Monday, 30th September 2013: Business & policy Dialogue

Tuesday 1 October to Thursday, 3rd October: Academic and Policy Dialogue

www.isngi.org

ENDORSING PARTNERS

The following are confirmed contributors to the business and policy dialogue in Sydney:

• Rick Sawers (National Australia Bank)

• Nick Greiner (Chairman (Infrastructure NSW)

www.isngi.org

Evaluation of accessibility measures in practitioner policy and their effectiveness in non-metropolitan areas

Presented by: Mr Brett Williams, Transport Engineer, Shoalhaven City Council

ISNGI 2013 – Paper Presentation

Evaluation of accessibility measures in practitioner

policy and their effectiveness in non-metropolitan areas

Presented by: Brett Williams (Transport Engineer, Shoalhaven City Council)

Problem: Lack of Strategic Vision

• Inadequate provision of transport infrastructure in urban development

• Geographic and historical legacies • Inefficient connectivity between land use

and transport systems

Holiday traffic congestion on the Princes Highway, Albion Park Rail (source: Illawarra Mercury online)

Crowded train platform in Sydney (source: Sydney Morning Herald online)

What single indicator can be used to evaluate

connectivity?

Accessibility

‘The variety of opportunities provided to people through efficient arrangement of land use and various modes of transport.’ Source: Austroads Application of Accessibility Measures

Accessibility – performance measure

• Good accessibility: target areas to intensify land-use

• Poor accessibility: identify areas requiring improvement

• No unified accessibility measure available for Australian practitioners

Defining Accessibility

• Discussed in abundance throughout literature dating back to 1950s

• Generally consistent definition however potential for confusion e.g. ‘access’ and ‘accessibility’

• ‘Remoteness’ – reciprocal of accessibility

Integration of Theory and Policy

• Lack of effective integration between theory and land use planning practice

• ‘Positive’ versus ‘Normative’ accessibility • Examples of accessibility in practice: Sutherland Shire Council mapped

Accessibility Index Sydney Alliance development of maps to

explore public transport inequality

Sutherland Shire Council – Accessibility Index

Maps commissioned by Sydney Alliance

ARRB Accessibility Metric (AAM)

Opportunities Travel Modes

Jobs for employment Car

Enrolment for school Public Transport

Workers in the retail industry Walk

Workers in the recreation industry Cycle

Accessibility - Non-Metropolitan Areas

• Focus in literature & policy tends to be towards major metropolitan areas

• Non-metropolitan areas: Public transport, walking & cycling

opportunities limited Lower population densities Wider disaggregation of localities

Conclusions

• Accessibility has been widely explored in existing literature

• Further work required to better integrate theoretical transport accessibility into policy

• Lack of detailed studies into non-metropolitan areas

Further Research

• Investigate accessibility in a case-study of a non-metropolitan area

• Ideally recommend a unified performance measure to be used consistently across jurisdictions

• Incorporate analysis into SMART Infrastructure Dashboard

Acknowledgements

• Professor Pascal Perez, Research Director - SMART Infrastructure Facility

• Dr Andrew Sense, Director - Local Government Research and Practice Development Consortium

• Shoalhaven City Council