Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

Action for Public Transport (NSW) Inc. ("APTNSW") is a transport advocacy group active in Sydney since 1974. We promote the interests of beneficiaries of public transport - passengers and the wider community alike.

THE RE-ZONING

• Generally, planning policies such as this should state what assumptions are being made about COVID-19 and should indicate probable effects if those assumptions are inaccurate. We suggest that a section should be added somewhere addressing possible ramifications of the current pandemic that might affect the Precinct. For example, what happens if work-from-home remains as common as it was in 2020?

• It is well-known that the Devonshire St pedestrian tunnel is well patronised, so much so that authorities are reluctant to add to its load at peak periods. That is one reason why the new Sydney Metro platforms being constructed below Central platforms 13 and 14 are not to be connected to the Devonshire St tunnel nor to the Chalmers St concourse. Instead, Central Walk is being constructed to connect the metro platforms to a point in Chalmers St near the tram stop.

  Several submissions to Modification 2 of the Chatswood-Sydenham Metro raised the question of extending Central Walk westwards in the context of reducing walking distances beteen Railway Square and trains. The submissions report discusses those submissions in Chapter 6. The report is available now at https://majorprojects.accelo.com/public/f3d3d103306c8b426eea1de2ea521106/2017-10-04%20Central%20Walk%20Modification%20Submissions%20Report.pdf; it may be moved to the Major Projects website later.

  The submissions report acknowledges the capacity problems of the Devonshire St tunnel and generally agrees that the proper solution would be to extend Central Walk westwards. Unfortunately, construction of Central Walk West cannot start until platforms 13 and 14 are back in service, currently expected to be late 2022.

  We think it would be a mistake to allow further development around the western gateway until there is rail capacity (i.e., the Chatswood-Sydenham metro) and pedestrian capacity to handle the extra people who will use the western gateway area. We suggest that the re-zoning proposal should therefore not proceed immediately unless a reservation can be incorporated into it to ensure that Block C redevelopment cannot open until the Metro is running and adequate capacity exists for pedestrian traffic. Ideally the extra pedestrian capacity would also serve to shorten walking distances for some trips.