Item 11.3 - Attachment 1 |
25 August 2008 Council
Report |
CULTURE AND LEISURE
ITEM NUMBER 12.1
SUBJECT Draft Bike Plan
2008
REFERENCE F2007/00667 - D00993526
REPORT OF Service Manager Open Space and Natural
Resources
PURPOSE: To seek
Council's endorsement to place the draft Bike Plan 2008 on public exhibition. |
RECOMMENDATION (a) That
Council receive and note Service Manager Open Space & Natural
Resource’s report on the draft Bike Plan 2008 and approve it for public
exhibition. (b) That
the draft plan be placed on public exhibition for a period of 28 days at Council’s
administration building, libraries, website, the Parramatta Heritage Centre,
and advertisements be placed in Parramatta’s local newspapers. (c) Further, that a
further report be provided for Council’s consideration following the public
exhibition period providing details of any submissions and comments and
recommendations for the final report. |
BACKGROUND
1. In 2001 Council adopted the current Parramatta
Bike Plan which identified a network of cycling routes to enhance cycling
opportunities throughout the LGA. Sections of the identified cycleway network
have been progressively completed, or upgraded, under Council’s annual capital
works program.
2. The complexity and large number of routes
identified in the current plan will, however, require significant funding to
complete as there are still a number of missing
links throughout the network. A number of additional cycleway initiatives have
also been developed outside the scope of the 2001 Bike Plan, such as the
North-West T-way cycleway.
3. The current Parramatta Bike Plan has recently
been reviewed to assess the sections of the network which have been completed since
2001 and the suitability of proposed routes in relation to the changing
demographics and increasing housing densities identified for Parramatta. Specialist consultants, Urban Arc Pty Ltd
were engaged to undertake the review of the 2001 Plan in consultation with the
Parramatta Cycleways Committee. A draft has
been prepared of a revised plan (Bike Plan 2008 – Attachment 2) which identifies
a number of priority routes to be implemented over the next three years to
create an accessible and efficient cycleway network. A table extracted from the plan showing these
is included as Attachment 1.
ISSUES/OPTIONS/CONSEQUENCES
4. Council recognises the health and wellbeing
benefits of walking and cycling and the environmental benefits of decreasing
reliance on cars as the major transport mode throughout the LGA. The draft Bike Plan 2008 aims to ensure that
Council encourages cycling as a healthy and environmentally
friendly mode of transport through the provision of safe bicycle routes and
facilities for commuters and recreational cyclists.
5. The main objectives of the
Bike Plan 2008 are:
a) To encourage cycling and reduce car use for
commuting;
b) To encourage non-cyclists to take up cycling;
c) To provide safer cycling opportunities, particularly
for vulnerable cyclists;
d) To implement planned routes and complete missing
links between existing routes to form continuous cycle routes;
e) To identify prioritised cycling routes for
future implementation;
f) To provide more opportunities for cycling in
open space and along off-road shared paths.
6. The
plan outlines all existing on-road and off-road cycling routes and facilities,
and identifies missing links throughout the current cycleway network. It also
provides a prioritised schedule of costed works to be implemented throughout
the cycleway network.
7. The
principles and actions outlined in the draft plan are consistent with Parramatta Twenty25 which
identifies a priority strategy (TC4) “to increase the number of people walking
and cycling, particularly for journeys within the neighbourhood” and (TC2) “manage
road congestion and safety while reducing the reliance on car use as the
primary means of transport”. The plan also implements actions and strategies in
the Sydney Metropolitan Strategy, Parramatta City Centre Plan (2007),
Parramatta Sport and Recreation Plan (2005), Parramatta Open Space Plan (2004),
and draft City Centre Integrated Transport Plan.
8. The draft plan is also consistent with Council’s Management Plan which
emphasises that we will ‘enhance and expand cycling and pedestrian networks’. Council
has already implemented some significant improvements to the cycleway network under the management plan through the Regional
and Local Bicycle Facility Projects within the annual capital works program.
CONSULTATION & TIMING
9. The draft Bike Plan 2008 has been developed in
close consultation with the Parramatta Cycleways Committee, which includes Councillors,
staff and representatives of several Bicycle User Groups and local cycling
enthusiasts. Committee members were also involved in conducting extensive saddle
surveys of routes throughout the LGA, with local schools also providing
valuable input.
10. Consultation has also been held with staff of
Council’s Transport Planning and Traffic Section who have been part of the
working party liaising with the project consultants, Urban Arc Pty Ltd.
11. If approved for public exhibition, advertisements will be placed in the
local Parramatta newspapers inviting local residents to comment on the draft
plan. The plan will be made available at Council’s
administration building, libraries, the Parramatta Heritage Centre and
posted on the Council’s website during the exhibition period for comment.
12. It is envisaged that following the public
exhibition period, Council will receive a further report providing details of
any submissions and proposed changes for Council’s consideration prior to
adoption of the final Bike Plan 2008.
Neville Davis
Service Manager Open Space & Natural Resources
Draft Bike Plan 2008 (Attachment to be
provided to Councillors Only under separate cover) |
58 Pages |
|
|
Table of Priority Routes |
2 Pages |
|
REFERENCE MATERIAL