The 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide: Planning the Adelaide that (BISA Members & cyclists) want
(This is from a forthcoming article in BISA's pedal update magazine, but I'll publish here as well as I'm sure Adelaide Cyclists have some good ideas for the 30 year plan for Metropolitan Adelaide too).
You may have seen the bus stop and newspaper advertisements that the State Government is currently doing a major rewrite of Adelaide's Metropolitan Planning Strategy, now to be called the 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide. This is an important phase in the life-cycle of planning the development and transport patterns for our city – and has generated a lot of both interest and debate in the political realm and in the urban planning, transport, industrial and architectural fraternities. Since both BISA chair Jeremy Miller and myself are studying postgraduate Urban Planning degrees at UniSA, we have been keeping a keen eye on the process and attending various forums looking at the merits and otherwise of the plan.
The draft 30-year plan is focused around three main premises: predictions that Adelaide's population will increase by just over 500,000 people, that for several reasons (e.g. environmental, cost of infrastructure, social issues) this population growth should not all occur as fringe car-dependent suburbs but more and more within the current borders of Metropolitan Adelaide, and that this change should be accommodated by developing certain areas in upgraded public transport corridors into medium-density Transit Oriented Developments (TODs). While TODs sound good to most planners in theory, it represents a major challenge, especially in current mid-to-outer suburbs which are often completely designed around the car and have a lot of problems for pedestrians and cyclists.
There are some positive maps and statements about cycling in the transportation section of the draft document (pp117-119), such as the need to “provide and extend a connected bicycle network across Greater Adelaide utilising bike lanes and cycle ways” and “provide direct and safe cycling links to public transport stations and interchanges”. These ideas actually draw on several of BISA's long-term core platform for better cycling, such as the Green Travel Corridors. However, as with other aspects of the draft plan that have drawn comment at public meetings for “having good ideas, but needing more substance” - should the plan have more definite statements about the appropriate way to improve cycling potential in Adelaide? E.g. laws that give priority to cyclists, especially on suburban streets? Reducing speed to 40km/h on non-arterial roads? Or the idea championed by BISA member Richard Bentley, of utilising better-connected terrace streets with aforementioned speed limits and new laws as Green Travel Corridors rather than trying to raise funds for separate bike lanes?
The current draft plan is a public document, available in PDF form online at http://www.dplg.sa.gov.au/plan4adelaide, or as a CD or printed hard copy (for a $10 fee) at the Department of Planning and Local Government offices, level 5, 136 North Terrace. While the plan is a high-level guiding document and many individual decisions will still be made by other government departments or local governments, we feel it's still worth making a submission on BISA's behalf to try and ensure better provision is made for cycling. Jeremy and myself will be coordinating a BISA group submission – the deadline for this is the 30th September. So if you have ideas in this respect please use the contact form on the BISA website to send them through before that date, or leave a comment for me here / send me a message on Adelaide Cyclists. Of course everyone is able to make individual submissions also – instructions for this are on the aforementioned DPLG website.
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Update 8/10/2009: BISA have written a group submission to the plan draft, primarily by BISA's Vice-Chair Sam Powrie. It's Available at the BISA Strategy & Projects page, or here's the direct link.
You may have seen the bus stop and newspaper advertisements that the State Government is currently doing a major rewrite of Adelaide's Metropolitan Planning Strategy, now to be called the 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide. This is an important phase in the life-cycle of planning the development and transport patterns for our city – and has generated a lot of both interest and debate in the political realm and in the urban planning, transport, industrial and architectural fraternities. Since both BISA chair Jeremy Miller and myself are studying postgraduate Urban Planning degrees at UniSA, we have been keeping a keen eye on the process and attending various forums looking at the merits and otherwise of the plan.
The draft 30-year plan is focused around three main premises: predictions that Adelaide's population will increase by just over 500,000 people, that for several reasons (e.g. environmental, cost of infrastructure, social issues) this population growth should not all occur as fringe car-dependent suburbs but more and more within the current borders of Metropolitan Adelaide, and that this change should be accommodated by developing certain areas in upgraded public transport corridors into medium-density Transit Oriented Developments (TODs). While TODs sound good to most planners in theory, it represents a major challenge, especially in current mid-to-outer suburbs which are often completely designed around the car and have a lot of problems for pedestrians and cyclists.
There are some positive maps and statements about cycling in the transportation section of the draft document (pp117-119), such as the need to “provide and extend a connected bicycle network across Greater Adelaide utilising bike lanes and cycle ways” and “provide direct and safe cycling links to public transport stations and interchanges”. These ideas actually draw on several of BISA's long-term core platform for better cycling, such as the Green Travel Corridors. However, as with other aspects of the draft plan that have drawn comment at public meetings for “having good ideas, but needing more substance” - should the plan have more definite statements about the appropriate way to improve cycling potential in Adelaide? E.g. laws that give priority to cyclists, especially on suburban streets? Reducing speed to 40km/h on non-arterial roads? Or the idea championed by BISA member Richard Bentley, of utilising better-connected terrace streets with aforementioned speed limits and new laws as Green Travel Corridors rather than trying to raise funds for separate bike lanes?
The current draft plan is a public document, available in PDF form online at http://www.dplg.sa.gov.au/plan4adelaide, or as a CD or printed hard copy (for a $10 fee) at the Department of Planning and Local Government offices, level 5, 136 North Terrace. While the plan is a high-level guiding document and many individual decisions will still be made by other government departments or local governments, we feel it's still worth making a submission on BISA's behalf to try and ensure better provision is made for cycling. Jeremy and myself will be coordinating a BISA group submission – the deadline for this is the 30th September. So if you have ideas in this respect please use the contact form on the BISA website to send them through before that date, or leave a comment for me here / send me a message on Adelaide Cyclists. Of course everyone is able to make individual submissions also – instructions for this are on the aforementioned DPLG website.
<------->
Update 8/10/2009: BISA have written a group submission to the plan draft, primarily by BISA's Vice-Chair Sam Powrie. It's Available at the BISA Strategy & Projects page, or here's the direct link.
Add a Comment
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Comment by Patrick Sunter on October 16, 2009 at 1:59pm
- Ha ha - I like it Paul ;) Perhaps we can let the odd electric-assisted one through too. Now that would sure be a contribution to a livelier city & addressing climate change!
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Comment by Paul Hamon on October 16, 2009 at 11:42am - no cars on the road and ONLY bikes by 2040.
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Thanks for the comments Luke and Ollie.
Ollie I agree the potential of really good bike lanes through the Park Lands, forming a logical, connected circuit with good entries to the city would be fantastic. It seems to me this "Parklands super-circuit" could then connect in to the best cycle routes through the city (eg Sturt St) with special bike traffic signals. We already have a small start towards this on West Terrace and it would have a lot of potential if expanded properly.
Anyway, have been batting ideas around within BISA and we'll publish our submission ideas soon and would love further comment from you guys then. We'll look to expand & build upon this submission as a program to take to the parties in the upcoming state elections too.
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Comment by Luke Hallam on August 30, 2009 at 10:19pm -
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for alerting me to this. While I must confess to not having the time to read it all just yet a quick skim and a few word searches is enough to tell me I'll be disappointed if this is the best we can do in the next 30 years.
Overall it appears that the focus remains on the car culture that we should be moving away from. There are certainly no paradigm shifts in the provision of public transport and the bicycle infrastructure is an improvement but nothing to write home about.
Map D17 on page 118 does look impressive but I'd be surprised if 50% or more of what is on that map doesn't already exist. Putting the infrastructure in is one thing. Getting people out commuting on their bikes seems to be another. Unless the infrastructure is developed properly commuters are not going to give up their cars in favour of bikes. Think disappearing bike lanes...
There is emphasis on TODs in the Plan. TODs are a great idea but once again they need to be implemented properly before cyclists will use them. Mawson Lakes is a prime example. I visited the Mawson Lakes train station a few months ago thinking that surely there would be secure bike parking to enable the Mawson Lakes residents to cycle to the train station. After all, here is a medium density development that is being touted as the future of urban development. It seemed obvious to me that riding to the train station would be smart and easy in such an environment. Instead of finding bicycle facilities I was greeted by a full car park that had overflowed onto a nearby vacant block. From memory there was one bicycle chained to a fence. How long has Mawson Lakes train station been in use? When will Mawson Lakes train station get secure bicycle parking?
My initial reaction to all the Bicycle Park and Ride symbols on the map was positive but then I thought about Mawson Lakes and became very skeptical. Apart from the fact that these facilities should already exist it seems to take an age for Government to construct these things when they finally decide to do it. There are almost 40 Bicycle Park and Ride symbols on the map. I wish I could be more positive but I suspect it will take 30 years before the last one is complete.
So after all that whinging all I can do is lend my support to any initiative that improves cycling infrastructure in Adelaide. I don't have the answer but I do agree with the proposal to reduce speed limits on non-arterial roads and change traffic law in favour cyclists as has been done overseas. When the speed differential between motor vehicles and bicycles comes down I've no doubt more people will start to ride. I'm also in favour of plonking some decent public transport down the middle of roads where there are currently two lanes each way. Magill Rd is a good example. Rip up the centre two lanes, put in a light rail or tram system and at the same time make public transport and cycling a more attractive alternative than sitting in an ever increasing queue of cars every morning and afternoon gassing yourself with exhaust fumes.
I suspect it will be difficult to influence the plan to produce a better outcome for cyclists simply because it is a high level plan that is written in such a way that it doesn't commit to anything. Personally I'd like to see a commitment to the same level of bicycle infrastructure within five years. I just don't know what would give Government the sense of urgency and foresight required to achieve such a goal.
My 2c. I'm a relatively new BISA member so let me know if I can help.
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- By the way, there is a good discussion on TODs by DTEI major projects director Rod Hook over at the Sensational Adelaide forum , including YouTube video recordings.
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