently use a variety of poor options. For example, along the Pacific Hwy between Blue St and Arthur St there is a very poorquality shared path which has high volumes of pedestrian traffic and a large number of fixed obstructions. Also, the intersection of Alfred St South and Lavender St is a very busy and dangerous round a bout. Section G provides a stress free option along the perfectly level tram reserve adjacent to the train line near North Sydney Station. The path then descends from the end of the tram reserve to an altitude of 3m to pass under the rail line. On the West side of the rail line, the path then passes over the roundabout and continues South adjacent to the rail line until Alfred St South rises up to meet the almost level path. recommends that Section G be constructed as a Priority 2 section. This section can be built independently and provide significant benefits immediately. The path requires is only 240m long with the rest of this section simply using the existing tram reserve. Figure 4: Section G: North Sydney Tram Reserve to Alfred St South Key: Rail line Harbourlink Existing roads Existing structures 15 / 23

16 Figure 5: Section G Blue St to Alfred St South 16 / 23

17 PRIORITY 3: Section F - Ridge St to Blue St Between Ridge St and Blue St, there is a significant altitude change. Existing routes do not smooth this climb into a manageable gradient and also use busy roads through the middle of North Sydney with many signalised intersections. These routes are shared by buses, taxis, motor vehicles and many pedestrians. Section F provides one of the most significant level of service improvements to the Harbourlink project. Safety improvements are achieved by removing pedestrians and cyclists from the busy North Sydney CBD. Efficiency improvements are achieved by avoiding several major traffic lights and by smoothing the gradient into a steady 3% climb. recommends that Section F be constructed as a Priority 3 section. This section can be built independently, providing an excellent connection to the existing West St route through Ridge St. The path requires a 1 km elevated structure that runs parallel to the Warringah Freeway and passes over Berry St ramp, Mount St and High St. This is one of the most expensive and potentially controversial sections of the Harbourlink project, however, this section bestows an iconic status to Harbourlink. The panoramic views of the Harbour and Sydney Harbour Bridge from this section are sure to provide an excellent return on investment in both utilitarian function as well as tourism dollars. 17 / 23

18 Figure 6: Section F Blue St to Alfred St South 18 / 23

19 PRIORITY 4: Section C & D Miller St to Falcon St Between Miller St and Falcon St, there has always been a freeway shoulder available for southbound cyclists. Recent major projects (Falcon St SUP underpass and bus layover) have changed conditions and placed greater need to provide a safe, separated cycling facility that is bi directional and connected to the local cycling network. Sections C & D is approximately 900m in length and comprises a long section at grade with the freeway and a section that rises to meet the Falcon St underpass. Sections C & D can be built independently, providing an excellent connection between Miller St, Ernest St and Falcon St along the very difficult to negotiate Freeway corridor. This path also passes the Cammeray Golf Club which has a major cycling route passing through it that is perfectly placed to join the new path seamlessly. recommends that Sections C & D be constructed as Priority 4 sections. recommends that the design allows cyclists travelling Southbound under Falcon St to maintain the lowest possible elevation. This saves cyclists the effort of climbing up to the level of Falcon St only to descend again to pass under Falcon St. recommends that the quality of the SUP through St Leonards Park be improved by fixing the damage caused by tree routes so that cyclists can use this route to join Harbourlink at Falcon St. 19 / 23

20 Figure 7: Section C & D Miller St to Falcon St 20 / 23

21 PRIORITY 5: Sections B & E recommends that Sections B (West St to Miller St) & E (Falcon St to Ridge St) be constructed as Priority 5 sections. These sections are not critical to the short term success of the Harbourlink vision. There is an opportunity cost associated with infrastructure projects and so resources must be directed towards more urgent facilities (Priority 1 to 4). By delaying sections B & E, we will acquire a greater understanding of how cycling numbers are growing and how people are using the existing paths. This will allow us to make the best design decisions for sections B & E. Section B in particular faces some difficult engineering challenges due to the limited horizontal clearance under the West St overpass. This requires the path to be narrowed to 2.8m and for the travel lanes of the freeway to be narrowed. Section E may prove expensive given the amount of elevated structure and rock excavation that may be required. It is important that everything is done to smooth out the gradient between the Falcon St SUP underpass to the Ridge St overpass. If the gradient is perfectly regular, then it will be a gentle climb from Ridge St to Falcon St, however, poor design could lead to significant path rises and falls. recommends that cycling conditions on West St are improved by making West St a bicycle boulevard rather then providing a sub standard path adjacent to the freeway. 21 / 23

22 Figure 8: Section B West St to Miller St & Section E Falcon St to Ridge St 22 / 23

23 7. CONCLUSION and RECOMMENDATIONS This report has provided a number of recommendations for the design and construction of the Harbourlink SUP. The recommendations fall into two categories: Design Criteria and Prioritised Design Plan. The Design Criteria recommendations primarily focus on the need to accommodate the high volume of traffic that is likely to use the Harbourlink corridor in the future. The path should be capable of carrying up to 1 cycle trip per second (sum of trips in each direction) with average speeds of 30 km/h and peak speeds of 50 km/h. The path width should be at least 4m with a maximum grade of +/ 5%. For the section between Ridge St and Blue St, it is recommended that the pedestrian and bicycle facilities are separated to accommodate the high speed of cyclists using this long, down hill stretch. The Prioritised Design Plan recommended by creates a staged construction of the Harbourlink SUP. The aim of this plan is to minimise the risks posed by uncertain funding and the long time frame of the project by focussing on high priority sections of the Harbourlink corridor first. By providing short, strategic sections of SUP, key barriers can be removed and the Harbourlink corridor can quickly become a safer, more comfortable and more efficient cycling facility. The Prioritised Design Plan has been designed to ensure that the long term vision for Harbourlink is not changed but simply that the most important sections are completed first. Each small section can be completed independently and will provide a significant improvement in amenity upon completion. recommends the following prioritisation of the Harbourlink sections: Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Stage A Merrenburn Ave to West St Stage G Blue St to Alfred St South Stage H Alfred St South to Sydney Harbour Bridge Stage F Ridge St to Blue St Stage C Miller St to Ernest St Stage D Ernest St to Falcon St Stage B West St to Miller St Stage E Falcon St to Ridge St looks forward to further discussions with the RTA regarding Harbourlink and other projects in NSW. These discussions will assist in the alignment of our joint goals to improve conditions for all cyclists in NSW. 23 / 23