Draft Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan

Transcription

1 City of Greater Geelong Draft Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan 6 March 2014

2 Document information Client: City of Greater Geelong Title: Draft Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan Document No: ITP-RPT-001 RevA Date: 6 March 2014 Rev Date Details A 06/03/ Author, Reviewer and Approver details Prepared by: Rowan Dick, Simon Exon Date: 06/03/2014 Signature: Reviewed by: George Pund, Denis Leviny Date: 06/03/2014 Signature: Approved by: George Pund Date: 06/32/2014 Signature: Distribution City of Greater Geelong, Parsons Brinckerhoff file, Parsons Brinckerhoff Library Parsons Brinckerhoff Australia Pty Limited 2014 Copyright in the drawings, information and data recorded in this document (the information) is the property of Parsons Brinckerhoff. This document and the information are solely for the use of the authorised recipient and this document may not be used, copied or reproduced in whole or part for any purpose other than that for which it was supplied by Parsons Brinckerhoff. Parsons Brinckerhoff makes no representation, undertakes no duty and accepts no responsibility to any third party who may use or rely upon this document or the information. Document owner Parsons Brinckerhoff Australia Pty Limited ABN Level Freshwater Place Southbank VIC 3006 Tel: Fax: melbourne@pb.com.au Certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, AS/NZS 4801 A GRI Rating: Sustainability Report 2011

3 Contents Page number 1. Introduction Purpose of this document Background Approach to developing the Plan Structure of the Draft Plan 4 2. Review of documentation Review of background documents Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy Revised approach 8 3. Context and further analysis Baseline and future conditions assessment 9 4. Vision, aims and objectives Key challenges and issues Investment Logic Mapping Key challenges Key issues Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan Approach Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan Actions Implementation Plan Future statements Geelong in Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft i

4 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose of this document The Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan (Plan) provides a cohesive transport and land use planning framework for the City of Greater Geelong that aligns with the vision for the region. The Plan as outlined in this report will define a set of short (<1 year), medium (1-5 years) and long term (5-10 years) strategic actions for the planning, development and management of an integrated transport system that covers the entire City of Greater Geelong region. 1.2 Background The City of Greater Geelong is experiencing both strong population growth and an unprecedented rate of change in its key economic sectors, as more balanced and diversified economic growth is sought from the health, education, tourism, advanced manufacturing and knowledge sectors. There is a need to plan for growth and change by developing an Integrated Transport Plan to guide investment decisions for the transport system within the City of Greater Geelong. Population forecasts and other indicators suggest that recent trends in terms of population, demographics and the economy will continue over the life of this Plan. This presents a number of transport and land use challenges for the City of Greater Geelong, as its planners and decision makers look to respond effectively to these challenges so that its status as a diverse and successful regional centre is maintained and enhanced. Population growth and economic diversity is actively being encouraged and planned for and therefore it is important to also recognise the importance in planning for an integrated transport system. Growth and evolution present significant opportunities for the City of Greater Geelong and can be the driver for setting and implementing a desired path that can secure its long term future as a place where people want to do business, live, work, study and spend their leisure time. This Plan supersedes the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy which was prepared over 10 years ago. Since this time a large number of the actions from that Strategy have been implemented and now a new Plan is required that responds to the transport needs and policy context of the City of Greater Geelong for the next ten years. The study area for the Plan includes the entire City of Greater Geelong, as shown in the shaded region of Figure 1-1. The City of Greater Geelong is a diverse area comprising of urban, peri-urban and coastal settlements with key gateways provided to the region via Avalon Airport and Geelong Port. The Plan also includes recommendations that are outside this study area, as these actions have been identified as addressing specific issues that impact the area. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 1

5 Figure 1-1 Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan study area Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 2

6 1.3 Approach to developing the Plan The Plan follows a six stage process, as outlined in Figure 1-2. This approach demonstrates the high level of engagement with key stakeholders and members of the community through the following two consultation phases: Stage 2 - Stakeholder engagement: Workshops with invited stakeholder groups, such as government stakeholders, industry groups and community groups to identify key issues and opportunities facing the City of Greater Geelong. The outcomes of these workshops are summarised in the Geelong Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan Contextual and Stakeholder Consultation Focus Group Workshops Report Stage 5 Public exhibition: 28-day public display of the draft Plan to key stakeholders and the community, providing an opportunity for feedback to be provided prior to finalising the Plan Figure 1-2 Approach to developing the Plan In working through these six key stages, the following questions are answered: What do we want to achieve? What key challenges must we address to get there? What are the specific issues that require a response? What strategic responses shall we use to address these issues? What specific actions are required to address each issue? How do we deliver the outcomes? Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 3

7 1.4 Structure of the Draft Plan The Plan is structured into the following key sections: Executive Summary provides an overview of the Plan Section 1 Introduction summarises the purpose and background of the study, approach to developing the Plan and structure of the Plan Section 2 Review of documentation provides a summary of the Geelong Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan Review of Documentation Summary Report, which includes a review of all relevant background studies and a review of the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy Section 3 Contextual and further analysis - provides a summary of the Geelong Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan Contextual and Further Analysis Report, which includes the findings of the baseline and future conditions review for the City of Greater Geelong Section 4 Vision, aims and objectives provides a summary of the vision, aims and objectives for the City of Greater Geelong in relation to the development of an integrated comprehensive transport plan Section 5 - Key challenges and issues provides a summary of the key challenges and more specific issues facing transport and land use planning within the City of Greater Geelong, as identified through the study of background documentation, investment logic mapping, stakeholder consultation and baseline and future conditions analysis Section 6 Draft Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan outlines the strategic actions that form the Plan to address the identified challenges and issues and also outlines how they will be implemented. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 4

8 2. Review of documentation Council and other organisations have produced a large number of transport and land use planning documents that discuss the City of Greater Geelong. A review of these documents has been completed to: Understand the relevant background for previous transport and land use planning directions within the City of Greater Geelong Consider the key challenges facing the City of Greater Geelong from a transport and land use perspective Inform the content of this Plan, by drawing on relevant messages within documents that have already been produced and also endorsed by Council and other agencies A review of the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy provides an understanding of the number of actions that have been implemented, are currently underway or not implemented. This Plan will not supersede previous studies undertaken in the City of Greater Geelong. Instead it will aim to draw upon their findings to form a set of short, medium and long term actions that address identified transport and land use issues and challenges. The Plan references these background reports when providing clear strategic direction to Council on managing and developing infrastructure. 2.1 Review of background documents To support the development of the Plan, a Geelong Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan Study of Documentation Summary Report summarises the relevant background reports that have been completed within and surrounding the City of Greater Geelong. This report summarises relevant findings from all the background reports and informs the development of the Plan. A summary of the background reports included in review is shown in Figure 2-1. The studies highlighted in red text have been a key focus in the development of the Plan, as these are current and contain relevant recommendations that are applicable to the strategic actions developed in the Plan. As the Plan is implemented, these background studies will continue to be important reference documents for Council, as they contain the specific detailed, including the analysis and recommendations which align with the actions in the Plan. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 5

9 Policy Strategic Planning Active Transport Public Transport Roads Airports Freight/ Logistics Land Use Planning Traffic Modelling/ Forecasting Safety Transport Integration Act Greater Geelong Planning Scheme Central Geelong Action Plan City of Greater Geelong City Plan Vision 2 Central Geelong Vision: Design studio Report (draft) Geelong Transport Strategy 2013 City of Greater Geelong Cycle Strategy Cycling into the future G21 Integrated Public Transport Strategy 2008 G21 Integrated Public Transport Strategy 2013 (Draft version) Armstrong Creek Bus Planning Study Public Transport Guidelines for Land Use and Development City of Greater Geelong Municipal Road Management Plan (Version 5.0) Central Area Traffic Study Central Geelong Car Parking and Access Strategy Geelong Central Transportation Links Study (Vols. 1 and 2) Geelong Road Safety Strategy G21 Regional Road Transport Plan Tourism and Directional Signage Policy Permit Parking Policy Avalon Airport Master Plan Avalon Airport Rail Link Project Update Avalon Airport Rail Link Planning Study (Phase 1 Outcomes) Avalon Airport Rail Link Phase One Investigations Report City of Greater Geelong Industrial Land Study 2001 Geelong Port- City 2050 Geelong Port and Land Infrastructure Plan Port of Geelong Land Use Strategy 2009 Geelong Port Structure Plan 2007 G21 Regional Growth Plan G21 Regional Growth Plan Implementation Plan (Draft version) Central Geelong: Looking Forward Structure Plan 2007 Geelong Station Precinct Urban Design Framework Geelong Growth Area Modelling: Future Year Model Development PTV Metropolitan Public Transport Demand Forecast Report 2012 Victorian Integrated Transport Modelling (VITM) for Geelong LGA Geelong Road Safety Strategy Community Safety Strategy Network Development Plan Metropolitan Rail 2012 Road User Hierarchy for Geelong LGA 2013 Geelong Road Management Plan Smart Roads Studies for Geelong LGA 2013 Avalon Airport Rail Link Phase Two Route Alignment Options Geelong Regional Airport Feasibility Study 2013 West Connect Heales Road to Geelong Port Connection 2004 Geelong Port Economic Impact Study Victorian Freight and Logistics Plan Central Geelong Waterfront Masterplan Structure Plans Barwon Heads Point Lonsdale Portarlington St Leonards Ocean Grove Leopold West Fyans-Fyans Street Precinct Drysdale-Clifton Springs Lara Indented Head Geelong Intermodal Freight Terminal Feasibility Study 2007 Bellarine Peninsula Strategic Plan Figure 2-1 Review of relevant background documents Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 6

10 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy The 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy was reviewed, with the status of each action being considered as either implemented, in progress or not implemented. The findings of the 2003 review are shown in Table 2-1. The measure for the level of implementation success has been defined as the percentage of projects within each category that has either been implemented since 2003 or is currently in the process of being implemented. Table 2-1 Summary of Implementation Success for 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy Category Level of implementation success (%) Managing travel demand 75% Public transport 58% Freight 69% Roads 74% Land use 73% Bicycles 76% Pedestrians 100% Traffic management 100% Parking 68% OVERALL 77% Council and other organisations has completed or is currently working on implementing 77 per cent of the strategic actions it put forward in the 2003 Strategy. This includes some major projects, implemented by State and Federal Government and the private sector in the area including: Construction of the Geelong Ring Road Implementation of Myki ticketing in Geelong Commencement of Regional Rail Link construction Avalon Airport becoming a fully operational commercial airport in 2004, with Jetstar as the main operator. It is worth noting that many of the recommended actions from the 2003 Strategy were not directly a Council responsibility and therefore lobbying to State and Federal governments was required in order to implement specific projects. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 7

11 2.3 Revised approach Since 2003 both the approach to producing strategy documents and the policy context that sits behind them has continued to evolve and change. This document has been produced to consider evolution and change to provide the City of Greater Geelong with a forward thinking strategy for the next 10 years that is relevant, robust and responsive. Changes in strategy development and policy approaches over the last 10 years include: An increased emphasis on the promotion of non-car modes driven by a number of social, environmental and economic and health factors A greater focus on integrated transport planning and spatial relationships and a move away from focusing on solving issues that are isolated to one particular mode Consideration of best practice techniques in developing integrated transport plans, based on experience gained in Australian and Internationally. More rigorous funding submission requirements and improved assessment methodologies that have been driven in part by diminishing capital to fund infrastructure projects An increased emphasis on the need to increase productivity growth which is essential to maintain and increase liveability in Australia A renewed focus on the importance of regional cities in the State Planning framework As a result of these factors, a revised approach to developing the Plan has been used, which include the following: Strategic responses have been identified that relate to each specific transport or land use issue in order. A number of actions have been identified which sit under these to facilitate a recommended action to be implemented Actions recommended in the Plan have not been categorised by mode as done in the 2003 strategy and have instead been linked to specific issues, which may involve multiple modes to address a particular issue Actions have been developed to address one of the three key challenges identified, which each include a range of more specific transport and land use issues that need to be addressed All of the key challenges, issues, strategic responses and actions link back to the vision, aims and objectives for the City of Greater Geelong Further details about the approach to developing the Plan are included in Section 6. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 8

12 3. Context and further analysis The development of the Plan has been informed by further analysis of past and future trends influencing transport and land use within the City of Greater Geelong, including investigation of: Land use mix and key precincts Demographic and economic profile Existing transport network. The Stage 3 Contextual and Further Analysis Report provides the background supporting information that is required to inform the development of the Plan. A summary of this report is provided below. 3.1 Baseline and future conditions assessment The City of Greater Geelong Local Government Area (LGA) is located 75km south west of Melbourne and, with a population of 215,200, is Victoria s largest regional City. Geelong serves as a regional hub for the Barwon Region. It is a diverse area containing a mix of urban, peri urban, rural, national park and coastal environments that accommodate a broad range of land use activity. Figure 3-1 summarises the strategic context of the City of Greater Geelong and highlights the both the significant size of the study area and the diverse range of activities that occur within it. Figure 3-1 City of Greater Geelong Strategic context Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 9

13 3.1.1 Demographic and Economic Profile Population The City of Greater Geelong s population remained relatively stable for much of the 1980s and early 1990s and has grown strongly over the ten years on the back of employment growth in service industries, as well as increased demand in coastal resort areas. Population growth has been most heavily concentrated in suburban Geelong, as well as Lara and Leopold and on the Bellarine Peninsula. The close proximity of Geelong to Melbourne combined with good value for money in the housing market and a high standard of living makes it an attractive expansion zone for further residential development. A large proportion of this growth will be accommodated via the suburban expansion of the suburbs of Geelong to the south and west at Armstrong Creek and Marshall alongside new development in nearby townships including Lara, Ocean Grove and Leopold. The population within the City of Greater Geelong increases to 482,215 people on a peak holiday night, based on the assumption that all accommodation and holiday homes are at capacity, which represents a 70% increase on the permanent population. 1 Key population change since the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy: Higher than forecast population growth Evidence: The current population of 215,200 has increased significantly from 189,000 in Workforce and key employment sectors In 2011, The City of Greater Geelong had a work force of 79,156 people which was a 6 per cent increase on A total of 58.5% of the people living in the City of Greater Geelong are employed full time, 31.5 per cent are working on a part time and 5.3% unemployed. A general observation is that the City of Greater Geelong s economy is transitioning away from traditional manufacturing type activity to knowledge based industries. Notwithstanding this, manufacturing continues to make the largest contribution ($1.7bn) to the City of Greater Geelong s Gross Regional Product of $10.1 billion in Other major contributors include Rental, Hiring & Real Estate Services ($1.2b); Health Care and Social Assistance ($929m); and Financial and Insurance Services ($773m). A total of 85% of the City of Greater Geelong s workforce is sourced from the local labour force. 2 Figures for Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula alone show that tourism generates $637 million into the local economy (2.5%) and employs approximately 4,200 equivalent full time workers. 3 1 Source: 2 Source: 3 Source: Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 10

14 Key employment change since the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy: Continued decline in manufacturing jobs within the City of Greater Geelong Evidence: In 2001, manufacturing accounted for 19.5% 4 of employment within the City of Greater Geelong, compared to 12.8% 5 in Recent decisions by Ford and Alcoa to reduce their workforce in Geelong has further reinforced this decline. Car ownership Over fifty percent of households have two or more cars in the City of Greater Geelong which is slightly higher than that of Melbourne. This level of car ownership suggests that people in the City of Greater Geelong are quite car dependant. Ninety-three percent of dwellings in the City of Greater Geelong have access to a motor vehicle, slightly above the Victorian average, as shown in Figure 3-2. It is reasonable to assume that the ownership of vehicles correlates to use of these vehicles. 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% Greater Geelong (C) Victoria 10% 5% 0% None 1 motor vehicle 2 motor vehicles 3 or more vehicles Figure 3-2 Car Ownership in City of Greater Geelong by Dwelling (2011 Census) Key car ownership change since the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy: Increasing car ownership in the City of Greater Geelong Evidence: 2011 ABS data indicates that 93% of households in the City of Greater Geelong had access to a car, with over 50% of households having access to two or more cars. These figures have increased slightly from 2001, where 91% of households had access to one car and 48% of households had access to two or more cars 6. 4 Source: Geelong transport Strategy December Source: 6 Source: Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 11

15 Mode split and Journey to Work Eighty-six per cent of all trips in the City of Greater Geelong are undertaken by car which is approximately seven percent higher than the level of car use in Melbourne and broadly equal to car use levels across regional Victoria. On average people in the City of Greater Geelong travel 10.9 kilometres to work which is approximately two thirds of the average for Metropolitan Melbourne showing that people in the majority of suburbs in Melbourne travel further to work. Mode split information has been sourced from VISTA (shown in Figure 3-3), this illustrates how the City of Greater Geelong compares to both Melbourne and regional Victoria in terms of car use, public transport, walking and cycling Figure 3-3 Travel in the City of Greater Geelong by mode Key car ownership change since the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy: Increasing car use by City of Greater Geelong residents for journey to work trips Evidence: Census data sourced from 2001 indicated that a total of 45,270 journey to work trips were made by car as driver, which increased significantly in 2011 to 55,084. It is acknowledged that this increase can be attributed to population and employment growth over the ten year period, however it demonstrates the importance associated in encouraging a reduction in car use over the next ten year period, if strong population growth continues as forecast. Population health Australia has the fifth highest 7 obesity in the world, behind the United States, Mexico, New Zealand and the UK. There are a range of serious health risks that can result from obesity, including: reduced life expectancy, as a result of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes. The City of Greater Geelong has its own specific health related challenges 8, including: 7 Source: Source OECD Obesity Update 2012 Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 12

16 8,487 people in the City of Greater Geelong have diabetes. This figure has increase by ninety percent from In , 24,937 people living within the City of Greater Geelong were classified as obese, with the highest percentage based in Corio Inner, Geelong, Geelong West and Bellarine - Inner. There are more people in the 50+ and 80+ age groups, compared with the Victorian percentage share. Approximately 40,523 people living in the City of Greater Geelong have some form of disability. Four people died in motor vehicle accidents in the City of Greater Geelong in 2007 from a total of 217 serious accidents. The City of Greater Geelong ranks at number nine for the most serious accidents in Victoria during this time. Key population health change since the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy: The overall health of City of Greater Geelong residents has deteriorated Evidence: There has been a 90% increase in the number of people with diabetes in the City of Greater Geelong in the period from Transport The City of Greater Geelong, has strong links with the transport networks within the state and is a major transport hub in Victoria. A high level summary of the City of Greater Geelong transport network, including the key changes to the transport network since the previous 2003 Strategy is presented below. Roads Geelong s primary road link to the wider region is the Princes Freeway (M1), which links the Geelong road network to Melbourne. Geelong sees the convergence of many of the regions highways, including the regionally important Midland Highway, Hamilton Highway, Princes Highway and Geelong-Bacchus Marsh Road, as well as the locally important Bellarine Highway and Surf Coast Highway. With the completion of the Geelong Ring Road in early 2013, all regional level highways link with the M1, providing through access to Melbourne. Geelong is also the gateway to the Great Ocean Road scenic roadway, a popular tourist route. The City of Greater Geelong is responsible for an extensive road network, including more than 1,600 kilometres of sealed roads and more than 470 kilometres of unsealed roads. Key road network change since the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy: Construction of the Geelong Ring Road, with the final section opening in 2013 Rail Services (including freight) Geelong is linked by passenger rail to Melbourne and Warrnambool. Passenger services are provided by V/Line trains through the municipality s eight stations, with an additional station under construction. 8 Source: Geelong Region PAS Literature Review Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 13

17 In addition to this Geelong lies on the standard gauge network providing the main rail link between Melbourne and South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and also links to the Mallee grain lines. This link is used mostly by freight services, although it also carries some passenger services linking from Melbourne to Adelaide. Key rail network change since the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy: Completion of the Regional Fast Rail project between Melbourne and Geelong and commencement of Regional Rail Link construction Bus Services Timetabled local bus services are operated throughout the City of Greater Geelong metropolitan region and the Bellarine Peninsula, providing 1,198 services each weekday across thirty routes. The majority of routes operate at peak headways of 60 minutes or less. Bus services operate a reduced timetable on weekends, with a small number of routes not operating on Saturday or Sunday. There are 43% fewer services scheduled on Saturday s, with 59% fewer services scheduled on Sundays. A large proportion of these bus services are wheelchair accessible, with many routes operating a mixture of The majority of bus routes within the City of Greater Geelong provide access to the central area of Geelong terminating at the Moorabool Street bus interchange, through a radial network, with some providing links between towns within the region. accessible and non-accessible services. Wheelchair accessible services are marked prominently on timetables. Regional coach routes operated by V/Line provide linkages to Warrnambool, the Great Ocean Road and Ballarat A small number of private operators provide other services to Melbourne and Avalon airports. Key bus network change since the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy: Improvements to coverage, frequency and operating span following the implementation of the Geelong Bus Network review recommendations. Upgrade to the Moorabool Street Bus Interchange Taxi Taxi services within the City of Greater Geelong are provided by Bellarine Peninsula Taxis and Geelong Taxi Network. Wheelchair accessible taxis are available upon booking. The City of Greater Geelong is served by 146 taxis, 23 of which are wheelchair accessible. These numbers have been relatively static since 2003, with eight additional taxis servicing the area in 2014 as compared to 2003, representing a modest increase of six percent. This compares to metropolitan Melbourne which has seen a 58% rise in taxis over the same period (to a total of 4,876), and the rest of Victoria, which has seen an 11 percent rise. All of the additional taxis in the City of Greater Geelong are wheelchair accessible. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 14

18 Active Transport Walking links in the City of Greater Geelong are primarily provided by roadside footpaths of which there are more than 1300 kilometres of footpaths and shared user paths within the study area. The City of Greater Geelong has some dedicated bicycle infrastructure, including bicycle lanes on key roads. The Bellarine Rail Trail provides a bicycle link between Queenscliff and central Geelong; however a more direct route is via the Bellarine Highway. The rail trail provides the most benefit to riders from the Drysdale, Leopold and Newcomb areas, as it provides these areas with a more direct linkage to central Geelong. Key active transport change since the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy: Completion of the Greater Geelong Cycling Strategy in 2008 Ports The City of Greater Geelong is home to Victoria s second largest port, behind the Port of Melbourne. The Geelong Port mainly exports raw materials including petroleum products, bulk grain and woodchips. In FY2011/12 the port managed 15.4 million tonnes in total trade in comparison to 13.1 million tonnes in FY2001/02 9. Key Port change since the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy: Total trade growth at Geelong Port over the ten year period from 2001/02 to 2011/12 was 2.3 million tonnes Airports Avalon Airport is located 15km north east of Geelong, and provides domestic passenger and freight links. Avalon airport began commercial operations in 2004, and sees passenger services linking to Brisbane and Sydney. Freight operations at the airport are limited, with a reported 40 freight movements per year. 10 Aircraft movements at this airport are forecast to grow, accounting for 8-14 percent of Melbourne s passenger market share by 2031, in comparison to the existing market share of 2%. This increase will see passenger numbers increase from 580,000 passengers per year to 4.6 to 8.1 million passengers per year. 11 Despite the forecast increase in aircraft movements, actual movements have been trending downwards since 2006, decreasing by thirty-six percent. Over the same time period, total movements at Tullamarine Airport have increased by twenty-three percent. Key Airport change since the 2003 Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy: Avalon Airport began commercial operations in The Victorian Government has committed to continued planning for an Avalon Airport Rail Link 9 Source: Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy, December Source: 11 Source: data/assets/pdf_file/0005/85739/avalon-airport-rail-link-phase-one-investigations- Report pdf Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 15

19 4. Vision, aims and objectives The following vision has been adopted from the City of Greater Geelong and enhanced for the purpose of developing the Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan: building our community through enterprise, opportunity and innovation in a quality environment. Delivering an efficient, connected and robust transport network that meets existing and future transport needs This vision represents the desired state that the City of Greater Geelong wants to achieve. In order to achieve this vision in the context of transport and land use planning within the City of Greater Geelong, it is important to set aims and objectives across the short, medium and long term. The aims and objectives shown in Figure 4-1 are informed by a range of engagements with Council officers, key stakeholder and community groups and also background information sourced from a review of relevant reports and also assessment of baseline and future conditions within the City of Greater Geelong. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 16

20 Figure 4-1 Vision, aims and objectives Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 17

21 5. Key challenges and issues This Plan aims to address the key challenges and associated issues facing transport and land use planning within the City of Greater Geelong. Identifying these key challenges and issues is an important task, which draws upon the following information sources: Review of relevant background transport and land use planning documentation Stakeholder consultation to reinforce findings of the background documentation review and also identify other challenges, issues and opportunities Baseline and future conditions analysis to validate stakeholder consultation outcomes and to identify other challenges and issues Investment Logic Mapping to assist in identifying key challenges, benefits to addressing these challenges and the strategic responses required to address them. 5.1 Investment Logic Mapping Council has used an Investment Logic Mapping workshop process to assist in identifying the key challenges facing transport and land use in the City of Greater Geelong. is guided in the right direction. In the context of this study, the ILM was used to identify the fundamental Investment Logic Maps are a tool developed by the Department of Treasury and Finance to assist decision makers in understanding what is driving their need to make an investment and to ascertain if that investment reasons why Council and other funding agencies should invest in maintaining and developing transport infrastructure within the City of Greater Geelong. A key benefit of this process is that the outputs are presented on a single page flowchart, which provides a visual representation of the outcomes to show to key stakeholders and members of the community. The ILM outputs can then be used as a reference for strategic decision making and, in turn, the strategies and actions that support a given strategic direction. The ILM process is increasingly being used across government projects and is advocated by the Municipal Association of Victoria. The process involved the facilitator asking the participants to highlight transport and land use problem themes facing the City of Greater Geelong. These themes were then synthesised into a small number of short, clearly defined strategic problem statements, which were then aligned to benefits associated in solving these problems and strategic responses required to achieve these benefits. Weightings were then allocated by the group based on the perceived importance of each key problem, benefit and strategic response. The Investment Logic Map is shown in Figure 5-1. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 18

22 Figure 5-1 Investment Logic Map Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 19

23 5.2 Key challenges The following key transport and land use challenges are facing the City of Greater Geelong: Challenge 1: Encouraging the community to reduce car use for local trips and be more physically active Challenge 2: Minimising the impact of freight movements on the community against a backdrop of economic growth Challenge 3: Insufficient capacity and/or connectivity hinders local and regional movement. These challenges need to be addressed as part of this plan. Supporting evidence is provided below Challenge 1: Encouraging the community to reduce car use for local trips and be more physically active The City of Greater Geelong has a car dominated culture which generates an excessive amount of car use for local trips. Mode shift to active travel modes will be encouraged as part of a wider initiative to improve the health of the community. The following evidence, sourced from several background documents justifies the inclusion of this key challenge and reinforces the importance in addressing it as part of the Plan: Background documentation review: The draft G21 Public Transport Strategy states reduction of traffic congestion, through increasing the utilisation of public transport as a goal The Central Geelong Car Parking and Access Strategy states that it is highly unlikely that the level of population growth forecast in the City of Greater Geelong can be accommodated based on the existing car dominated mode split. It also acknowledges that the substantial increase in car based trips has the potential to result in increased traffic congestion and vehicle delay. Stakeholder consultation: The feedback received in the two stakeholder workshops, included a range of key issues and opportunities relating to car dependence in the City of Greater Geelong and the need to encourage use of alternative modes for local trips. Baseline and future conditions analysis: Car ownership levels in the City of Greater Geelong have increased over the past ten years The journey to work trips for city of Greater Geelong residents for car as a driver, have increased by approximately 10,000 trips over the past ten years 84% of all trips in the City of Greater Geelong are car based trips, as compared to Melbourne s 77% 10% of all car trips are for trip distances less than one kilometre, with twenty-five percent being less than two kilometres 8,487 people in the City of Greater Geelong have diabetes. This figure has increase by 90% from Challenge 2: Minimising the impact of freight movements on the community against a backdrop of economic growth Over time industrial areas within the City of Greater Geelong has decentralised for a number of commercial reasons. This has created transport issues which can be mitigated to some degree by consolidation of freight generating land uses. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 20

24 It is recognised that these industrial areas contribute to the local Geelong economy. Notwithstanding this, there is a need to minimise the impact of freight on the local community in terms of noise, air pollution, traffic congestion and road safety. The following evidence, sourced from several background documents justifies the inclusion of this key challenge and reinforces the importance in addressing it as part of the Plan: Background documentation review: The Geelong Central Transportation Links Study develops mitigation measures for freight movements through central Geelong The West Connect Heales Road to Geelong Port Connection Preliminary Evaluation of Options study investigates an alternative freight route to connect the Heales Road industrial estate with the Geelong Port. This alternative would reduce the impact of freight movements for residents living in the northern suburbs of Geelong. Stakeholder Feedback: The feedback received in the two stakeholder workshops supports the need to minimise the impact of freight movements on the community, with a particular focus on central Geelong and the northern suburbs. It is recognised that adoption of the Network Operating Plans in the City of Greater Geelong will provide the opportunity for a more targeted approach to transport network investment by having a road hierarchy that assigns priority to particular modes. Baseline and future conditions analysis: Total trade through the Geelong Port increased by 11.6% in 2011/2012, which included a 20.1% increase in the number of vessels entering the Port during this period 12 Growth in freight movements through Geelong Port are forecast to grow from 12.5M tonnes in 2011/2012 to 50-60M tonnes in 2050 Traffic counts were undertaken on Malop Street (central Geelong) indicating that there were 1,018 trucks using this street in the 24-hour period during 2010 High Productivity Vehicles such as the B-triple are vital to the future trade growth and efficiency of the Geelong Port they can unlock greater trade flows to Geelong through the competitive freight advantage they would offer to this port Challenge 3: Insufficient capacity and/or connectivity hinders local and regional movement. Adequate transport links that cater for active transport, public transport, private vehicle trips and freight are required to move people and goods locally within the City of Greater Geelong and also regionally to external areas. The insufficient capacity of these transport links affects the comfort, reliability and productivity in relation to the movement of people and goods. This presents a key challenge for the City of Greater Geelong as strong population growth is forecast to continue. Improving connectivity within the transport network is also a key challenge, due to need to link people to employment, education, shopping and other destinations. The following evidence, sourced from several background documents justifies the inclusion of this key challenge and reinforces the importance in addressing it as part of the Plan: 12 Source: Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 21

25 Background documentation review: The draft G21 Public Transport Strategy outlines the following four key strategic objectives for the provision of public transport in the region: Access for all A well connected region Urban public transport for an urban centre Improving information, planning and partnerships. A number of other documents recognise the importance of meeting Challenge 3, including: Network Development Plan Metropolitan Rail Geelong Car Parking and Access Strategy Road Management Plan Geelong Road Safety Strategy G21 Regional Road Transport Plan. Stakeholder consultation: The feedback received in the two stakeholder workshops, related to insufficient transport capacity and connectivity, which hinders local and regional movement. A key focus of the issues raised relate to overcrowding on peak period V/Line train services between Geelong and Melbourne, access to rail stations, inadequate public transport frequencies and integration and road network capacity constraints on key transport links. Baseline and future conditions analysis: Connectivity of the public transport network in the City of Greater Geelong is limited, in particular for residents travelling from outer suburbs and towns to access central Geelong and beyond (i.e. Lara and towns located on the Bellarine Peninsula) Anecdotal evidence suggests that travel demand on peak period Geelong - Melbourne V/Line train services exceeds capacity, causing discomfort for passengers Surveys have indicated that the park and ride car parks at Marshall, South Geelong, Geelong, North Geelong and Lara Stations are all operating at 100% occupancy. 5.3 Key issues A number of key issues have been allocated to the three key challenges discussed. These issues were identified from the following sources: Relevant background reports, plans and policies, as outlined in Table 2-1 Investment Logic Mapping outputs, including identification of the problem, benefits and strategic responses Outputs from the two stakeholder workshops held in Geelong on 4 December Details of the stakeholder consultation outcomes are provided in the Geelong Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan Stakeholder Consultation Focus Group Workshops Summary Report Further analysis of the baseline and future conditions, as discussed in Section 3.1. For the purpose of developing this Plan an issue has been defined as a transport related matter requiring intervention in order to meet the three key challenges Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 22

26 Supporting evidence to confirm that these issues are important to address is included in the Geelong Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan Contextual and Further Analysis Summary Report Challenge 1 Issues Challenge 1: Encouraging the community to reduce car use for local trips and be more physically active Issue No. / Description 1.1 Mode share in the City of Greater Geelong is excessively dominated by car use and a car culture generally exists amongst the community 1.2 Pedestrian and cycle networks in the City of Greater Geelong are not comprehensive 1.3 There are a number missing pedestrian and cycle links to key destinations in the City of Greater Geelong 1.4 Pedestrian and cycle safety concerns may be limiting the opportunity for an increase in mode share for active transport Challenge 2 Issues Challenge 2: Minimising the impact of freight movements on the community against a backdrop of economic growth Issue No. / Description 2.1 Provision for East West freight movements through central Geelong is inadequate 2.2 Planning and transport related measures to mitigate the externalities associated with industrial activity are not always effective and do not keep pace with commercial and residential development 2.3 Access corridors to/from the Port need to be improved and protected to allow for HPFV s 2.4 Freight movements on local and arterial roads through the northern suburbs of Geelong are a causing safety and amenity concerns amongst local residents 2.5 Rail freight market share is low and does not offer an attractive alternative to road transportation for a large number of businesses 2.6 The dispersal of freight generating land uses increase the amount of Council related intervention required to manage impacts on communities and deliver a road network that provides a satisfactory level of access to business 2.7 The shallow depth of the channel that provides access to the Geelong Port reduces its attractiveness as a gateway for the import and export of freight 2.8 Transport access to Melbourne Airport is unpredictable due to travel time reliability issues on the Princes Freeway and Ring Road 2.9 There is a need to plan for a rail link to Avalon Airport in order to meet Victoria's future transport needs and support the future development of Avalon Airport as Victoria's second international airport Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 23

27 5.3.3 Challenge 3 Issues Challenge 3: Insufficient capacity and/or connectivity hinders local and regional movement. Issue No. / Description 3.1 Demand for travel to/from Melbourne by rail, particularly during the weekday morning and evening peak periods, exceeds supply which cannot be easily increased due to a number of network constraints including the CBD rail loop and the Geelong rail tunnel, causing uncomfortable and unpredictable commutes 3.2 V/Line rolling stock carriage design is not space efficient and is not particularly well suited to the task of moving large numbers of commuters 3.3 The demand for skilled and highly paid jobs in the City of Greater Geelong exceeds supply which increases Melbourne related commuting 3.4 There is a lack of transport link resilience between Geelong and Melbourne 3.5 Traffic congestion on West Gate Freeway, creates travel time reliability issues accessing Melbourne during weekday AM peak periods and Geelong in PM peak periods 3.6 Transport demand between Geelong and the Surf Coast exceeds capacity during the weekday and peak periods and during the peak holiday season, causing road congestion 3.7 Station access is dominated by car trips which is generally in-efficient, creates congestion and requires large amounts of land to be used for parking which is costly and inefficient 3.8 Transport options by non-car modes from satellite towns and suburbs within the study area to central Geelong are limited 3.9 The lack of a hierarchy of transport modes within the City of Greater Geelong reduces the opportunity to develop a coordinated transport system 3.10 Historical approaches to transport investment no longer align with existing and emerging transport needs as demography changes 3.11 Limited east-west road connections through central Geelong result in travel time reliability and access issues 3.12 An excess of demand for a seat on a train to Melbourne during the morning peak (relative to supply) is creating inefficient and indirect travel patterns as people living in northern Geelong drive to station car parks in the south 3.13 Proposals for the Geelong rail line, as outlined in the Network Development Plan, prepared by PTV are not aligned within the draft G21 Public Transport Strategy Vision, as supported by Council 3.14 Parking management strategies in central Geelong encourage people to make car trips 3.15 There were 39 fatal crashes and 849 serious injury crashes on City of Greater Geelong roads during the periods, which represented a reduction from the previous five years for fatality crashes but an increase in serious injury crashes. Council has an aim to achieve a 30% reduction in fatal and serious injury crashes in the next five years within the City of Greater Geelong The City of Greater Geelong is not consistently DDA compliant which limits transport choices and opportunities for some members of the community. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 24

28 6. Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan Since the 2003 Strategy was developed for Geelong there has been a stronger trend towards planning transport and land use together. Transport is derived from our need to undertake trips for a purpose, such as to access employment, shopping, business, education or visiting friends and family. The relationship that transport has with land use, influences our travel decisions by where we travel, the distances travelled and the way we travel. The City of Greater Geelong and other organisations have undertaken a significant amount of work in relation to transport and land use planning within the region. This work has provided a strong basis for the development of the Plan. The Plan will not supersede previous studies undertaken in the City of Greater Geelong but will draw upon their findings to form a set of short, medium and long term actions that address identified transport and land use issues and challenges. The background reports contain a significant amount of detailed advice on local transport improvements which will need to be delivered to consider the clear strategic directions as outlined in this document. 6.1 Approach Figure 6-1 presents the proposed approach used to develop the draft Plan. At the highest level, it is important to consider the vision, aims and objectives for the provision of transport and land use within the City of Greater Geelong to represent what the Plan aims to achieve. In order to achieve the vision, aims and objectives there is a need to identify what the key challenges are facing transport and land use provision in the City of Greater Geelong. There are a range of key issues that are aligned to one of the three key challenges in some way that need to be responded to through some level of intervention. A range of strategic responses have been recommended to provide a framework to facilitate the implementation of actions that address the identified issues. The actions are investment decisions that could be grouped into one of the following categories: policy, further investigation, infrastructure or operational. The implementation Plan then outlines how these actions will be delivered and who is responsible for their delivery. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 25

29 Figure 6-1 Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan Development Approach Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 26

30 6.2 Integrated Comprehensive Transport Plan Actions A primary component of the Plan is the recommended actions that address each of the three identified key challenges. These actions will also aim to address the key issues outlined in Section 5.3.1, Section and Section Each recommended action is summarised and supported by the following key details: Action: Action number and title Key challenge this action responds to: which of the three key problems has been addressed Strategic Response: The strategic response(s) which this action falls under Relevant key issues: what issue(s) this action has solved Action category: what type of action is it (i.e. lobbying, further investigation, infrastructure and operations) Action description: explanation of action Relevant aims & objectives: how the action links to the stated aims and objectives in Figure 4-1 Relevant reference documents: which background reports does this action reference Indicative cost: low, medium or high indicative cost Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 27

31 6.2.1 Challenge 1 - Action summaries Challenge 1: Encouraging the community to reduce car use for local trips and be more physically active The recommended actions that aim to address Challenge 1 have been summarised in Table 6-1. Table 6-1 Recommended Actions to address Challenge 1 Action 1a: Assess and compare the City of Greater Geelong's approaches to all aspects of car parking with those of other progressive cities in Australia and internationally. Produce an area wide Parking Plan that aligns with the objectives of this document Action 1b: Investigate the funding and delivery options available to ensure footpaths are provided where they are required Action 1c: Identify those streets in populated areas where footpaths either do not exist or are not provided on both sides of the road Action 1d: Produce a prioritised delivery program for providing footpaths in populated areas where they do not exist and where they will not be delivered via the various other programs of works Action 1e: Undertake research to establish if there are safety issues for people travelling by active transport, where these issues exist and the extent to which they discourage active transportation Action 1f: Introduce monitoring processes which clearly capture accidents or incidents involving pedestrians and cyclists Action 1g: Work with VicRoads to prioritise and deliver the proposed Principal Bicycle Network Action 1h: Identify an area wide prioritised list of pedestrian and cycle orientated traffic signal related works as specified in the central Geelong Transportation Links Study and other relevant documents and develop an implementation plan Note: Refer to Appendix A for the action summaries for Actions 1a 1h The City of Greater Geelong is committed to discouraging unnecessary car use and improving health and wellbeing of the community by creating street environments that are attractive for people using active transport modes. Council wants to transition the hearts and minds of people in the community away from instinctively reaching for the car keys when making local trips by improving both the quality and quantity of facilities for pedestrians and cyclists in residential areas to encourage active travel modes. The vision is for Geelong to contain active neighbourhoods where a diverse mix of people walk, cycle, spend time and interact. This is a major undertaking for the Council and will involve an extensive program of capital works in the form of new pavements and cycle routes in those areas where people live. The scale of the works will require Council to consider how these improvements can be funded and how projects can be prioritised to meet the need and delivered in a way that offers maximum value for money. As part of this process Council is committed to introducing new planning guidelines which will ensure that the City of Greater Geelong receives the active transport infrastructure that it needs as development incrementally occurs so that future generations will benefit from the proactive stance that is being taken to create living streets and encourage people to live more active lifestyles. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 28

32 Cars will continue to have a role for some trips however an increased emphasises will be placed on creating street environments that invite people to get active. Council will take a balanced approach to achieving the transport outcomes that the City of Greater Geelong needs in order to maintain its position as a popular place to live, work and visit. This balanced approach will require the implementation of progressive car parking provision and management policies to compliment improvements for people traveling by active modes and will bring about real change in how people travel and how the space within streets is used. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 29

33 6.2.2 Challenge 2 - Action summaries Challenge 2: Minimising the impact of freight movements on the community against a backdrop of economic growth The recommended actions that aim to address Challenge 2 have been summarised in Table 6-2. Table 6-2 Recommended Actions to address Challenge 2 Action 2a: Work with VicRoads to finalise the draft Network Operating Plans, providing a focus on central Geelong as a priority, followed by the remainder of the municipality Action 2b: Monitor and assess the results of the truck ban trial on Malop and Mercer Street in central Geelong Action 2c: Improve monitoring systems to better understand changes to freight movements in response to industry changes and how this impacts on the operation of the road network Action 2d: Following adoption of the Network Operating Plans, work with VicRoads to produce a prioritised road infrastructure plan to upgrade freight routes to accommodate freight movements, including HPFV's Action 2e: Identify the safety and amenity concerns that residents in the northern suburbs of Geelong have in relation to freight movements Action 2f: Undertake a review of all freight generating land uses within the municipality to understand opportunities for consolidating these land uses where possible Action 2h: Work with the Geelong Port and Government to address any key infrastructure barriers from a planning Action 2g: Work with Government to address any barriers associated with implementing freight strategies outlined in the Victoria Freight and Logistics Plan and policy perspective in order to facilitate recommendations for improvements to the Geelong Port Action 2i: Further investigate ways of improving travel time reliability to Melbourne Airport from Geelong for freight, car and public transport trips Action 2j: Work with DTPLI and PTV to progress the Avalon Airport Rail Link study Note: Refer to Appendix A for the action summaries for Actions 2a 2j The City of Greater Geelong is committed to delivering an effective transport system which reflects the key themes of this plan which include encouraging alternative modes of travel to the private vehicle, such as walking, cycling and public transport use. The adoption of Network Operating Plans across the City of Greater Geelong will provide the opportunity for more focused investment of limited funding for the road network that is aligned to a strategic level plan or hierarchy. The hierarchy can be conveyed to the community through public consultation that will help them to understand why future transport decisions are made in relation to how modes are prioritised on particular routes. An example Network Operating Plan for the City of Wyndham is shown below. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 30

34 Source: tingplan.htm The major gateways to Geelong include the Avalon Airport and Geelong Port, which both have a strategic importance to the economy in the City of Greater Geelong and wider Barwon region. Council will play a key role in working with the Avalon Airport and Geelong Port to facilitate development and access considerations, while also balancing the associated impacts that the operation of these land uses has on the local communities. Many of the recommended actions that address Challenge 2 rely on external support t from State and Federal Government as well as private organisations. Council will play an active role in engaging with external organisations to remove any barriers to future development that is in accordance with adopted plans and strategies. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 31

35 6.2.3 Challenge 3 - Action summaries Challenge 3: Insufficient capacity and/or connectivity hinders local and regional movement. The recommended actions that aim to address Challenge 3 have been summarised in Table 6-3. Table 6-3 Recommended Actions to address Challenge 3 Action 3a: Work with state and federal government to reinforce the priority in resolving the peak capacity and comfort issues on V/Line trains to/from Melbourne Action 3b: Investigate alternative forms of public transport linking Melbourne and Geelong, including consideration for commuter bus and ferries to assist in reducing peak period capacity constraints on V/Line train services Action 3c: Investigate low-cost opportunities to manage the peak period demand on Melbourne Geelong V/Line train services Action 3d: Work with V/Line to derive rolling stock configurations that reflect the specific transport needs of the Geelong to Melbourne rail corridor Action 3e: Work with state and federal government to develop strategies for the City of Greater Geelong that create local employment in knowledge industries to reduce the need for workers to commute to Melbourne Action 3f: Lobby state and federal government to prioritise the East-West Link (Stage 2 project) to provide an alternative river crossing to the West Gate Bridge Action 3h: Lobby PTV to improve public transport connections between the Surf Coast and Geelong to provide more Action 3g: Lobby VicRoads, DTPLI and surf Coast Shire Council to reserve a public transport corridor between Geelong and Torquay attractive public transport alternatives to private car travel Action 3i: Work with V/Line and PTV to develop Station Access Plans for all rail stations within Geelong Action 3j: Work with PTV, active transport groups and bus operators to improve the marketing of travel by non-car modes from satellite towns and suburbs in the City of Greater Geelong Action 3k: Develop a framework for prioritisation of infrastructure investment by the City of Greater Geelong for actions recommended in this Plan that are the responsibility of Council Action 3l: Lobby PTV to develop a regional minimum service standard and minimum level of use policy for public transport in the City of Greater Geelong Action 3m: Work with state government to develop a long-term rail plan for Geelong that considers local and regional transport needs Action 3n: Implement the recommendations from the Central Geelong Car Parking and Access Strategy Action 3o: Implement the recommendations from the Geelong Road Safety Strategy Action 3p: Work with PTV and V/Line to prioritise DDA improvements to bus and rail infrastructure, including buses, V/Line rolling-stock, stations and bus stops Note: Refer to Appendix A for the action summaries for Actions 3a 3p Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 32

36 The City of Greater Geelong is committed to advocating for improvements to be made to public transport so that it can become a viable alternative to private car travel in Geelong. This initiative will begin changing the car dependant culture within the community. Council will continue to engage with State Government to improve public transport for local and regional trips. Council fully recognise that presenting the community with compelling public transport options is a central pillar of any strategy which seeks to foster mode shift away from car use. Council is committed to obtaining the road network improvements that the community and businesses of the City of Greater Geelong require will be a key focus of the Plan and Council will engage with state government to investigate more efficient ways of moving people and goods between key destinations. The West Gate Bridge provides a key transport link between Geelong and the Melbourne CBD and Council recognises the importance associated in continuing to investigate alternative river crossings to improve the resilience of this important link. Council has undertaken significant investment in developing a road safety strategy and car parking and access strategy for the City of Greater Geelong and will continue to implement the recommendations of these studies. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 33

37 6.3 Implementation Plan The implementation plan will be developed for each of the actions outlined in Section 6.2 and include a summary of the following: Responsibility: which organisation(s) is responsible for implementing the action Timeframe: short (<1 year), medium (1-5 years) or long term (5-10 years) Monitoring of the Plan is to be undertaken in line with the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each strategic action outlined in Appendix A. In order to maximise the effectiveness of this plan, an implementation committee or team will be set up to ensure that the issues and actions of this report are addressed, and to track the success of these objectives against their KPIs. The committee will ensure that the proposed actions are assigned ownership to a team or an individual to improve the chance of implementation. Many of the actions are not directly achievable by Council, requiring input from State and Federal government and companies to undertake these actions. In these cases, the Implementation Committee will ensure that appropriate lobbying is undertaken to enable the proposed actions to be met. Table 6-4 Implementation Plan Summary Action Responsibility Cost Action 1a - Assess and compare the City of Greater Geelong's approaches to all aspects of car parking with those of other Short Term progressive cities in Australia and internationally. Produce an area wide Parking Plan that aligns with the objectives of this document Action 1b - Investigate the funding and delivery options available to ensure footpaths are provided where they are required Action 1c - Identify those streets in populated areas where footpaths either do not exist or are not provided on both sides of the road Action 1e - Undertake research to establish if there are safety issues for people travelling by active transport, where these issues exist and the extent to which they discourage active transportation Action 1f - Introduce monitoring processes which clearly capture accidents or incidents involving pedestrians and cyclists Action 1g - Work with VicRoads to prioritise and deliver the proposed PBN and ensure that it is regularly reviewed to consider new development in growth areas and changing transport needs more generally Action 1h - Identify an area wide prioritised list of pedestrian and cycle orientated traffic signal related works as specified in the Central Geelong Transportation Links Study and other relevant documents and develop an implementation plan Action 2b - Monitor and assess the results of the truck ban trial Action 2j - Work with DTPLI and PTV to progress the Avalon Airport Rail Link study Action 3b - Investigate alternative forms of public transport linking Melbourne and Geelong, including consideration for City of Greater Geelong City of Greater Geelong City of Greater Geelong City of Greater Geelong City of Greater Geelong VicRoads & City of Greater Geelong City of Greater Geelong City of Greater Geelong working closely with VicRoads City of Greater Geelong working closely with DTPLI City of Greater Low Low Low Low Low Medium Low Low Low Low Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 34

38 Action Responsibility Cost commuter bus and ferries to assist in reducing peak period capacity constraints on V/Line train services Action 3c - Investigate low-cost opportunities to manage the peak period demand on Melbourne Geelong V/Line train services Action 3i - Work with V/Line and PTV to develop Station Access Plans for all rail stations within Geelong Action 3m - Work with PTV and V/Line to develop a long-term rail corridor development plan for the Geelong rail line Geelong City of Greater Geelong City of Greater Geelong (working closely with V/Line and PTV) City of Greater Geelong (working closely with V/Line and PTV) Low Low-Medium Low Short to Medium Term Action 2a - Work with VicRoads to finalise the draft Network Operating Plans, providing a focus on central Geelong as a priority, followed by the remainder of the municipality Action 2g - Work with Government to address any barriers associated with implementing freight strategies outlined in the Victorian Freight and Logistics Plan City of Greater Geelong working closely with VicRoads City of Greater Geelong working closely with DTPLI, VicRoads and Geelong Port Action 2i - Investigate ways of improving travel time reliability to Melbourne Airport from Geelong for freight, car and public transport trips Action 3d - Work with V/Line to derive rolling stock configurations that reflect the specific transport needs of the Geelong to Melbourne rail corridor Action 3f - Lobby state and federal government to prioritise the East-West Link (Stage 2 project) to provide an alternative river crossing to the West Gate Bridge Action 3g - Lobby VicRoads, DTPLI and Surf Coast Shire Council to reserve a transport corridor between Geelong and Torquay Action 3j - Work with PTV, active transport groups and bus operators to improve the marketing of travel by non-car modes from satellite towns and suburbs in the City of Greater Geelong City of Greater Geelong, PTV, VicRoads, V/Line, Gull Transport, Metro Trains V/Line (with support provided from City of Greater Geelong) City of Greater Geelong (working closely with the Victorian Government) City of Greater Geelong (working closely with VicRoads, DTPLI and the Surf Coast Shire Council) City of Greater Geelong, PTV, local bus operators, Cycling and Walking groups Low-Medium Medium-High Low Low Dependent on scope and scale of monitoring Dependent on scope and scale of monitoring Low Short, Medium and Long Term Action 2c - Improve monitoring systems to better understand changes to freight movements in response to industry changes and how this impacts on the operation of the road network City of Greater Geelong working closely with Dependent on scope and scale of monitoring Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 35

39 Action Responsibility Cost Action 2d - Following adoption of the Network Operating Plans, work with VicRoads to produce a prioritised road infrastructure plan to upgrade freight routes to accommodate freight movements, including HPFV's Action 2f - Undertake a review of all freight generating land uses within the municipality to understand opportunities for consolidating these land uses where possible Action 3e - Work with state and federal government to develop strategies for the City of Greater Geelong that create local employment in knowledge industries to reduce the need for workers to commute to Melbourne Action 3o - Implement the recommendations from the Geelong Road Safety Strategy Action 3p - Work with PTV and V/Line to prioritise DDA improvements to bus and rail infrastructure, including buses, rollingstock, stations and bus stops VicRoads City of Greater Geelong working closely with VicRoads City of Greater Geelong City of Greater Geelong (working closely with state and federal government) City of Greater Geelong City of Greater Geelong (working closely with state government ) Low Low Dependent on scope and scale of monitoring High Medium Short and Long Term City of Greater Geelong (working closely with PTV Action 3a - Work with state and federal government to reinforce the priority in resolving the peak capacity and comfort issues on V/Line trains to/from Melbourne and V/Line) Low Medium Term Action 2e - Undertake an investigation and consultation into the identifying the safety and amenity concerns that residents in the northern suburbs of Geelong have in relation to freight movements Action 3h - Lobby PTV to improve public transport connections between the Surf Coast and Geelong to provide more attractive public transport alternatives to private car travel Action 3k - Develop a framework for prioritisation of infrastructure investment by the City of Greater Geelong for actions recommended in this Plan that are the responsibility of Council Action 3l - Lobby PTV to develop a regional minimum service standard and minimum level of use policy for public transport in the City of Greater Geelong Action 3n - Implement the recommendations from the Central Geelong Car Parking and Access Strategy, Medium to Long Term Action 1d - Produce a prioritised delivery program for providing footpaths in populated areas where they do not exist or are not provided on both sides of the road City of Greater Geelong City of Greater Geelong (working closely with PTV and the Surf Coast Shire Council) City of Greater Geelong, PTV, local bus operators, Cycling and Walking groups City of Greater Geelong (working closely with PTV) City of Greater Geelong City of Greater Geelong Low Dependent on scope and scale of monitoring Low Dependent on scope of lobbying Low Low to produce the delivery plan High to implement the plan Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 36

40 Action Responsibility Cost Long Term Action 2h - Work with the Geelong Port and Government to address any key infrastructure barriers from a planning and policy perspective City of Greater Geelong working closely with Geelong Port, DTPLI and VicRoads Low-Medium Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 37

41 6.4 Future statements Geelong in 2024 The strategic actions outlined in the Plan have been developed to address the identified issues and key challenges facing transport and land use within the City of Greater Geelong. These strategic actions have been developed to align with the vision for the City of Greater Geelong and the intent of these actions is to achieve a future as outlined below Central Geelong Geelong s CBD continues to be a successful central hub for retail, business, education, leisure and tourism. The active frontage, high quality streetscapes and mix of uses have created a safe and secure living street environment that is popular with the community. It has successfully attracted knowledge industry jobs and presents new employment opportunities to residents that were previously commuting to Melbourne Growth Areas The growth areas within the City of Greater Geelong, including Armstrong Creek and Lara West have been successful as a result of best practice planning through the provision of high quality public transport and infrastructure that encourages walking and cycling. The mix of land uses within these growth areas has reduced the need for travel and also provided an opportunity for short local trips to be undertaken using sustainable travel modes Road safety Through the successful implementation of the Geelong Road Safety Strategy, the fatal and serious injury crash targets were achieved. Subsequent road safety strategies implemented in the City of Greater Geelong continued to be effective resulting in fewer fatal and serious injury crashes in Geelong. The Principal Bicycle Network has been implemented and there has been an increase in cycle trips and a decrease in the number of crashes involving cyclists, as a result of the enhanced cycleway infrastructure (on and off-road) Active transport The City of Greater Geelong has a comprehensive network of footpaths and cycle routes that provide easy access for local communities. The mode share of trips via walking and cycling has risen significantly and is comparable to metro Melbourne. The daily volume of trips by active transport modes has increased significantly as a result of an increased population making a higher number of walking trips. The suburbs and towns within the City of Greater Geelong will have a higher level of activity with active transport trips being undertaken by all age groups for a range of trip types Public transport Frequent and reliable rail services between Geelong and Melbourne provide a fast and comfortable access knowledge industry employment within Melbourne. Improvements to the Geelong rail line, provide an attractive intercity rail service for people making local public transport trips within the City of Greater Geelong to key destinations including central Geelong, Deakin University and new growth areas located along the rail corridor. The integration of the bus and rail network within Geelong has allowed significantly more people to access rail services without providing large amounts of additional parking and creating traffic congestion. The provision of high density development in the vicinity of stations allows a large number of people to access rail services on foot which has created street activity and promoted active travel choices Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 38

42 Faster, more frequent and longer operating spans for bus services operating from towns and outer suburbs within the City of Greater Geelong has also contributed to an improved mode share for public transport and has had an impact on reducing car dependence in Geelong by offering an attractive alternative Freight The City of Greater Geelong has adapted to the changing economy, by understanding the changing needs for the movement of freight on the transport network. Through adoption of Network Operating Plans within the City of Greater Geelong, transport network investment has been prioritised on dedicated freight routes, minimising community impacts Gateways to Geelong The key gateways to the City of Greater Geelong have been enhanced in line with the adopted Master Plans to accommodate forecast growth in trade movements and to also realise the opportunity for growth at Avalon Airport Car parking The City of Greater Geelong is acknowledged as a Council that has taken a progressive approach to parking and has used its parking policies to support the vision, aims and objectives of its strategies. Following strong population growth, the City of Greater Geelong has grown into a larger regional city and acknowledged the need for a culture change in car use with respect to transport access into central Geelong. Parsons Brinckerhoff ITP-RPT-001 RevA Draft 39

43 Appendix A Recommended action summaries