Evolution of the Transit-oriented Development Model for Low-density Cities: A Case Study of Perth's New Railway Corridor

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1 Planning, Practice & Research ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: Evolution of the Transit-oriented Development Model for Low-density Cities: A Case Study of Perth's New Railway Corridor Carey Curtis To cite this article: Carey Curtis (2008) Evolution of the Transit-oriented Development Model for Low-density Cities: A Case Study of Perth's New Railway Corridor, Planning, Practice & Research, 23:3, , DOI: / To link to this article: Published online: 13 Nov Submit your article to this journal Article views: 2352 View related articles Citing articles: 18 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

2 Planning, Practice & Research, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp , August 2008 ARTICLE Evolution of the Transit-oriented Development Model for Low-density Cities: A Case Study of Perth s New Railway Corridor CAREY CURTIS Abstract Perth has seen strong investment in public transport infrastructure compared with its past approach of a city designed for mobility by car. Designing a transport system to compete with the car in a low-density city has raised significant challenges. The planning and routing of Perth s newest passenger railway has been strongly grounded in land use planning with active pursuit of opportunities for transit-oriented development (TOD). This has resulted in different models of integration from TODs designed around walk-on patronage, to TODs designed to calm hostile car-based environments, to transit-transfer stations relying on state transit agency coordination between transport modes to maximize the attractiveness of the public transport travel. This paper examines the opportunities and constraints presented by each model. Introduction Perth (Western Australia) achieved fame as one of the world s most car-dependent cities (Newman & Kenworthy, 1999); car ownership and use is the highest of all Australian cities (723 vehicles per 1, 000 people). This is a result of the planning choices made for city form and transport investment since the 1950s. The metropolitan area now houses a population of 1.4 million in low-density suburban development spreading some 130 km along the Indian Ocean coast. Singleoccupant car use dominates the transport mode share and the road network has absorbed the bulk of transport expenditure (Gleeson et al., 2003), making delivery of a high-frequency public transport system a major challenge. Since the 1990s, however, Perth has seen strong investment in public transport infrastructure to the envy of other Australian cities. The most recent investment has been the building of a new 72-km railway line to serve Perth s southern suburbs (operational from December 2007) see Figure 1. Carey Curtis, Associate Professor, Australasian Centre for the Governance and Management of Urban Transport, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box U1987, Bentley, WA 6845, Australia. c.curtis@curtin.edu.au ISSN print/ online/08/ Ó 2008 Taylor & Francis 285 DOI: /

3 Carey Curtis FIGURE 1. Greater Perth Metropolitan Area. The planning and routing of the new railway has been more strongly grounded in land use planning as state planning and transport agencies have worked hard to pursue the longstanding planning objective of land use transport integration. Agencies have actively pursued opportunities for transit-oriented development (TOD) along the new railway line. Designing a transport system to compete with the car has raised some significant challenges for land use and urban structure. The railway travels in part along the central median strip of a freeway and in part along its own dedicated reserve. The route thus results in different models of integration, from TOD designed around walk-on patronage, to TOD designed to calm hostile 286

4 Evolution of the TOD Model for Low-density Cities car-based environments, to the transit-transfer stations whose success is achieved with strong state transit agency coordination between transport modes to maximize the attractiveness of the public transport travel. These different models present an opportunity to explore ways of integrating the railway with land use, and so to test the concept for TOD in a low-density suburban environment. There are arguments in favour of each model. Theories about TOD are based on the notion of precincts designed for high-density residential development combined with high-intensity commercial and retail development sitting within a high-quality pedestrian environment. The argument is that this will reduce carbased travel by providing the opportunity for both local and regional trips. In Western Australia, railway planners have argued for a different model based on integration between transport modes (primarily bus/rail and car/rail) rather than integration with land use. They assert that this will result in a higher proportion of regional trips by public transport that will reduce pressure on the road network at the critical peak period. A hybrid model has also emerged that provides for both possibilities good integration with other transport modes and a measure of integration with land use activity. The extent to which these different models of land use transport integration achieve more sustainable travel outcomes is currently being measured as part of a longitudinal study of travel behaviour change. 1 Of interest to this paper are the constraints and opportunities the railway has offered for land use transport integration. Perth: A History of Land Use Transport Integration It is argued today that the close integration of land use activity and transport infrastructure (generally seen as public transport) can be one means of creating the means to achieve more sustainable travel outcomes. Clearly land use transport integration has long been the basis of the planning discipline; however, at different stages in planning history this has applied to different transport modes. The dominant post-war planning approach was premised almost exclusively on car-based mobility. This was also the case in Perth. Here there has been a long history of planning strategies and policies promoting land use transport integration. However, the love affair with the car has seen the main focus on implementation of this ideal by providing access for cars. In contrast, in the more recent past Perth can be regarded as a pioneer in the emphasis and re-focus on public transport planning. As early as the 1930s, the Metropolitan Planning Commission acknowledged the need for land use transport integration (McManus, 1993). The first strategic plan for the metropolitan region in 1955 argued for land use transport integration to be achieved by creating a series of self-contained communities including land for employment in close proximity to residential areas (Carr, 1979). The plan proposed a compact region with a transport network that included two new suburban rail lines and a substantial regional road network focusing on radial routes from the Perth Central Business District (CBD) (Stephenson & Hepburn, 1955). The railway proposals were never implemented but the road network proceeded at speed. The car was popular, seen as a sign of a modern prosperous city and viewed as the main mode of travel, with public transport provision seen as serving only a social welfare function (Metropolitan Transport Trust, 1961). 287

5 Carey Curtis Catering for car travel was to dominate city planning from the 1960s until the late 1980s. The late 1950s saw debate about the removal of the early railways and their replacement with buses, which were considered a more appropriate form of transport because the infrastructure required was the same as that required by cars and it was partly funded by the Commonwealth (McManus, 2002, p. 198). New suburbs were developed away from railway lines and the car was seen as the primary means of transport. By 1979 the Fremantle line was closed to make way for a proposed freeway, with a bus-way proposed to replace the rail link (Newman, 1992). The next two metropolitan planning strategies (the Corridor Plan of 1970 and the Metroplan of 1990) argued for land use transport integration. This was to be achieved by dispersing the city to regional centres at the periphery of the region (Midland, Armadale, Joondalup and Rockingham) to be served both by public transport and an extensive high-speed road network. The land use transport integration principles of these plans included the notion of self-contained communities at these regional centres and the provision of public transport between these centres and the CBD. Railway lines already served Midland and Armadale, and the line to Joondalup opened in Despite this approach, car-based travel continued to grow. The average kilometres by car per annum rose from approximately 6, 000 km in 1979 to almost 10, 000 km in 2000 (Western Australian Planning Commission [WAPC], 1999). Trips per capita per day have remained fairly static for car and walking but, until recently, declined for public transport and cycling. The mode share for all trips shows an increase in car (from 70% in 1976 to 80% in 2000) with a consequent decline in walking (from 16% to 12%) and public transport (from 8% to 5%), while cycling has remained at 3% (Curtis, 2001). One reason for this has been the failure to achieve a concentration of employment uses at suburban centres served by public transport (outside Perth City itself). The late 1990s saw a new premise for land use transport integration, this time framed around public transport access. The new focus aimed at achieving changes to the physical form of the city at both the regional and the neighbourhood scale, and supported a move away from car use towards providing for transport choice. Arguments were made for balanced transport, meaning provision for all modes of transport not just for private cars, and were later seen reflected in such policy documents as the Metropolitan Transport Strategy (Department of Transport et al., 1996). Other state government initiatives supported this change in direction, promoting the need to control urban sprawl and overcome car dependence by ensuring public transport and non-motorized options were feasible for many trips, rather than the previous approach dominated by low-occupancy car travel. A statewide planning code promotes the development of walkable communities where day-to-day activities can be served within a local area (WAPC, 1997). One operational planning policy of direct interest was the introduction in 1988 of Development Control Policy 1.6 Development around Metropolitan Railways Stations, now called Planning to enhance public transport (Ministry for Planning, 1999). This policy requires that all planning applications on land adjacent to metropolitan railways stations support rail use and access by providing for higher density residential development. While a pioneering policy for TOD, its implementation has been slow to take effect especially through conventional development processes. Development of the Subiaco station precinct commenced 288

6 Evolution of the TOD Model for Low-density Cities in 1994 with the formation of a redevelopment authority tasked with implementation. This case can be seen as one of the most successful examples of TOD (Howe et al., forthcoming). Implementation outside the redevelopment authority approach has been quite limited. The latest 25-year planning strategy for metropolitan Perth, Network City (WAPC, 2004a), has at its heart a spatial framework designed to realize the integration of land use and public transport networks. In recognition of the need to deal simultaneously with both transport and urban development issues (Bertolini & Spit, 1998, p. 17), the transport network and its relationship with activity centres is based on achieving a high level of accessibility. Network City s spatial framework comprises three elements. Activity corridors are centred on either a main arterial road or suburban railway line utilizing land up to 400 metres on either side of this transport spine. Activity centres are developed at intervals along the activity corridor as the focus of daily activity needs including small-scale employment, shopping and services, and medium to higher density housing all placed within walking distance of the public transport stop at the centre. Transport corridors are paired with one or more activity corridors to form a network, and provide a fast moving route for inter-urban travel, so overcoming the need for longer distance through-traffic to use activity corridors. Perth s New Railway Corridor Opportunities and Constraints for Integration The development of the new southern suburbs railway has provided a new opportunity to put policy into practice. Since its initiation in the late 1990s there has been debate about the way in which land use transport integration can be achieved. This debate must be set in context of railway planning in Perth (Table 1). In 1979 the closure of the Fremantle railway was clearly a catalyst for a strong and renewed interest in rail planning. Newman s account of the re-opening of the Fremantle railway in 1983 attests to the way in which this decision harnessed the action of the masses (Newman, 1992) and gave an impetus to the state Labor Party (in opposition at the time) to promote rail-based public transport. In 1992 the existing rail lanes were electrified and in 1993 a new rail line to the northern suburbs was built. As urban development progressed, this line was extended in 1993 and in The development of the first phase of the northern suburbs railway has done little for integration with land use as defined by concepts such as TOD. At that time the railway was conceived primarily as a transport project with the focus on integration between transport modes (rail and bus, rail and car) rather than with land use. The railway sits within the central reservation of the Mitchell Freeway (motorway linking the outer suburbs to the Perth CBD). There was considerable debate about the relative merits of bus and rail. Some argued that the railway would have been a bus-way if the decision were based on transport economics and planning criteria (Ker & Ryan, 1994, p. 4). However the decision to build the railway was made on the basis of travel time savings, the problem of bus congestion in the city, the long-term development gains to be realized as suburbs developed in this corridor and the costing that demonstrated this option would be cheaper in the long term. 289

7 Carey Curtis TABLE 1. Perth rail planning: a chronology Timeline Plans and proposals 1881 Fremantle Perth Midland railway opened (Fremantle section serving inner west suburbs; Midland section serving eastern suburbs) 1889 Perth to Armadale railway line opened (serving south-eastern suburbs) 1955 Plan For The Metropolitan Region Perth and Fremantle (1955) proposed two new suburban rail lines never implemented 1979 Fremantle to Perth section closed in 1979 to make way for a new arterial road 1982 Existing railway lines electrified 1983 Fremantle to Perth section reopened 1992 Perth to Joondalup railway line (serving northern suburbs) 1993 Perth to Joondalup line extended northwards to Currumbine 2004 Perth to Joondalup line extended northwards to Clarkson as part of New MetroRail Project 2005 Thornlie spur opened (serving Thornlie station on Armadale line) as part of New MetroRail Project 2007 Perth to Mandurah railway line opened (serving south western suburbs):. Stage 1 stations opened (2007) Perth (William Street); Esplanade; Canning Bridge; Bull Creek; Murdoch; Cockburn Central; Kwinana; Wellard; Rockingham; Warnbro; Mandurah. Stage 2 stations (proposed no date for opening): South Perth; Success; Mandogalup; Anketell Road; Stakehill; Karnup; Lakelands; Gordon Road 2008 Proposal to extend northern suburbs line northwards subject to planning study Proposal to extend Perth to Mandurah line to Bunbury (110 km) subject to planning study It was the desire to compete with the car that resulted in the decision to provide for integration between feeder bus and rail and for large park and ride sites around these stations rather than provision for higher density suburbs providing walk-on patronage. The railway planners argued that the target travellers had a choice and preference for car use, and that this and the low density of development dictate that rail must minimize journey time to be competitive with the car (Ker & Ryan, 1994). These requirements were key factors in route selection and station spacing. The railway was designed for higher speed rail with stations spaced 2 3 km apart (Table 2), a very different structure from the early railways where stations average 800-metre spacing. Martinovich and Lawrence (1998) argued for a station spacing of 3 km on the basis that this minimizes journey time and reduces rolling stock requirements. At 1 km spacing, rolling stock needs are almost double. This reflects the planning at that time, which was around a transport system rather than integrated consideration of desired city form and transport operations. The planning of the southern suburbs railway followed the pattern set out for the northern suburbs railway. The same objective that drove the design of the northern suburbs railway the ability to compete with the car in terms of journey time to the Perth CBD was a central objective. As a result, this newest railway line also follows the path of the freeway for the first 33 km of its 72 km length, again being placed within the central reservation of the freeway. Indeed, Macrae (2004), a state 290

8 Evolution of the TOD Model for Low-density Cities TABLE 2. Australian city to suburban railways: average journey time City Rail line (station station) Distance (km) (centre to terminus) Peak hour travel time (hours:minutes) (fastest service) Average speed (kilometres/hour) Perth 1) Perth Mandurah 72 0: ) Perth Clarkson 32 0: ) Perth Fremantle :24 47 Brisbane Brisbane Central Robina 85 1:15 68 Sydney Central Macarthur 62 1:02 60 Melbourne Flinders Craigieburn 27 0:35 46 government planner at that time, suggests that the route was decided on the line of least resistance rather than any spatial plan. The achievement of this travel time objective has been very successful. Table 2 demonstrates the high average speed the new railway achieves compared with other lines in Perth and compared with newer city to suburban railway lines in other Australian cities sharing the similar city form. The initial planning of this railway was again led by railway planners rather than spatial/land use planners. The first Master Plan shows that integration with land use and spatial structure did not feature in the 10 objectives deemed necessary to deliver the railway (South West Metropolitan Transit Planning Steering Committee, 1999, p. 3). While a later supplementary master plan did include integration of the system with land use, town planning and transport policy objectives, this was to be considered only after operational planning tasks were met (Department for Planning and Infrastructure, 2001, p. 2). The southern suburbs railway opened in December 2007 and includes 11 new railway stations in the first phase (Table 1). During the construction phase there has been considerable development activity within the corridor, evidence that the railway has acted as a catalyst for new development. Indeed, many property developers chose the promote access to the railway as a key draw card in their development (Figure 2). As the new railway sits within the freeway reserve for some of its length and in its own reserve elsewhere, this presented different opportunities to experiment with the TOD model. In some places, favouring the northern suburbs model of transit interchange (taking advantage of the high speed factor), in other places the focus is on TODs of different types. For example, stations such as Bull Creek (Figure 3) currently focus on transit interchange alone, rather than on direct integration with land use. Cockburn Central (Figure 4) provides an example of the approach to TOD in precincts with a 100-metre freeway reserve bisecting them. Wellard station precinct provides the most developed example of integration based around walk-on patronage (Figure 5). Constraints to Land Use Transport Integration Views between spatial planners and railway planners are polarized as to whether railway stations should facilitate TOD or perform a role as simply a transit 291

9 Carey Curtis FIGURE 2. Wellard Precinct development using the new railway as a means of promoting the development. interchange within a freeway corridor, and this is one of the key constraints to integration of the railway with intensive land use. Clearly station precincts will have different functions dependent on their spatial position, land use structure, and position within the transport network. Some precincts will serve as residential feeders, others as transit interchanges, and others as town centre hubs. Table 3 demonstrates the different functions of the new stations. At the crux of the matter is whether urban planning should be led by transport operating requirements or by a future vision of the city s spatial structure, or a combination. Land use planners and railway planners each believe their approach achieves land use transport integration (LUTI). By making journey time to Perth the primary objective, stations have not been provided at the heart of some of the key regional centres along the route. To achieve competitive travel times the railway relies on car and bus access to draw patronage to stations. Rockingham, a regional centre, is by-passed by the new railway. The station is located some 1.5 km away, creating the need for over 700 car-parking bays to provide access by car. The local council lobbied for a streetcar system to overcome this separation problem. Envisaged as operating in its own right of way it would connect the station to the city centre, university campus, and high-density residential development. This would also reinforce Rockingham s role as a regional centre. However, pressures to contain costs for the railway have resulted in a bus-based solution. The major weakness of a bus-based system is that it is perceived as less permanent and so limits the commitment to land use development (Dittmar & Ohland, 2004; Rodriguez & Targa, 2004). Express buses with few points of access and fast access to destinations may encourage development, as rail does (Dunphy et al., 2004; Currie, 2005), but this configuration does not suit Rockingham s urban structure. The new railway line terminates at Mandurah, but like Rockingham not at either the existing regional centre some 3 km from the station or at Mandurah Forum, big box retail centre some 2 km distant from the city centre. The former would have 292

10 Evolution of the TOD Model for Low-density Cities FIGURE 3. Bullcreek 800m Station Precinct: Land Use. resulted in demolition of 60 houses, and at the latter there were perceived conflicts with retail parking. The result is the placement of the station at a bus station on the edge of town. As a terminus in this peripheral location there is a need for a large 293

11 Carey Curtis FIGURE 4. Cockburn 800m Station Precinct: Land Use. amount of car parking given the potential catchment to be drawn on (Kuby et al., 2004). Almost 900 car-parking spaces are provided, but with potential for 2, 000 in total. The absence of city centre stations at both Mandurah and Rockingham 294

12 Evolution of the TOD Model for Low-density Cities FIGURE 5. Wellard 800m Station Precinct: Land Use. shows the dominance of operational transport planning rather than concerns of city function and structure. Providing the opportunity for people to access a mix of land uses in one trip has been lost. 295

13 TABLE 3. Perth Mandurah railway: status of TOD in new station precincts Station TOD type (current) Predominant land use Transit arrangements Parking provision Proximity to existing centre Perth (William Street) CBD CBD New underground station linked to existing Perth station via walkway Esplanade CBD CBD and adjacent to river park, Perth convention centre Canning Bridge Transit interchange Station in 100-metre freeway reserve; surrounded by low-density suburbs Adjacent to second CBD bus port Bus interchange above station Bull Creek Transit interchange Station in 100-metre freeway reserve Bus interchange; park and ride Murdoch Transit interchange [TOD hybrid]; Cockburn TOD hybrid; transit interchange Station in 100-metre freeway reserve; adjacent to low-density suburbs and tertiary university; proposal for new hospital and higher density residential Station in 100-metre freeway reserve; adjacent to low-density suburbs; big box shopping centre; redevelopment authority TOD site residential and town centre uses Kwinana Transit interchange Railway in own reserve; Freeway and major urban arterial Wellard TOD walk on patronage Railway in own reserve; Residential; Main street planned Bus interchange; park and ride Bus interchange; park and ride Bus interchange; park and ride 0 Within 0 Within 0 Small shopping strip 0.7 km 714 n/a 1, 118 Neighbourhood shopping centre 0.8 km 628 District shopping centre 0.6 km 418 District shopping centre 3km Park and ride 298 Adjacent neighbourhood centre (proposed) (continued)

14 TABLE 3. (Continued) Station TOD type (current) Predominant land use Transit arrangements Rockingham Transit interchange Railway in own reserve; adjacent major urban arterial; low-density residential Warnbro Transit interchange Railway in own reserve; adjacent major urban arterial; low-density suburb Mandurah Transit interchange Railway in own reserve; adjacent major urban arterial; low-density suburbs Bus interchange; bus to centre runs partly in own reserve. park and ride. Bus interchange; park and ride Bus interchange; park and ride Source: Public Transport Authority Western Australia includes all paid, free and short-term parking bays. Parking provision Proximity to existing centre 721 Regional centre 1.5 km 712 n/a 886 Mandurah foreshore 2.7 km

15 Carey Curtis Another issue concerns city structure and the existing land use transport relationships. The railway planners argued that while traditionally there has been a strong relationship between Rockingham and Fremantle (not on the southern suburbs railway) in terms of trip-making of Rockingham residents, transport modelling shows Perth as the significant trip attractor, a condition exacerbated by the proposed extension of the freeway linking Rockingham to Perth. On this basis they argued that the railway should also link Rockingham directly to Perth, as a competitor to the freeway, rather than continue the existing relationship with Fremantle (Martinovich & Lawrence, 1998). Others had argued that the railway should link Fremantle with Rockingham and Mandurah. By providing this level of regional accessibility, the prospect of attracting jobs to Rockingham is reduced as they are more likely to decant to Perth, ensuring long commutes rather than local employment. Patronage on the northern suburbs railway confirms this, being dominated by the peaks, and [journeys] to Perth as the major destination (Martinovich & Lawrence. 1998, p. 1021). This occurs despite the alignment of the rail through the Joondalup regional centre in order to support the possibility of balanced two-way patronage. In effect, future freeway accessibility from Rockingham has had a significant role in determining the future spatial pattern, which the rail network has mirrored, despite strategic land use plans envisioning a different spatial configuration and set of functional relationships. There are conflicting objectives for such a city region: should the railway serve inter-suburban trips or local trips? The master plan aims at both; the result may be that neither objective is particularly well served. The demand for a high-speed interurban railway resulted in a push to route the railway along the least impeded route and to avoid some existing large areas of residential development. In the freeway environment the railway planners have created mainly transit interchanges, placing stations within a freeway reserve with spacing predicated on larger car-based patronage catchments. Integration between the railway station and land use is poor, with isolated transport hubs and residential densities that are too low and beyond walking distance of railway stations. Adapting such railway stations to an integrated centre concept presents a significant challenge to planners. Nevertheless planners have risen to this challenge promoting new hybrid TODs. At Cockburn Central station, for example, Landcorp (a state government land development agency) is developing a new town centre including higher density affordable housing (Landcorp, 2004). The town centre is directly opposite an existing big-box retail shopping mall. Central to the design is a high volume of car parking and a major bus station and interchange. It is argued that park and ride sites can later be redeveloped for more intensive uses, although this is yet to occur in Perth. While the station precinct constraints limit the opportunity for active complementary land uses in close proximity at all quadrants and good pedestrian access to the station, such a solution represents a new model for TOD, perhaps more suited to low-density suburban cities. Opportunities The new railway has seen a push by land use planners to direct the railway out of the freeway alignment in order to achieve the more conventional model of TOD. 298

16 Evolution of the TOD Model for Low-density Cities The most advanced of these station precincts being Wellard Village, a higher density mixed-use development proposed in the outer suburbs. The convention in Perth for suburban development has been to build the bulk of residential development well in advance of any retail or commercial development. This is particularly the case in outer suburban developments. At Wellard the intention is to create a main street shopping centre linking to the station at an early stage. The density of development is also of interest, with the aim of achieving 11 dwellings per hectare (gross) compared with the metropolitan average of 6 dwellings/hectare. There is debate about the residential density required to support more efficient use of transport infrastructure in transit-oriented precincts (400-metre catchment) with figures ranging from 40 dwellings/hectare (Bressi, 1994, citing Calthorpe; Westerman, 1998) to Western Australia s Liveable Neighbourhoods at 12 dwellings/hectare. Wellard may well prove to be the barometer for TOD in Perth. Within Perth s CBD the railway has been a catalyst for urban redevelopment, which has provided new opportunities for land use transport integration. This was recognized by the Perth City Rail Advisory Committee:... the project is at least as much a matter of civic planning and design as it is a matter of routing a railway. This is a classic example of a challenge to coordinate transport and land uses. (2002, p. i) In selecting the route through the CBD a detailed assessment was made of 15 route alignment options and 12 station locations (Perth City Rail Advisory Committee, 2002). The location of stations relative to patronage capture was an important consideration, and employment density within a 5-minute and 10-minute walk catchment was measured. Although not directly required by the project, the opportunity to remove completely the barrier of the railway line that divides the city centre is under review. There have been demands for this since 1901 (Carr, 1979). Design guidelines for the 12-hectare space that could be created when the rail lines are sunk requires a precinct of complementary mixed uses, and catering for transfer between the bus station and rail (WAPC, 2004b). A new, second, city station (Esplanade) has also been the catalyst for proposals for mixed-use entertainment and residential precinct along the river foreshore. Changes in Institutional Arrangements The evolution from railway planning as a transport system to railway planning as a TOD system is further evidenced by the changes within the institutions. At the strategic level the push for TOD through Perth s latest metropolitan planning strategy, Network City, has seen the formation of a TOD committee comprising members of the state governments planning, infrastructure, public transport and development agencies. This cross-agency committee jointly establishes priorities for action across the 100 or so centres and transit nodes (bus and rail) in the metropolitan area and then produces a coordinated action plan (Ainsworth, 2005). The priorities are set using six simple evaluation criteria: strategic significance of location; potential for maximizing ridership; transport infrastructure need and/or opportunity; potential for jobs, amenity, services, activity, mixed uses; partnership 299

17 Carey Curtis potential (by state government, local government, the private sector and others); and development (or redevelopment) opportunity (Ainsworth, 2005). The types of actions include acquisition and protection of land to enable TOD development to occur either now or in the longer term. This latest approach has seen substantial progress in the integration of land use activity and transport infrastructure, particularly when compared with the slow implementation of the aforementioned Policy D.C 1.6 Development around Metropolitan Railway stations. This approach has seen significant opportunities taken to develop land use and better integrate the station with other transport modes at many of the station precincts along the southern suburbs railway. Cockburn Central is one of these projects. Murdoch station precinct also shows great promise. The recent structure planning for the area aims to use the station as a way of linking the existing university, a private hospital and high school with new development proposals for a major tertiary hospital together with higher density housing development and retail. Design concepts are also being tested for Mandurah, Canning Bridge and Bull Creek to test the opportunity for achieving the TOD hybrid model. Conclusion While Perth has a long history of planning policy and strategies aimed at integrating land use and transport infrastructure, until recently the premise has been on integration with the car and little real integration with public transport has been achieved in terms of city form. Since the 1990s, policy has developed to more clearly specify the goals for land use transport integration. Seen first in statements like balanced transport, the latest metropolitan strategy is much clearer in its expression and intent. The Network City planning strategy articulates an objective for the planning of public transport over private transport and shows how this can be achieved through a conceptual spatial framework of activity corridors, activity centres and transport corridors. Land use transport integration is at the heart of this approach. One component of the strategy is the requirement for development to be oriented around transit (both rail and bus), and vice versa. The planning strategy was produced at an opportune moment in transport development as a new railway was being planned and constructed. This has provided a real opportunity to create TOD. Three distinct models of TOD have emerged as planners have searched for the best approach for a low-density suburban city region. The key problem has been one of how to transition a city structured around high mobility by car to one where public transport s the favoured mode. To achieve this it has been necessary to design a transport system that can compete with travel time to the CBD by car. This has resulted in decisions to have fewer stations that serve the city region, rather than many stations each serving local neighbourhoods. The low density of development has also presented a challenge to the conventional TOD model based on walk-on patronage. In Perth this approach would result in very low patronage levels and would raise concerns about the viability of the system. These two factors have been key reasons for Perth s transit-transfer model providing a railway station with high-quality bus interchange and park and ride for car access. Here there is no attempt to develop 300

18 land use activity to support the station. The solution has seen the development of all three TOD models as appropriate to the local context of the station precinct and the need to balance the transport objective of competition with the car. In any event there has been a significant change in approach in the past 15 years from rail as a transport system only to an integrated land use/transport system. The approach continues to evolve as design solutions develop for the TOD hybrid model as a means of replacing the transit-only model. Significant progress has been made in the development of both the TOD hybrid model and the traditional TOD model (based on walk-on patronage) both aimed at capitalizing on the railway investment. The coordinated efforts of a strong group of state agencies have proved essential to this progress. The ability for government to harness the efforts of the public transport providers, the land use planners (at both state and local government) together with the land development agencies has been important in effecting change. The recognition of the need to partner with the private-sector development industry has enhanced such efforts (e.g. at Wellard). While this progress can be seen in physical changes to city form and structure, the effects of such efforts to integrate land use and transport in terms of more sustainable travel outcomes will need to be measured and this is now the subject of further research. Note Evolution of the TOD Model for Low-density Cities 1. Taplin, Curtis, Olaru, Qui, Affleck, and Lawrence Impact of Transit Led Development in a New Rail Corridor (Australian Research Council Linkage Grant LP ). References Ainsworth, L. (2005) A tale of 3 TOD s. Paper presented at the Transit Oriented Development Conference, Fremantle, July. Bertolini, L. & Spit, T. (1998) Cities on Rails: The Redevelopment of Railway Station Areas (London: Spon). Bressi, T. W. (1994) Planning the American Dream, in: P. Katz (Ed.) The New Urbanism: Toward an Architecture of Community (New York: McGraw Hill). Carr, D. (1979) Metropolitan design, in: J. Gentilli (Ed.) Western Landscapes (Perth: University of Western Australia Press). Currie, G. (2005) Strengths and weakness of bus in relation to transit oriented development. Paper presented at the Transit Oriented Development: Making it Happen Conference, Fremantle, 5 7 July. Curtis, C. (2001) Future Perth: Transport Issues and Options (Perth: Western Australian Planning Commission). Department for Planning and Infrastructure (2001) South West Metropolitan Railway: Supplementary Master Plan (Perth: Perth Urban Rail Development Office). Department of Planning and Urban Development (1990) Metroplan: A Planning Strategy for the Perth Metropolitan Region (Perth: DPUD). Department of Transport, Ministry for Planning, & Main Roads Western Australia (1996) Metropolitan Transport Strategy (Perth: Government of Western Australia). Dittmar, H. & Ohland, G. (2004) The New Transit Town: Best Practices in Transit-oriented Development (Washington, DC: Island Press). Dunphy, R., Cervero, R., Dock, F. C., McAvey, M., Porter, D. R. & Swenson, C. J. (2004) Developing Around Transit: Strategies and Solutions that Work (Washington, DC: Urban Land Institute). Gleeson, B., Curtis, C. & Low, N. (2003) Barriers to sustainable transport in Australia, in: N. Low & B. Gleeson (Eds) Making Urban Transport Sustainable (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan). Howe, A., Glass, G. & Curtis, C. (forthcoming) Retrofitting TOD and managing the impacts: the case of Subiaco, in: Transit Oriented Development: Making it Happen (Aldershot: Ashgate). 301

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