Item 6.2 - Attachment 1 |
Previous Council Report |
ENVIRONMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE
ITEM NUMBER 9.1
SUBJECT Trial Closure of
Church Street for 3 Saturday nights in December 2010 between Phillip Street and
Market Street
REFERENCE F2008/05099 - D01748269
REPORT OF Service Manager Traffic and Transport
PURPOSE: This matter was considered at the Council
Meeting held on 22 November 2010 where it was resolved: - “That consideration of this matter be deferred to the
Council Meeting to be held on 13 December 2010 pending a meeting with the
Local Area Commander and officials from the Roads and Traffic Authority with
arrangements for the meeting to be left in the hands of the Lord Mayor.” Further advice will follow via memorandum in relation to the proposed
meeting. To respond to Council’s Resolution of 26 July 2010 regarding a
proposed closure of |
(a) That Council note that it can not proceed with the trial part-time
closure unless it also has the approval of the RTA. (b) That due to the RTA’s and Police opposition Council not proceed with the
trial part-time closure of (c) That Council work with Parramatta Police to facilitate measure to
reduce anti-social driving behaviour in the CBD such as Vehicle Defect
Operations. (d) Further, that Council implement a traffic survey to obtain
information on the number of motorists undertaking anti-social behaviour in
Church Street and report back on the results of these surveys. |
BACKGROUND
Council at its meeting held on 26 July 2010 resolved:
(a) That a report be brought forward on closing
Church Street between Market and Phillip Streets on Friday and Saturday nights
with the aim of having this implemented on a trial basis by December 2010 under
an interim arrangement. The report is to
include details of consultation undertaken, regulatory approvals that will have
been obtained and the cost of closures.
(b) Further, that following implementation of the
interim closure a further report should be provided that includes proposals to
lease parts of the road closure area to restaurants as a means of funding the
closures.
The background information that accompanied the
Notice of Motion stated that the popularity of the Church street ‘dining
precinct’ had attracted some anti-social driving behaviour along Church Street
and that a night time closure of the road would improve the amenity for
visitors and potentially increase seating capacity for restaurants.
PUBLIC
CONSULTATION
Following the Council resolution of 26 July 2010
Council advertised the trial closure for a period of 28 days (from 11 August
2010 to 8 September 2010) in the
Letters were also sent to emergency service
providers (NSW Police, Fire Brigade and Ambulance Service), transport service
providers (Sydney Buses, Wesbus and the Taxi Council), Parramatta Chamber of
Commerce and businesses and residents within 200m of the affected of the
affected area.
Transport NSW, on
behalf of Hillsbus, Veolia and Sydney Buses raised objections to the
proposal. They indicated that the
proposed road closure would re-route bus services and inconvenience bus patrons
as they would be required to walk to bus stops located in
The NSW Fire Brigade
advised that that a corridor is to be maintained for emergency vehicle
access. According to NSW Fire Brigade
guide sheet, an unobstructed corridor 4m wide (preferably 5m) is required for
operating fire brigade appliances.
NSW Police Force
initially objected to the proposal pending submission of a comprehensive report
addressing issues like management of traffic disruptions, access to public
transport, emergency access, pedestrian flow/anti congregation plan,
responsible service of alcohol, outdoor seating arrangements and road
closure. The NSW Police have more
recently met with officers of Council and the RTA and have provided further
comments discussed later in this report.
REPORT
On 18 October 2010 Council considered a report
from the Parramatta Traffic Committee regarding a proposed trial part-time
closure of Church Street, between Philip Street and Market Street, for 3
Saturday nights in December 2010. This report mainly dealt with the
traffic aspects of the closure including the consultation that had been undertaken. It also included issues regarding cost,
outdoor dining, safety and security. The
proposal included security staff to help address concerns regarding crime.
The report recommended that the trial could proceed on traffic grounds and that
it would not be feasible to include outdoor dining in the trial. A memo
was also provided to Councillors on the night at the Council meeting advising
of the latest information from Police in regards to provision of Vehicle Defect
Operations in the Parramatta CBD and crime and security aspects of the proposed
closure. The memo indicated that a further report would be provided to
Council regarding the trial closure.
The cost of the road closure is approximately
$3,000 per night. This includes:
delivery, pick up and hire of barricades and signs ($600), 3 traffic control
staff for an 8 hour shift ($1,400); 2 security staff for a 6 hour shift ($600);
cleaning, including sweeper machine ($400).
The constraints in regards to extended outdoor
dining include: an area 4m wide is required for fire and emergency vehicles,
existing fences and hedges form a barrier; cars may be parked in the area
unless a Special Event Clearway is created at much greater expense; the kerb
may be a trip hazard for waiters; the distance from the kitchen to the dining area
may become excessive for waiters.
Due to the concerns with the proposal by the NSW
Police and the RTA, Council staff met with senior Parramatta Police, including the
Commander of the Parramatta Local Area Command, Robert Redfern, and a
representative of the Roads and Traffic Authority on 27 October 2010 regarding
the proposed closure of
(a) International research suggests that the
closure of malls and the loss of passive surveillance and monitoring via motor
vehicle traffic tend to increase the incidence of crime such as assault,
robbery and anti-social behaviour. Crime Prevention by Environmental
Design Principles suggests that a shared zone with motor vehicles and
pedestrians is less likely to encourage offences of this kind. That was the
very basis some years ago for the reopening of the Church Street Mall between
George and Phillip Streets. This may be overcome by other environmental
design solutions and with high pedestrian traffic flows, however, these are not
addressed or contemplated in the current proposal.
(b) If the issue which is trying to be
addressed is anti-social behaviour by individuals utilising motor vehicles
there is a capacity to address this problem through joint operations including
operations with the RTA in the CBD area.
(c) There appears to have been inadequate
methodology applied to first identifying the actual problem which exists, (for
example anti-social driving), if any, the scope of that problem and the
identification of the best possible solution.
(d) While in principal not opposed to any
trial, if the trial is to run it should be evidence based. That would
require, at a minimum, an appropriate survey completion process to assess any
actual problem and the size and scope of the problem; the identification of
appropriate comparison data to assess the impact, if any, of the intervention,
and a suitable sample size to ensure that the data is reliable. It is
accepted that all of this would come at considerable cost. However, if any
trial is to be of value these are minimum requirements.
The RTA has also advised that it supports the
position of the NSW Police on this matter.
It should be noted that Council can not close the road without the
concurrence of the RTA.
If Council remains concerned about anti-social
driving behaviour in the CBD and more specifically the
Council’s Community Crime Prevention Officer
(CCPO) has advised that closing
If the level of activity near
A part 3a Development Application has also been
lodged for a mixed use development at
Richard Searle
Service
Manager Traffic and Transport
REFERENCE MATERIAL