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.