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Public transport: Parramatta Road Bus Station

Case study name: Parramatta Road Bus Station, Camperdown

Introduction

The bus station at the corner of Parramatta Road and Missenden Road, Camperdown, in inner Sydney, is a well located and well designed example of public transport infrastructure that elevates the treatment of pedestrians above the conventional.

The bus station, which was the result of negotiations between developer and local government, is incorporated into a service station convenience/general store and is designed with features that deliver a high level of amenity, convenience and safety.

Combined with the store and a central location near a variety of pedestrian generators (major hospital, childcare centre, motel, high density residential redevelopment area), the carefully designed bus station provides an attractive focal point for local activity and thus encourages incidental exercise.

Description and context

The bus station is incorporated into a service station convenience store, thus fulfilling a local need and providing a ready transit-supportive retail opportunity with constant activity, lighting and surveillance that reduce perceptions of isolation at night. The bus station is equipped with conventional seating, as well as café-style tables and stools. While it has its frontage on a very busy road, the bus stop is set back from the road, and surrounded by garden beds.

Design process

Prior to its redevelopment, the split-level site was occupied by an old service station, motor mechanic workshop, and internal connecting ramps. Due to gradual widening for traffic, the footpath on this section of busy Parramatta Road is only 2.5 metres wide. An old bus stop near the bowsers occupied much of the footpath width, squeezing passing pedestrians between the shelter and traffic.

The initial redevelopment proposal followed a standardised corporate model of service station and workshop that largely repeated the former tarmac-intensive layout. The proposal relocated the bus shelter between widened entry and exit service station driveways. This was a traffic engineering oriented design, which made (public) pedestrian and public transport needs and amenity noticeably inferior to (private) traffic access.

Following negotiation with the proponent, and agreement was made whereby, in exchange for a modest increase in floorspace and retail carparking:

  • A set-back was provided around the bus station to provide a path for passing pedestrians clear of the area for waiting passengers.
  • The site was broken up into three distinct zones, each with a use that better reflected the local needs of the rapidly changing host area as well as the original business intent. The three areas are the service station bowser area, a larger convenience/general store that was shifted towards the site corner, and on the upper level a food outlet/café with parking from a separate side road driveway but connected to the lower level by a stairway.
  • The service station driveway zone and bus station were separated, thus providing a distinct car-free pedestrian zone between the convenience store entrance, bus station and traffic signals at the nearby cross-street.
  • Landscaping was introduced to provide a more attractive environment.
  • The bus station shelter was incorporated into the frontage design of the convenience store adjacent to its entrance.

The planning and design process that resulted in this bus stop suggests that retro-fit improvements do not always happen of their own accord. Such measures often need to be advocated for by local government officers. It also shows that with some care and negotiation, commercial and public transport facilities do not need to be seen as conflicting land uses, but they can be integrated in mutually beneficial ways.

Evaluation

This bus station is a small but well-planned piece of public transport infrastructure. As a case study it demonstrates that resolving seemingly small or unimportant details is actually critical in order to create pedestrian-friendly built environments.

Encouraging the use of public transport can be an effective means of increasing people’s regular, incidental exercise. This is because for most people their journey will involve walking to and from home to stations and bus stops. Increasing the numbers of people who use public transport means making associated facilities and environments safe, attractive and convenient to use and access. When it comes to encouraging bus use in particular, carefully designed bus stops can play an important part in making bus use safer, more convenient and more accessible and thus encourage patronage.

Poorly designed and maintained bus stops have been cited as a factor that makes bus services unattractive to potential passengers in Sydney. Some bus stops have no seating or shelter, are sited very close to busy roads with little ‘buffer space’ between pedestrians and traffic, or have insufficient space for large numbers of people to wait without obstructing passing pedestrians. Others are poorly lit at night or are isolated from other local services and facilities – aspects that compromise the safety of such facilities for many users.

This Parramatta Road bus station is an example of how many of these pitfalls can be avoided, particularly if the planning of public transport services and facilities is considered in conjunction with land use plans and new development projects. It also shows how the tailoring of a bus stop design, both to the site itself, and to the needs of the people who will use it, can be more effective than a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

This bus stop encourages and enables active living by incorporating a number of the design considerations set out in the ‘Public transport’ section of Designing Places for Active Living, namely:

  • Locate active land uses such as corner shops near public transport stops (and vice versa), and ensure stops and access routes are clearly visible from surrounding development

The bus stop is located near, and integrated with the adjacent convenience/general store and the food outlet/café on the site’s upper level. The stop is clearly visible from the convenience store and adjacent service station bowser area.

  • Integrate public transport facilities into retail and commercial developments to form a viable and convenient mixed-use, after hours precinct.

The bus station is well integrated with the convenience store, with the shelter being attached to the store frontage and adjacent to its entrance. The convenience store and the nearby night window provide activity, lighting and security, and ready access to bus ticket sales and convenience purchases (to the mutual benefit of the owners and store operators).

  • Public transport stops should have safe, well lit and comfortable waiting areas with seating and shelter, as well as information on available services

The bus stop has a shelter, conventional bench seating, and additional seating in the form of ‘bar stools’ and tables. This is in keeping with the pedestrian/ customer-friendly atmosphere that was intended, and provides a more pleasant waiting area for bus passengers. The standard street lighting in this area is enhanced by additional lighting provided by the adjacent convenience store/service station. A pole-mounted bus timetable is provided.

  • Make public transport an easy option, by planning clearly signed, well-lit and direct routes for people walking and cycling to public transport stops. Be pro-active in creating routes that are safe (in terms of both road and personal safety) and attractive to a range of potential users.

The safe and convenient bus station helps make public transport an easier and more pleasant option because it is tailored to local need, providing an attractive and active focal point for surrounding residents, workers and visitors. The design successfully conveys that the bus station area, even though it is on a busy thoroughfare, is a safe, pedestrian-oriented zone that provides a buffer from traffic. It also manages to convey that the service station convenience store is a general use facility where walk-in patronage is openly welcomed. This increases the potential for local residents to walk to the convenience store, thus increasing incidental exercise.

Project participants

  • Proponent: BP
  • Council: Former South Sydney Council

Project summary

  • Completion date: 2000
  • Planning authority: Former South Sydney Council

Getting there

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