appendix appendix 151515 – traffic report · appendix a of this report. the development is sited...

Cairns Performing Arts Centre – Feasibility Study Overview– May 2013

Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix 15151515 – Traffic Report

Cairns Performing Arts Centre – Feasibility Study Overview– May 2013

Cairns Regional Council Cairns Performing Arts Centre Concept Report

221772

Issue | 28 March 2013

This report takes into account the particular instructions and requirements of our client.

It is not intended for and should not be relied upon by any third party and no responsibility is undertaken to any third party. Job number 221772

Arup Level 4, 108 Wickham Street Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 GPO Box 685 Brisbane QLD 4001 Australia www.arup.com


221772 | Issue | 28 March 2013 | Arup J:\221000\221772 CAIRNS ENTERTAINMENT PRECINCT\3RD STAGE NOVEMBER 2012 SCHEME\DOCUMENTS\REPORTS\FINAL\FINAL_CPAC_TRAFFIC_CONCEPT_REPORT V2.DOCX

Contents Page

Executive Summary 1

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Description of Proposed Development 1 1.2 Report Objectives 1 1.3 Limits of Report 2 1.4 Safety in Design 2

2 Site Context 3

2.1 Site Location 3 2.2 Local Road Network 4 2.3 Cityport Precinct Area 4

3 Characteristics of the Proposed Development 5

4 Traffic Impact and Parking Analysis Methodology and Scenario Testing 6

4.1 Consideration of Transport Demand 6 4.2 Available Data 6 4.3 Car Parking Analysis Scenarios 7 4.4 Road Network Analysis Scenarios 9

5 Parking 10

5.1 Context 10 5.2 Cairns Port Authority Parking Code 10 5.3 Existing Parking Supply and Demand 11 5.4 Parking Demand of Proposed Uses 14 5.5 Proposed Parking Supply 16 5.6 Summary of Parking Supply and Demand 18

6 Traffic Impact Analysis 19

6.1 Background Traffic 19 6.2 Design Year and Growth 19 6.3 Development Traffic Generation 20 6.4 Trip Distribution 21 6.5 Design Volumes 24 6.6 Intersection Analysis 24 6.7 Traffic Impact on Port Operations 26

7 Proposed Development 27



7.1 Site Access 27 7.2 Internal Parking and Circulation 27 7.3 Service Facilities 27 7.4 Other Considerations 28

8 Impact on Port Activity 30

8.1 General 30 8.2 Overriding Objectives 30

9 Risks and Assumptions 32

10 Conclusion 33

Appendices

Appendix A

Site Plans

Appendix B

Cityport and Seaport Area Maps

Appendix C

Arup Surveys

Appendix D

Traffic Volumes

Appendix E

Loading Dock Movements

Appendix F

SIDRA Analysis Results

Appendix G

Swept Paths

Appendix H

Potential Wharf Street Duplication



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Executive Summary The Cairns Performing Arts Centre traffic study addresses complex transport issues associated with a proposed development between Wharf Street and Hartley Street near the Cairns Convention Centre. The development is to include:

A first development stage including a theatre comprising approximately 1,000 seats, depending on the configuration of the orchestra pit; associated back of house; foyers; covered external public plaza and car parking; and

A second development stage including a flexible performance space with 500 seats.

The development is proposed to be operational by 2015. The analysis included herein therefore assesses a 10-year design horizon year of 2025 in accordance with standard practice. This analysis assumes that all elements of the development are complete by 2025.

Issues addressed herein include:

Identification of a typical busy day and the people and parking demands expected on such a day;

A determination of the required car parking spaces to be located on-site and a rationale for utilisation of available off-site car parking spaces to accommodate the balance of site generated parking demand;

An analysis of the surrounding road network’s ability to accommodate the anticipated development traffic;

Recommended site access; Recommended site features to accommodate anticipated activities such as:

Passenger drop-offs; Bus set-downs; Pedestrian connectivity; Bicycle parking and end of trip facilities; and

Parking sensitivity tests of two busy days, one of which coincides with another major event in the Cairns CBD.

The analysis concluded the following:

Site features include: Two loading bays accessed via a left-in / left-out intersection from Hartley

Street; Ten passenger drop-off spaces along Hartley Street and Lake Street; Four taxi bays along the kerb-line of Wharf Street; Three bus bays along the kerb-line of Wharf Street; Ten cycle parking spaces for Performing Arts Centre staff; Forty-five cycle parking spaces for visitors; Changing rooms, showers and lockers for cyclists;



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Ninety-two car parking spaces on-site; Motorcycle spaces located in the on-site car park; and One hundred fifty-four designated car parking spaces to be located in Cairns

CBD. Site access includes: Minor alterations to Hartley Street, removal of four median parking spaces to

allow all movement access to the on-site car park; and Construction of a left-in / left-out intersection on Hartley Street south of the

car park entrance to provide access to the loading dock. Parking Issues: Sufficient parking will be available through on-site and off-site provisions.

One off-site option being considered is the future Post Office car park on Grafton Street which, along with on-site provisions and a small number of non-dedicated spaces, could accommodate the parking demand associated with a typical busy day (determined to be midday on a weekday). The Post Office site is being demolished and the cleared site will be available for parking prior to redevelopment;

When the Post Office car park is redeveloped, 154 car parking spaces could be designated for use by the Performing Arts Centre;

Surveys show there are approximately 1,290 available car parking spaces on-street and within public car park facilities within a five minute walking distance of the site capable of accommodating the overspill parking demand associated with sell out evening activities (excluding a concurrent Taipans basketball game at the Convention Centre);

Surveys show approximately 441 available car parking spaces within a five minute walking distance of the site to accommodate the overspill parking demand associated with sell out evening activities (including a concurrent Taipans basketball game at the Convention Centre). Based on field observations during a Taipans game, it is likely that the overspill would be primarily accommodated in the Hartley Street car park and the Lake Street car park; and

The 92 on-site car parking spaces may not be provided as part of the CPAC proposal. There is sufficient public car parking supply to accommodate the additional demand if the on-site car park is not provided.

Traffic Impact Issues: No adverse impact on port operations; All intersections are anticipated to operate within capacity in 2025, with all

elements of the Performing Arts Centre in place; and The Hartley Street/Grafton Street intersection operation would improve with a

reduction in the signal cycle time.



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1 Introduction Arup was commissioned to undertake a traffic study as part of the concept design for the proposed Cairns Performing Arts Centre (CPAC) to be located off Hartley Street on the Cairns Port Authority administration building site. The ultimate precinct will consist of a main theatre as well as a flexible theatre and plaza areas.

The proposed precinct may be delivered in two stages. This report is to inform the development of the concept design. Therefore, this report details the traffic and parking impact for the fully developed site.

1.1 Description of Proposed Development The proposed CPAC will consist of a number of components as described below:

A first development stage including a theatre comprising approximately 1,000 seats, depending on the configuration of the orchestra pit; associated back of house; foyers; covered external public plaza and car parking; and

A second stage including a flexible performance space with 500 seats.

The extent of the development is presented in the site plans included within Appendix A of this report.

The development is sited within the Cityport Local Area Plan (Cityport LAP) jurisdiction. Information specific to the traffic and transportation aspects of the scheme are highlighted on the site plans located in Appendix A.

1.2 Report Objectives This report details the tasks and results associated with a concept analysis, which included:

Establish traffic impacts and required features to inform project costing; Identification of a typical busy day and the people and parking demands

expected on such a day; A determination of the required car parking spaces to be located on site and a

rationale for utilisation of available off-site car parking spaces to accommodate the balance of site generated parking demand;

An analysis of the surrounding roadway network’s ability to accommodate the anticipated development traffic in order to establish the need or otherwise for external road upgrades;

Recommended site access; Comply with local planning schemes; and Potential impact on port activities.



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1.3 Limits of Report The above tasks have been carried out based on information supplied by other members of the project team, together with observations and surveys carried out on-site and information gathered from relevant published reports, which are detailed in Section 4.2.

While Arup has taken care in the preparation of this report, it neither accepts liability nor responsibility whatsoever in respect of:

Any use of this report by any third party (other than the approving authority); and

Any third party (other than the approving authority) whose interests may be affected by any decision made regarding the contents of this report.

1.4 Safety in Design Within the scope of our design activities, we have identified safety in design issues and potential hazards, whenever reasonably practicable within our field of expertise. Due to our limited and upfront role on this project, it is not considered reasonably practicable to identify all potential hazards which may occur throughout the life of a project, including during construction activities. For any ensuing design stages, it is strongly recommended that our advice regarding safety in design be reviewed and revised as required, to reflect any changes to the current design.



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2 Site Context

2.1 Site Location The subject site is located adjacent to the Cairns CBD and the port. The site is bounded by Wharf Street, Lake Street, Hartley Street and Grafton Street as shown in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 – Site Location

Site

Convention Centre

Cairns Port



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2.2 Local Road Network Wharf Street is a median divided, two-lane road which provides a vehicular connection from Spence Street through to Sheridan Street then on to Abbott Street. This road, although classified as a sub-arterial by Cairns Regional Council (CRC), provides a predominantly access / collector road function for the port and southern CBD areas and has a 50 kph speed limit. Car parking is provided along each side of the street for the majority of its length.

Wharf Street is under the control of CRC. CRC have indicated that there may be a need to upgrade this road to a median divided four-lane road in the future, however no studies have yet been completed that identify the need for or timing of this upgrade.

Hartley Street is a two-lane road connecting Lake Street and Sheridan Street in the Cairns CBD. It provides a large amount of on-street parking including 90 degree parking on both sides of the road and in the median. Lake Street is a four-lane, median divided road that runs the length of the Cairns CBD. The site is located at the eastern end of the road. Both roads are under the control of CRC and have a speed limit of 50 kph.

Grafton Street is a median divided four-lane road that runs through the Cairns CBD. The part that borders the southern part of the site is a two-lane cul-de-sac that mainly functions as access to on-street parking.

2.3 Cityport Precinct Area The site is located in Precinct 2 of the Cityport area. This is shown in Appendix B. The site therefore falls under the jurisdiction of the state Port Authority and the planning schemes of the Cairns Port Authority Land Use Plan (LUP) and the Cityport Local Area Plans (LAP).



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3 Characteristics of the Proposed Development

The proposed development will consist of: A first development stage including a theatre comprising approximately 1,000

seats, depending on the configuration of the orchestra pit; studio; rehearsal space; commercial kitchen; associated back of house; foyers; covered external public plaza; and car parking; and

A second development stage including a flexible theatre consisting of 500 seats.

The proposed Performing Arts Centre site includes the following features related to traffic and transport requirements: One loading dock with two bays, accessed from Hartley Street via a left-

in/left-out intersection; Ten passenger drop-off spaces along Hartley Street and Lake Street; Four taxi bays along the kerb-line of Wharf Street; Three bus bays along the kerb-line of Wharf Street; Ten cycle parking spaces for Performing Arts Centre staff; Forty-five cycle parking spaces for visitors; Changing rooms, showers and lockers for cyclists; Ninety-two car parking spaces on site; Motorcycle spaces located in the on-site car park; One hundred fifty-four off-site car parking spaces; and Access to the on-site car park will be via the site access point on Hartley Street

with all movements.

It is intended that off-site car parking will be accommodated nearby in the Cairns CBD. An option currently being considered is to designate 154 spaces in the proposed Post Office car park on Grafton Street for use by visitors to the Performing Arts Centre. In the interim, the Post Office site is to be demolished and will be available for use as an at-grade car park. It is intended that this site will then be redeveloped as part of an otherwise unrelated development application and could include the designated spaces for the Performing Arts Centre.

Due to the size of the site it may be difficult to accommodate 154 car parks therefore further design will be required. For the purposes of this study, it has been assumed that 154 car parks will be provided at this location.

This report proposes to locate 92 car parking spaces on-site. This may or may not be achievable with the final design and possible staging of construction of CPAC. If no on-site parking is provided the additional demand would have to be accommodated within the existing public parking supply.



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4 Traffic Impact and Parking Analysis Methodology and Scenario Testing

4.1 Consideration of Transport Demand This report provides an impact analysis on the various transport networks as a result of the proposed Performing Arts Centre uses. Standard practice for such an analysis would be to focus on the demand for transport facilities generated by the proposed development that would be expected on a typical day. This impact would then be assessed during times where existing surrounding land uses also generate peak demand for the same transport facilities, thus providing an analysis of realistic intense usage on the local transport networks.

A theatre use typically generates the greatest impacts on transport movement at the beginning and end of performances. With performances normally taking place in the evening, the beginning of a performance can coincide with the evening peak hour of a normal weekday when commuters travel home, to shopping centres or leisure uses from work. Weekend performances generate similar demand, but overall congestion is normally less as there are no competing demands by commuter travel. Therefore, a sold out performance of both the main and flexible theatre on a weekday evening is considered realistic impact for traffic movement.

The proposed uses will also generate demand on the transport networks during the day time. This could include visits by tourists or school excursions for example. While traffic generation would be expected to be less during the working hours of a typical weekday, the demand for parking is likely to coincide with peak demand in the surrounding area and land uses during the middle of the day (see Section 5.2 regarding peak parking demand in the local area). Therefore, peak parking demand by the proposed uses and the existing surrounding uses would be a weekday during normal commercial opening and working hours.

For the parking assessment, a typical day has been assessed where the main theatre is 90% utilised and the flexible theatre is 80% utilised. A further parking assessment has been undertaken where both theatres facilities are sold out (Sensitivity Test 1).

In addition to the commercial uses surrounding the proposed development, the Cairns Convention Centre is located adjacent to the site. The Convention Centre hosts various events and the busiest of those is when the facility hosts the Taipans, a local basketball team. When the centre is configured to host these games, the capacity of the centre is 5,300 persons. With the games normally starting at 6:30pm, it is possible that such an event could coincide with a major event at the proposed Performing Arts Centre. This would add additional demand onto parking and is included as an additional sensitivity test (Sensitivity Test 2).

4.2 Available Data Various transport studies have been undertaken for the Cairns CBD that are relevant to this study. In addition, Arup have undertaken surveys to provide additional information. The basis of this traffic impact analysis has relied on the following data:



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Cairns CBD and Environs Parking Strategy, Cardno Eppell Olsen, October 2010;

Cityport South Master Planning, Traffic Engineering Report, GHD, April 2007;

Car occupancy surveys, Arup, 6th May 2011 (see Appendix C); Traffic count surveys, AusTraffic, 17th and 24th November 2011; Traffic volume information from STREAMS, Department of Transport and

Main Roads, TMR, 18th February 2012; and Parking demand and supply surveys, Arup, 23rd, 25th February 2012 and 3rd

March 2012 (see Appendix C).

4.3 Car Parking Analysis Scenarios The following scenarios have been derived to assess the parking impact of the development for differing situations regarding typical and peak use of the proposed development. The typical event analysis represents the most common type of event to be held at the CPAC and this forms the main analysis of this report. Further sensitivity tests have been carried out to test the impact of peak event scenarios.

4.3.1 Typical Event This scenario considers an upper level of use of the site during a weekday. That is, typical weekday use, but including some events where a school excursion may be involved for example.

The project economic consultant, Creative Economy, undertook an assessment of the likely visitor patterns to the new theatre proposed as part of the Performing Arts Centre. The results were presented within a memo dated 4th November 2011. A peak midday event was considered to be a children’s event, 90% attendance. A lesser impact was a senior’s event that would attract, on average, 80% attendance.

The main theatre has a maximum capacity of approximately 1,000 seats. It has therefore been assumed that a typical maximum of 900 people could be expected at the theatre at 12:30pm during a weekday based on a performance for children. Typical attendance at the flexible theatre has been based on the visitor proportions outlined in the economic assessment. The flexible theatre has a capacity of 500 seats therefore 450 people has been assumed for a children’s performance in this study.

The above is considered a typical busy day appropriate for analysis. That is, the number of visitors that could be reasonably expected on a busy day on a regular occurrence.

This analysis assumes that the 92 on-site and 154 designated off-site car parking spaces (assumed to be at the future Post Office car park on Grafton Street) are filled in the hour prior to a performance (11:30am – 12:30pm and 6:00pm – 7:00pm). See Section 5.5 for details on proposed parking supply.

This analysis includes consideration of the port activities. Cruise ships are scheduled and have been observed to arrive between the hours of 5:30am and



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2:00pm and depart between the hours of 6:00pm and 11:00pm. Since cruise ships dock or leave throughout the day, all assessed scenarios also consider the arrival or departure of one cruise ship to the port during this assessed period. It has been assumed that the traffic associated with an arriving ship is similar to that generated by a departing ship. Details of surveys regarding cruise ship activity can be found in Section 6.1.

4.3.2 Sensitivity Test 1 This sensitivity test has been carried out to test the impact of a major event occurring on a weekday in the evening with patrons arriving at the site between 6:00pm and 7:00pm.

It is anticipated that a maximum peak event would result in a total volume of approximately 1,500 people on-site. This would consist of full occupation of 1,000 seats in the main theatre and 500 seat flexible theatre. Staff and performers would be expected to arrive prior.

This scenario also considers the arrival or departure of one cruise ship from the port during this time.

This analysis assumes that the 92 on-site and 154 off-site (assumed to be at the future Post Office car park on Grafton Street) parking spaces are filled in the hour prior to a performance (6:00pm – 7:00pm). The additional demand associated with a peak performance has been assumed to be directed to the Lake Street and Hartley Street car parks. These car parks have been identified to have sufficient capacity to accommodate this demand (see Section 5.5 and Appendix C for details). Figure 5.1 presents the location of this car park.

4.3.3 Sensitivity Test 2 This scenario considers the same level of usage of the proposed site as described in Sensitivity Test 1. However, this test also considers the impact of a home Taipans game at the Cairns Convention Centre occurring at the same time as a peak event in the proposed Performing Arts Centre.

The 2011 basketball season saw 16 matches held at the Cairns Convention Centre. Of these games, 63% were held on Saturday evening at 7:30pm (25% on Friday and 12% on Sunday). Therefore, as the potential for a concurrent event at the Cairns Convention Centre and the Performing Arts Centre is most likely to occur on a Saturday, Saturday demand has been used to assess this scenario.

This scenario will also consider the arrival or departure of one cruise ship from the port during this time.

This analysis assumes that the 92 on-site and the 154 off-site (assumed to be at the future Post Office car park on Grafton Street) parking spaces are filled in the hour prior to a performance (6:00pm – 7:00pm) and empty in the hour following a performance (9:00pm – 10:00pm). The additional demand associated with a peak event has been assumed to be directed to the Lake Street and Hartley Street car parks. These car parks have been identified to have sufficient capacity to accommodate this demand (see Section 5.5 and Appendix C for details). Figure 5.1 presents the locations of these car parks.



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4.4 Road Network Analysis Scenarios The impact of the development on the surrounding road network was analysed for a typical busy day. A typical busy day has been determined to be a peak evening event at the Performing Arts Centre on a weekday. This has been deemed to be the worst case for the impacts on the road network as the arrival of patrons to the Performing Arts Centre would coincide with the evening commuter peak hour.

The attendance at the theatres has been assumed to be the maximum of 1,500 people. It has been assumed in this analysis that the on-site car park and the Post Office car park on Grafton Street (92 and 154 spaces respectively) are filled. The remaining demand has been directed to the Lake Street and Hartley Street car parks. This scenario simulates the maximum demand generated by the development.

The road network analysis for a typical busy day also includes consideration of port activities. The evening event has included background traffic generated by the departure of a cruise ship. The combination of these elements creates a typical worst case scenario for the local road network surrounding the Cairns Performing Arts Centre.

The road network analysis has been undertaken for the provision of both stages of the CPAC proposal. While only the main theatre may be in place at the design horizon the worst case of both theatres has been considered.



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5 Parking

5.1 Context The Cardno Eppell Olsen Cairns CBD and Environs Car Parking Strategy October 2010 report summarised a study of parking across Cairns CBD. The Performing Arts Centre is located within the ‘Precinct 4’ boundary identified in the study.

This study has identified that within Precinct 4, approximately 1,650 of the publicly available car parking spaces are unoccupied during the CBD’s peak parking period at 12:30pm. Of these spaces, approximately 550 are available on street and 1,100 are available in public car parks.

The above study indicated (Appendix B, CBD and Environs Car Parking Strategy) that parking demand would typically fall by the end of the afternoon and preceding the Performing Arts Centre peak parking period (expected to be 6:00pm – 8:00pm). This has been confirmed with on-site observations.

As parking demand in the local area is under greater pressure during the midday (12:30pm) peak period, this study considers the parking requirements of the proposed development during this period.

5.2 Cairns Port Authority Parking Code The provision of parking spaces is subject to the Cairns Port Authority Land Use Plan (LUP) and the Cityport Local Area Plan (Cityport LAP). Table 5.2 summarises the required car parking rates when derived strictly against these documents.

Table 5.2 – Car Parking Rates for Cityport LAP

Land Use Parking Generation Rate

Restaurants, Cafes etc... 1 space per 20m²GFA Indoor Sport and Entertainment (including theatres, and licensed clubs) 1 space per 20m²GFA

Shops 1 space per 50m²GFA

Any other use Sufficient spaces as deemed by Cairns Port Authority

Table 5.3 indicates the required number of parking spaces when assessed using the rates detailed in the Cityport LAP.



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Table 5.3 – Car Parking Requirements Using Full Cityport LAP rates

Land Use Gross Floor Area (GFA)

Cityport LAP Parking

Generation Rate Number of

spaces

Indoor Entertainment 14,290m² 1 space per 20m² GFA 714 spaces

Cross utilisation factor (25% discount) 536 spaces

The parking code also specifies a cross utilisation factor that may be applied for entertainment facilities. When fully developed, the Performing Arts Centre will provide a variety of uses, therefore the application of cross utilisation is appropriate in this case. The parking code also notes that Cairns Port Authority may accept a higher discount rate where it can be demonstrated that adequate parking facilities are provided on site.

The Cityport LAP indicates a requirement for 536 car parking spaces. In the absence of an applicable rate, the guidance refers to providing sufficient spaces as deemed necessary by Cairns Port Authority.

Although the parking rates supplied in the LUP and LAP provide a rate for entertainment, the complexity of the proposed Performing Arts Centre uses and interface with surrounding uses warrants a more detailed investigation of the required parking for the site. As such, the following sections detail a suitable calculation of required car parking spaces from first principles.

5.3 Existing Parking Supply and Demand A review of the Cardno Eppell Olsen Cairns CBD and Environs Car Parking Strategy, October 2010 was undertaken to understand the characteristics of parking in the local area. In addition, surveys have been undertaken by Arup to further quantify parking supply and demand close to the proposed site and car occupancy rates. The following information was determined from those sources:

Seventy-two percent (72%) of trips to/from the site will be made by passenger vehicle. This is consistent with the predicted 2021 car mode share in the Cardno Eppell Olsen Cairns CBD and Environs Car Parking Strategy, October 2010; and

Average car occupancy is 2.5 people per vehicle. This was determined as part of a survey of the existing Cairns Civic Theatre travel patterns (see Appendix C2 for details).

Surveys of parking supply and demand on streets near the site were undertaken on the following dates between 6:30pm and 7:30pm, coincident with the expected start time of performances: Thursday 23rd February 2012; Saturday 25th February 2012; and Saturday 3rd March 2012 (coincident with a Taipans home game).



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These surveys analysed public car parks and on-street car parking within a five minute walk to the proposed site. The five minute walk was assumed to be the maximum amount tolerable for Performing Arts Centre patrons and workers. Three existing public car parks within a five minute walk of the Performing Arts Centre were surveyed. These included the Hartley Street car park, the Lake Street car park and the Cairns Port car park.

The Convention Centre car park was omitted from this survey. This was to allow flexibility for simultaneous events at the Convention Centre and the Performing Arts Centre. It was noted that during the survey conducted on Saturday 3rd March, this car park was full during the Taipans home game hosted at the Centre. Parking in this location during home games is limited to sponsors and persons with disabilities.

Figure 5.1 presents the area surveyed, the location of public car parks and the observed supply.

Figure 5.1 Car Parking Survey Area and Supply

A summary of the parking supply near the Performing Arts Centre is described below. Note that parking supply detailed below is based on a five minute walk from the site.



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Public car parks (paid car parks):

Port car park: 142 spaces; Lake Street car park: 305 spaces; Hartley Street car park: 315 spaces; and Convention Centre car park: 239 spaces.

On-street car parking (paid):

Lake Street: 154 spaces; Grafton Street: 170 spaces; Sheridan Street: 200 spaces; Hartley Street: 139 spaces; and Wharf Street: 63 spaces.

The findings of the surveys are located in Appendix C. Table 5.4 summarises the results of the surveys described above.

Table 5.4: Local On-Street and Public Off-Street Parking Supply and Demand

Survey Date Supply Utilisation Available

23/2/12 1,488 198 1,290

25/2/12 1,488 293 1,195

3/3/12 1,488 1,047 441

The survey on the 3rd March 2012 was conducted during a Taipans home game. Attendance was almost 100%, with 5,132 of 5,300 seats taken. The survey therefore shows that spare public parking spaces are currently available even under the most demanding scenarios tested.

The survey undertaken on the 3rd March 2012 also noted that some parking occurred on roads fronting the proposed site. Those parked in these areas would need to be relocated to other public parking following redevelopment of the site. In addition, those parked in areas fronting the site, and / or located at positions where vehicular cross-overs and lay-bys are required of the development, would also need to be relocated.

A total of 40 vehicles parked during the survey were identified as needing relocation to other public car parks. Background traffic volumes have been adjusted to account for this parking relocation in the traffic analysis presented in Section 6.



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5.4 Parking Demand of Proposed Uses

5.4.1 Typical Event The parking demand associated with a typical event has been calculated based on the analysis of Creative Economics memo (dated 4th November 2011) discussed in Section 4.3.1 and other assumptions.

A ‘typical’ event was identified to be a performance for children. It has been assumed that most children would arrive by buses for organised school trips (approximately 60%). The same mode share by bus has also been assumed for visitors attending a seniors’ event, another typical event identified by the economic analysis. Mode share by seniors is expected to be greater by public transport than that identified for the population as a whole in the Cardno Eppell Olsen Cairns CBD and Environs Car Parking Strategy.

The car parking demand calculations are detailed in Table 5.5 and Table 5.6 for the main auditorium and for the flexible theatre.

Table 5.5: Parking Demand for a Typical Event (Main Auditorium) Element Children’s

Show Seniors’ Show

Assumption / Reference

Main theatre capacity 1,000 1,000 Seat capacity based on a typical seating configuration

Average attendance 90% 80% Creative Economy analysis

Total visitors 900 800 Calculation step

Mode share chartered bus (schools) or public bus

60% 60% Conservative assumption based on engineering judgment

Mode share private car 40% 40% Remaining mode share

Total persons by bus 540 480 Calculation step

Bus occupancy 35 20 Conservative assumption based on engineering judgment

No. buses 16, chartered 24, existing PT/private

Calculation step

Total persons by car 360 320 Calculation step

Car occupancy 2.5 2.5 Arup survey, Cairns Civic Theatre

No. cars 144 128 Calculation step



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Table 5.6: Parking Demand for a Typical Event (Flexible Theatre)

Element Children’s Show

Seniors’ Show

Assumption / Reference

Flexible theatre visitors 500 500 Assumed attendance by this study

Average attendance 90% 80% Assumption

Total visitors 450 400

Mode share charted bus (schools) or public bus

60% 60% Conservative assumption based on engineering judgment

Mode share private car 40% 40% Remaining mode share

Total persons by bus 270 240 Calculation step

Bus occupancy 35 20 Conservative assumption based on engineering judgment

No. buses 8, chartered 12, existing PT/private

Calculation step

Total persons by car 180 160 Calculation step

Car occupancy 2.5 2.5 Arup survey, Cairns Civic Theatre

No. cars 72 64 Calculation step

The analysis described in Tables 5.5 and 5.6 outlines that a maximum of 144 spaces are required by main auditorium and 72 are required for the flexible theatre.

An additional 30 parking spaces will also be allocated on-site to accommodate staff and VIPs.

Therefore, a total of 246 parking spaces are required. It should be noted that no cross utilisation has been considered for the typical event, as cross utilisation is considered less likely for a midday performance given the types of visitors expected.

5.4.2 Sensitivity Tests 1 & 2 The parking demand of the proposed uses has been calculated for each of the three analysis scenarios described in Section 4.3 of this report. The calculations are shown in Table 5.7, while the assumptions of each calculation step are as follows:

No. of visitors calculated as described in Section 4.3.2 of this report; Percentage arrival by car (72%) derived from Cardno Eppell Olsen Cairns

CBD and Environs Car Parking Strategy, October 2010; Car occupancy rate (2.5 persons per vehicle) derived from a survey of the

Cairns Civic Theatre by Arup; Cross utilisation applicable to peak evenings only (Sensitivity Test 1 and 2).

Cross utilisation is between the Performing Arts Centre uses and restaurant and bar uses for evenings within the CBD. Value of cross utilisation is based on that specified in the LUP; and

Thirty designated spaces are required for staff, performers and VIPs as assumed through discussions with members of the Performing Arts Centre project team.



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Table 5.7: Calculation Steps to Derive Parking Demand for Sensitivity Analysis

Factor Sensitivity Test 1 Sensitivity Test 2

No. visitors on Site 1,500 1,500

Arrival by car 72% 1,080 1,080

No. cars based on occupancy of 2.5 432 432

Subtract cross utilisation 25% 324 324

Add designated spaces (staff, VIP) 30 30

Total parking demand 354 354

5.5 Proposed Parking Supply Parking is assessed against the planning schemes applicable to the site, which are the Cairns Port Authority Land Use Plan and the Cityport Local Area Plan. Using Cityport LAP, the required number of car parking spaces was 536. It was deemed infeasible to supply this many on-site therefore a first principles exercise was undertaken.

A first principles exercise has been completed as part of this analysis. This concludes that 246 car parking spaces are required to be provided. It is infeasible to provide the full parking requirement on the proposed site due to:

Site configuration; Site access / egress limitations; Queuing potential; and Vehicle movement characteristics (vehicle lengths, turning requirements,

swept paths, etc.).

The maximum number of parking spaces that can be supplied on site is 92. While the Local Area Plan allows cross-supply of parking across the various precincts of the Cityport, the Cairns Port Authority has indicated that this is not a suitable outcome as it could potentially preclude development in the other precincts.

The Cityport Infrastructure Agreement dated August 2007 does allow overspill of parking onto the Council controlled streets and public car parks near to the port where ‘…CPA are unable to provide the required number of car parks within Cityport’. This is on condition of monetary contribution in lieu of any shortfall of car parking spaces.



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Surveys have been undertaken to confirm the availability of publically accessible parking spaces that could accommodate the parking overspill and are within a five minute walk from the site. The five minute walk was assumed to be the maximum amount tolerable for Performing Arts Centre patrons and workers. These surveys, in combination with the calculation of parking demand from first principles, have demonstrated that sufficient car parking spaces will be available to Performing Arts Centre patrons and workers.

Further sensitivity testing was undertaken for a ‘peak’ event, where events occur at the main theatre and flexible theatre. Typical demand for parking for such a scenario would require 354 car parking spaces. The parking surveys undertaken also indicate that sufficient parking spaces will be available during this type of an event as well.

The additional parking demand associated with the Sensitivity Test 1 (108 spaces) has been assumed to be directed to the Hartley Street car park, which during a weekday evening period is observed to have in excess of 300 free spaces.

The additional parking demand (108 spaces) associated with Sensitivity Test 2 has been assumed to be accommodated across both the Hartley Street car park and the Lake Street car park. These car parks have been identified, through surveys, to have 76 and 246 available car parking spaces, respectively, during a Taipans match at the Cairns Convention Centre. Redevelopment of the site will result in the removal of 40 spaces on Hartley Street to facilitate right turn access to the site and the provision of passenger drop-off, and bus and taxi set-down. These 40 spaces will also be accommodated in these car parks.

Traffic management may be necessary to control the movement of cars between the available car parks. Suitable signage will be available that will indicate when the Performing Arts Centre on-site car park is full. This will then redirect cars to other suitable car parks. Specifics of this traffic management plan will be determined at a later date.

It should be noted that these parking supply and demand comparisons were undertaken using existing spaces and 2025 development figures. In reality, other development is likely to be constructed by this time. That development may also plan on utilising publically accessible parking spaces, or perhaps provide additional spaces as part of their development. Given this dynamic parking availability scenario, we have attempted to assess what is reasonable without the benefit of knowing exactly what parking may be available in the year 2025.

The Post Office at-grade car park on Grafton Street is a temporary measure to be followed by multi-level car park in the future. The at-grade car park is assumed to have a total supply of 154 car parking spaces. These have been assumed to be allocated for Performing Arts Centre use only. It has also been assumed that once the multi-level car park has been constructed the number of dedicated parking spaces will be maintained.

The provision of an on-site car park may not be feasible for the Performing Arts Centre. Where the on-site car park is not provided there will be an additional demand of 92 car parking spaces. These will need to be accommodated within the existing public car parking supply in the Cairns CBD. It is assumed that the additional demand will be directed to the Hartley Street, Lake Street or the Cairns Port public car park.



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5.6 Summary of Parking Supply and Demand Table 5.8 details the allocation of parking supply for the assessed scenarios.

Table 5.8 Parking Supply Allocation

Typical Event Sensitivity Test 1

Sensitivity Test 2

On-Site Supply 92 92 92

Off-site Dedicated Car Park Supply(1) 154 154 154

Estimated Overspill 0 108 108

Relocated Existing(2) 40 40 40

Total Parking Demand of Proposed Development 246 354 354

Total Overspill / Relocated Existing(2) / Required Public Parking 40 148 148

Total Availability of Public Parking 1,290 1,195 441

(1) – Off-site car parking will be provided in Cairns CBD, on the Post Office site. The Post Office site is due to be demolished and will be available for parking as a cleared site. This site will then be redeveloped and is assumed to accommodate 154 designated car parking spaces for the proposed development. It has been assumed that all of these will be dedicated Cairns Performing Arts Centre spaces.

(2) - Parking needing to be relocated due to proposed CPAC uses including provision of passenger drop-off facilities, taxi set-down and bus set-down facilities.

The above summary shows that both sensitivity tests generate overspill parking. However, this has been demonstrated to be adequately absorbed by surrounding public parking facilities.

If the on-site car park is not provided the overspill for the typical event and sensitivity tests will increase to 132 and 240 car parks. These are able to be absorbed into the CBD public car parking facilities in all cases.



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6 Traffic Impact Analysis An analysis of the trip generation and distribution has been undertaken for the proposed development for each of the three scenarios described in Section 4.3. The development of CPAC may be staged however the traffic analysis has been undertaken for the fully developed proposal. This was considered to be the worst case of the proposed staging.

6.1 Background Traffic AusTraffic were commissioned by Arup to undertake traffic surveys at the following intersections in the vicinity of the proposed Performing Arts Centre.

Wharf Street/Lake Street/Northern Port Access Road; Wharf Street/Southern Port Access Road (turn movements only); Sheridan Street/Wharf Street/Kenny Street; and Sheridan Street/Hartley Street.

A traffic count was carried out on Thursday 17th November 2011 to coincide with the arrival of the largest cruise ship currently stopping at Cairns Port (11:00am – 1:00pm).

Further counts were carried out on Thursday 24th November 2011 and captured both the morning and evening peak periods for which an event might occur (11:00am – 1:00pm and 5:00pm – 7:00pm).

On 24th November 2011, the Wharf Street southbound approach to the Wharf Street/Lake Street/Northern Port Access Road intersection was closed due to road works. For this reason the AM peak analysis has been based on the counts from 17th November 2011.

The PM peak analysis has been based on the 24th November 2011 count. These volumes were also adjusted to account for the redistributed traffic elsewhere on the network as a result of Wharf Street closure described above.

The PM peak hour was selected to capture the arrival of patrons at the theatre for a show starting at 7:00pm (6:00pm – 7:00pm). The traffic analysis was conducted for the PM peak period as this was determined to be the worst case scenario.

The 17th November 2011 traffic counts were conducted during the period a cruise ship was unloading passengers. That count showed that 60 vehicles were observed to travel into and out of the port lands using both the Northern and Southern Port Access Roads. It has been assumed that traffic generated by a departing ship generates a similar number of trips. The PM weekday, and cruise ship demand are shown in Appendix D.

6.2 Design Year and Growth The proposed development is anticipated to be operational at some point in the year 2015. Therefore, as is standard practice, a ten year design horizon (year 2025) has been assessed.



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The 2025 traffic was estimated by applying an annual growth factor to the existing volumes and adding proposed site traffic. A 3% compound growth factor was applied to the existing traffic volumes to develop 2025 background traffic volumes. This growth rate is consistent with the Cairns CBD traffic model and has been applied to all intersection legs. In place of certainty over forthcoming development in the local area to the year 2025, this growth rate accounts for future growth in traffic in the area. This includes growth associated with Ports North operations and potential redevelopment of other precincts within the port by applying this factor to traffic turning to and from the port roads.

The 2025 background demand for the weekday PM peak hour is shown in Appendix D. These volumes include the annual percentage increase and cruise ship traffic.

The rerouted traffic is associated with the relocation of car parking used by Taipans game traffic. This relates to cars found to be parked on the Performing Arts Centre site and along Wharf Street where parking is to be removed and relocated to the Lake Street car park and the Hartley Street car park. See Section 5.3 for further details.

6.3 Development Traffic Generation The vehicle trip generation for the proposed development will be a function of the car parking demand rather than the floor area. Traffic movements to and from the site are based on maximum parking demand as calculated in Section 5.

The total generation of traffic for the typical busy day scenario is based on the total number of vehicles expected to arrive and depart the area as calculated in 5.4.2 of this report. That is 354 vehicles to and from the site and nearby public car parks.

For the purposes of this analysis, the 154 off-site spaces which will be located in the CBD, have been assumed to be provided in the future Post Office car park on Grafton Street.

The additional parking demand associated with the peak event (148 vehicles) has been assumed to be fully accommodated within the Lake Street and Hartley Street car parks. The locations of these car parks are presented in Figure 5.1.

The theatre planning consultant, Schuler Shook, has provided information regarding the likely number of service vehicles associated with the Performing Arts Centre through a typical week. This information is contained within Appendix E. Table 6.1 presents the average hourly two-way movements to and from the Performing Arts Centre loading dock on a daily basis. It is anticipated that there would be on average a total of 22 two-way vehicle movements associated with the loading dock over any given weekday. Of those daily volumes, a maximum of four two-way movements are expected in any given hour. This corresponds to two vehicles into and two vehicles out of the loading dock.



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Table 6.1 Average Daily Two-Way Service Vehicle Movements

Time Total Average Two-Way Weekday Movements 0700 0 0800 4 0900 3 1000 3 1200 2 1300 2 1400 2 1500 1 1600 1 1700 2 1800 1 1900 0 2000 0 2100 0 2200 0 2300 0 2400 0

Daily Total 22

As can be seen above, the majority of servicing will occur during the morning.

6.4 Trip Distribution The distribution of traffic associated with the proposed development is complex and requires a level of engineering judgment. Consideration has been given to the existing traffic distributions, population locations in the Cairns area, site access locations and potential routes to use drop-off facilities during weather events. The distribution also varies for each car park. It has been assumed that access to the future Post Office car park on Grafton Street will be via a left-in / left-out intersection due to the presence of car parking within the median preventing right turns.

From the proposed site, almost 100% of the population of Cairns is to the west, with a greater percentage southwest than northwest. The Bruce Highway (A1) provides the main thoroughfare through the City and most traffic associated with the proposed development will approach the site from this road. The A1, as it passes through Cairns, is also known as:

The Bruce Highway; Mulgrave Road; Sheridan Street; and



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The Captain Cook Highway.

To gain access from the A1 and the proposed site, the favoured routes are:

Hartley Street / Sheridan Street (minor extension of); Lake Street; or Wharf Street / Kenny Street / Draper Street / Ray Jones Drive.

Based on the likely routing assumed for the site traffic, the distribution of the development traffic generated by the on-site car park assumes the following:

On-Site Car Park Arrivals

Twenty percent of traffic will arrive at the on-site car park from the north on Spence Street along Lake Street and Hartley Street and 80% from the south along Hartley Street with origins as below:

o Five percent of site generated traffic will approach the site from the north along Spence Street then Lake Street;

o Ten percent of site generated traffic will approach the site from the west along Grafton Street;

o Forty percent of site generated traffic will approach the site from the south and west along Sheridan Street;

o Ten percent of site generated traffic will approach from the south along Spence Street, turning onto Sheridan Street or Lake Street, then on to Hartley Street; and

o Thirty-five percent of site generated traffic will approach the site from the south along Kenny Street, turning onto Sheridan Street then Hartley Street.

On-Site Car Park Departures

Fifteen percent of traffic will depart the on-site car park to the north along Hartley Street and Lake Street and 85% to the south along Hartley Street with ultimate destination as detailed below:

o Fifteen percent of site generated traffic will travel towards Grafton Street;

o Thirty percent of site generated traffic will depart the site to the south and west along Sheridan Street;

o Ten percent of site generated traffic will depart the site to the south along Spence Street; and

o Thirty percent of site generated traffic will depart the site to the south along Kenny Street.

The assumed distribution of the development traffic generated by the future Post Office car park on Grafton Street assumes the following:



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Post Office Car Park Arrivals

Five percent of car park generated traffic will approach the site from the north of Spence Street then along Sheridan Street and Hartley Street;

Ten percent of car park generated traffic will approach the site from the west on Grafton Street then along Sheridan Street and Hartley Street;

Forty percent of car park generated traffic will approach the site from the south and west along Sheridan Street, turning onto Hartley Street;

Ten percent of car park generated traffic will approach from the south along Spence Street, turning onto Sheridan Street, then on to Hartley Street; and

Thirty-five percent of site generated traffic will approach the site from the south along Kenny Street, turning onto Sheridan Street then Hartley Street.

Post Office Car Park Departures

Fifteen percent of traffic will depart the car park to the north along Hartley Street, Lake Street and then north along Spence Street;

Fifteen percent of car park generated traffic will travel west along Grafton Street;

Thirty percent of car park generated traffic will depart the site and travel on Grafton Street then to the west along Sheridan Street;

Ten percent of car park generated traffic will depart the site to head south along Spence Street; and

Thirty percent of car park generated traffic will depart the site to head south along Kenny Street via Spence Street and Sheridan Street.

Appendix D shows the trip distribution described in this section.

All service vehicles have been assumed to arrive from Lake Street/Spence Street and depart to Sheridan Street as this provides the most direct route to the A1 which is the main freight route through the city.

Distributions associated with the sensitivity tests generally follow the assumed distributions for the Post Office and Performing Arts Centre car parks. Distributions for the Hartley Street car park and the Lake Street car park are presented in Appendix D.

There has been a provision of 10 car parking spaces on Lake Street and Hartley Street north of the on-site car park entrance to be utilised as drop-off facilities. This has been based on the following assumptions:

Before travelling to a car park, 50% of patrons will use the drop-drop-offoff facility;

A 2 minute dwell time; and Patrons will be dropped-off in the ½ hour before the performance.

Additionally one of the drop-off car parking spaces will be marked as a disability accessible parking space.



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The previous investigation of the Cairns Performing Arts Centre (on the port site) conservatively provided 17 drop-off spaces. Additional spaces may be provided if deemed necessary at a later design stage.

6.5 Design Volumes Appendix D shows the predicted traffic generation and distribution for the development superimposed on the predicted 2025 background traffic volumes for the arrival and departures in each of the three scenarios described in Section 4.3. These volumes have been adopted in the ensuing analysis.

6.6 Intersection Analysis In assessing the results of the analysis, the criteria for acceptable limits of operation for intersections as specified by the Department of Transport and Main Roads, has been adopted for this analysis. The detailed results make reference to four key intersection performance criteria. A description of each follows:

Degree of Saturation (DOS) (%) - This is the ratio of demand flow to capacity. For signalised intersections where the degree of saturation exceeds 90%, vehicle movements become restricted and remedial action should be considered;

Average Delay (sec) - The average delay per vehicle in seconds incurred by vehicles over the modelled time period. This should be kept below 60 seconds to ensure that drivers do not wait for excessive periods of time at intersections;

95th Percentile Queue (m) - A queue length measured in metres for which only 5% of queues are equal to or greater than this length; and

Level of Service (LOS) – indicates likely service provision ranging from A (best) to F (worst).

For a signalised intersection, the acceptable limit of operation is reached when the Degree of Saturation (DOS) exceeds 90%. For a priority intersection, the acceptable limit of operation is reached when the DOS exceeds 80%.

Intersection analysis was carried out for each of the scenarios described in Section 4.3. Further to this, a 2025 base year analysis (i.e. no Performing Arts Centre) has been carried out for comparison purposes.

6.6.1 Wharf Street/Lake Street/Northern Port Access Road Intersection

All intersection analysis results for this intersection are presented in Appendix F. A summary of these results is presented below.

6.6.1.1 Base Analysis Results The 2025 background traffic results show that this intersection would operate well within capacity in 2025. The highest degree of saturation of 29% would occur on the through movement from Wharf Street south approach and would have an associated queue of 37 metres. It can be seen that all queuing would be contained within available storage. All movements are expected to operate at LOS A.



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6.6.1.2 Typical Busy Day Analysis Results The analysis results for a typical busy day shows that this intersection would operate well within capacity in 2025 even with the Performing Arts Centre in operation. The highest degree of saturation of 33% would occur on the right turn from Wharf Street north approach and would have an associated queue of 13 metres. It can be seen that all queuing would be contained within available storage. All movements are expected to operate at LOS A.

6.6.2 Hartley Street/ Performing Arts Centre Car Park Intersection

All intersection analysis results for this intersection are presented in Appendix F. A summary of these results is presented below.

6.6.2.1 Typical Busy Day Analysis Results The typical busy day analysis of the Hartley Street/Performing Arts Centre Car Park shows that the intersection operates well within capacity in 2025 even with the Performing Arts Centre in operation. The highest degree of saturation of 12% would occur on the Hartley Street south-west approach. The 95% back of queue generated by this would be 5m. While this is quite short it is recommended that a turn pocket be considered to prevent blocking north-east bound traffic by right turning traffic. All movements are expected to operate at LOS A.

6.6.3 Sheridan Street/Hartley Street Intersection All intersection analysis results for this intersection are presented in Appendix F. A summary of these results is presented below.

6.6.3.1 Base Analysis Results The base analysis results show that this intersection would operate within capacity in 2025. The highest degree of saturation was 19% and would occur for the left turn and through movement from Sheridan Street west. All queuing would be contained in the existing storage and all movements are expected to operate at LOS A.

6.6.3.2 Typical Busy Day Analysis Results The analysis results for a typical busy day show that this intersection would operate within capacity in 2025. The highest degree of saturation of 45% would occur on the Sheridan Street east approach right turn and the queue generated by this would be 18m. It can be seen that all queuing would be contained within available storage. All movements are expected to operate at LOS A.

6.6.4 Hartley Street/Grafton Street Intersection All intersection analysis results for this intersection are presented in Appendix F. A summary of these results is presented below.



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6.6.4.1 Base Analysis Results The 2025 background traffic results show that this intersection would operate well within capacity in 2025. The highest degree of saturation of 8% would occur on the Grafton Street south-east approach. This approach would generate a 10 metre queue which is accommodated within the existing storage. Most movements have a LOS B and the Hartley Street south-east approach has LOS C. These levels of service are caused by the long cycle time regardless of the low traffic volumes.

6.6.4.2 Typical Busy Day Analysis Results The analysis results of the Hartley Street/Grafton Street intersection for a typical busy day show that this intersection would operate within capacity in 2025. The highest degree of saturation of 12% would occur on the Hartley Street south-west approach and the queue generated by this would be 13m. It can be seen that all queuing would be contained within available storage.

Overall the intersection operates at LOS B however the left and right turns on the Grafton Street north-west approach operate at LOS D. This is a result of the long delay caused by the 70 second cycle time. A reduction in the cycle time to 50 seconds would result in the level of service improving to LOS C.

6.7 Traffic Impact on Port Operations No adverse impact is expected on port operations. This has been achieved by providing access to the on-site car park and service area of the site from Hartley Street. This means that no visitors using the car park will need to travel along port roads or Wharf Street.



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7 Proposed Development

7.1 Site Access The proposed access arrangements have been developed to ensure that the development has a minimal impact upon the surrounding road network and no adverse impact to port operations.

The on-site car park will be accessed directly from Hartley Street utilising the existing site access location 35m southwest of the Lake Street intersection. This intersection will be reconfigured to allow all movements.

The layout of the on-site parking areas are presented in the site plans in Appendix A.

7.2 Internal Parking and Circulation A total of 92 car parking spaces are to be provided on-site at undercroft level. The proposed car park has been designed in accordance with AS2890.1, with minimum 2.5 metre wide parking bays in accordance with the requirements for User Class 2 (long-term city and town centre parking, sports facilities, entertainment centres, hotels motels, airport visitors; generally medium-term parking) and 6.2 metre wide aisle widths.

Ramp grades on entry to the car park will not exceed the limits set out in AS 2890.1:2004.

A total of four disability accessible car parking spaces are to be provided as part of the development and will be designed in accordance with the AS2890.6. These spaces are to be provided at the undercroft level and provide the required shared areas to the side and rear of the accessible parking spaces. The height clearance above each bay is 2.5 metres.

In addition to car parking, motorcycle parking spaces are also proposed in the on-site car park. These spaces have been designed in accordance with AS2890.1. The internal car parking layout is presented in Appendix A.

Further discussion on car parking provision is presented in Section 5 of this report.

7.3 Service Facilities The theatre planners, Schuler Shook, have provided estimates for the servicing activity associated with the operation of the Performing Arts Centre. The advice provided is that that loading bay must accommodate the independent operation of one articulated vehicle, and two heavy rigid vehicles.

The loading docks will be accessed from Hartley Street via a left-in / left-out intersection south of the on-site car park entrance.

A swept path analysis was undertaken for the site layout presented in Appendix A. The loading dock will have sufficient area to accommodate two Heavy Rigid Vehicles (HRV) and one Articulated Vehicle (AV). The current configuration of the loading dock does not allow independent operation.



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With the current loading dock layout an AV would be required to reverse from the street for the length of the ramp and park in the dock area parallel to the convention centre. No other vehicles will be able to access the loading dock while the AV is parked there. This type of manoeuvre is not recommended and additional turning space should be provided within the servicing area.

Minor adjustments of the layout of the dock area would allow the AV to access the loading dock bays and turn within the site. This could be achieved by the removal of the southern corner of the sub-station building. Such modification would also allow independent operation of the loading dock bays.

The location of each loading dock is presented in the site plans located in Appendix A.

Swept paths into and out of each loading dock are presented in Appendix G.

7.4 Other Considerations

7.4.1 Passenger Drop-off Facilities A total of 10 drop off parking spaces are proposed for the CPAC. It is proposed that seven passenger drop-off spaces are located along Hartley Street and three on Lake Street. It is preferable that at least two of these spaces are for persons with disabilities. These areas will be signposted as a loading zone or five minute parking to avoid its use as a parking area. These spaces are to be provided on the development side of Hartley Street just south of the Lake Street intersection and on Lake Street between Hartley Street and Wharf Street. This negates the need for pedestrians to cross Hartley Street to access the loading zone.

Further to this, taxi bays will be provided along the western kerb-line of Wharf Street south of the Lake Street intersection. The location of drop-off and taxi facilities are presented in the site plans located in Appendix A.

Note that passenger drop-off and taxi facilities are proposed for existing parking areas. The proposal is for additional signage and line marking only.

7.4.2 Bus Set-down Bus bays are to be provided along the development side of Wharf Street north of Grafton Street. It is intended that these bays will accommodate all buses, including private buses and any future Sunbus services proposed along Wharf Street. This area will be signposted as a bus zone to avoid its use as a parking area. The location of the proposed indented bay is highlighted in Appendix A.

Note that no bus stop street furniture is provided as part of this proposal. This proposal only utilises existing indented road space and no pavement or kerb realignment is required. Proposed works for the bus set-down area are for signage and line marking only.

7.4.3 Pedestrian Connectivity Existing signalised pedestrian crossings are located on all legs of the Wharf Street/Lake Street/Northern Port Access Road, Wharf Street/Sheridan



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Street/Kenny Street and, Sheridan Street/Hartley Street intersections and three legs of the Hartley Street/Grafton Street intersection.

Pedestrian connectivity across the site has been addressed in the proposed design as outlined in Appendix A. The proposed development provides permeability of pedestrians through the development.

7.4.4 Bicycle and End of Trip Facilities The Cityport LAP specifies bicycle parking must be provided for a minimum of 3% of a building’s occupants. Therefore 45 bicycle spaces will be provided for visitors with an additional 10 spaces dedicated for staff use. End of trip facilities for visitors will be provided within the precinct’s bathroom facilities. In addition, staff changing rooms, showers and lockers will also be provided.

7.4.5 Wharf Street Widening The Cairns City Centre Master Plan classifies Wharf Street as a sub-arterial route in the road hierarchy. In the future, this road may need to be upgraded to accommodate a median divided four-lane cross section. The taxi and bus set-down facilities may need to be modified in order to be accommodated within the ultimate cross section of this future widening.

This may constrain the long term use of the bus set-down and taxi zone. However there is no set time for the implementation of the Wharf Street widening therefore the existing facilities may be utilised until that time. At the time of implementation alternatives such as utilising the facilities outside of peak hours or seeking an alternative location will be considered.

The proposed Cairns Performing Arts Centre provides a slight constraint on the ability to provide a full standard duplication. Appendix H details this location and a possible four-lane cross-section at this location.



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8 Impact on Port Activity

8.1 General It is important to CRC that the proposed Performing Arts Centre have no adverse impact on port operations. Throughout the design process, the operation of the port has been considered and any potential impacts addressed. The following section discusses the proposal and how it meets the overriding objectives of Ports North, on behalf of the Cairns Port Authority.

The traffic analysis shows that the impact of the Performing Arts Centre during normal operation on the surrounding road network, and thus port traffic, would be manageable and that all intersections would operate within capacity even with additional traffic associated with the cruise terminal (see Section 6, for details). The analysis also takes into account the increase in port traffic associated with the planned future expansion by the state Port Authority through the application of a growth rate to all port traffic (see Section 6.2). It can be seen that there is sufficient capacity on the local road network to accommodate additional future expansion or development at the port.

Access to all on-site car parking and the loading dock at the CPAC is via Hartley Street. It is expected that there will be little to no traffic impacts to Wharf Street and port activity.

8.2 Overriding Objectives More specifically, the design has complied with each of the overriding objectives set out by the states Ports North. The following sections demonstrate how each objective applicable to traffic and access has been met.

Objective 1 – the design, construction and operation of the cultural precinct must satisfy Ports North’s ongoing seaport security and operation requirement so that port facilities including wharves one to six, wharf 7/8, container yard and workshop area must remain fully operational

The Cairns Performing Arts Centre will have no adverse impact on the commercial vehicle movements associated with the port. The Wharf Street/Lake Street/Northern Port Access Road operates well capacity with the development. Therefore the port facilities are expected to remain fully operational.

Objective 2 – vehicular access (by heavy and other vehicle) for port activities must be maintained to all wharves and connecting road behind wharves.

Throughout the development of the proposed Performing Arts Centre master plan options, maintaining all vehicular access to the port wharves and connecting roads behind the wharves has been a crucial consideration. Vehicular access within the Cairns Performing Arts Centre has been designed having particular regard to the effective integration of access to the Precinct, with the overriding priority being the protection of port movement networks to allow for the continued operation of port facilities.

This has been achieved by providing Performing Arts Centre access via Hartley Street for the proposed on-site car park, negating the need for any public traffic to



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access the port roads. Therefore, all vehicular access to the port facilities will be maintained.

Objective 3 – vehicular access linkage to Wharf Street must be maintained.

The satisfaction of this objective is directly interrelated to the consideration provided in response to Objective 2 above. We reiterate those comments, and note that vehicular access within the Cairns Performing Arts Centre has been designed to ensure continued accessibility and operational movements for the port, and as a component part of the access network to retain the ongoing role of Wharf Street as a key point of access to the port.

It can therefore be concluded that there will be no adverse impact on port activity as a result of the Performing Arts Centre.

Objective 4 – cruise terminal operations must be maintained

The traffic elements of the proposed development have been designed to ensure that the cruise terminal operations are maintained and not disrupted. No alterations are proposed to access / egress points to / from the Cruise terminal and as such no impact on Cruise terminal operations is anticipated.

It should also be noted that the traffic analysis for the AM peak period has been based on existing count data collected during the docking of the “Rhapsody of the Seas” which is currently the largest ship that the cruise terminal services.

The Sidra analysis presented in Section 6 shows that the Wharf Street/Lake Street/Northern Port Access Road intersection would operate well within capacity in the future for the docking of cruise ships with an event in progress at Performing Arts Centre.

Objective 6 - the project design must ensure appropriate integration with strong pedestrian links to all Cityport precincts as identified in the Cityport local area plan (being part of the land use plan).

Pedestrian connectivity to Ports North’s land has been considered and been incorporated into the proposed design. The proposed development provides permeability of pedestrians through the development with connectivity to the Cityport precincts as necessary.

Objective 8 - the cultural precinct and its construction meets the highest possible standards of design and construction, and such design accords with Ports North provision.

All traffic elements within the proposed development have been designed in accordance with the relevant traffic standards (i.e. Australian Standards).



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9 Risks and Assumptions The traffic analysis for the CPAC concept report identified a number of risks associated with the design and project works. These are outlined in Table 9.1.

Table 9.1 CPAC Traffic Analysis Risks

Category Risk

Post Office Car Park

The at-grade Post Office car park on Grafton Street has been assumed to be constructed and available by the opening of the CPAC. Progress of this should be monitored to ensure that this will be the case. The Post Office car park has been assumed to provide 154 car parking spaces. Due to the limited space on the site it may be difficult to accommodate this number of spaces in the at-grade car park stage. Further design is required to determine whether the 154 spaces can be achieved. The future Post Office car park will be upgraded from an at-grade facility to a multi-level car park in the future. During the demolition of the at-grade facility and the construction of the multi-level car park the facility will be unavailable.

Service Vehicles

Theatre planning consultant, Schuler Shook has advised that only one articulated vehicle will need to utilise the loading dock. Should two AVs require access, alternative arrangements will have to be made. Minor amendments are required to be made to the service area to allow independent operation of the bays, access for an AV and achieve compliance with AS2890.

Car Parking

It has been assumed that the available public car parking is able to be used by the CPAC patrons. Another development may assume these can also be used which may result in an undersupply of car parking. CRC may not approve the CPAC proposal with no provision of on-site car parking. Motorcycle bays have not been indicated in the site layout plans.



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10 Conclusion A traffic impact and parking analysis has been undertaken for a proposed development located between Hartley Street and Wharf Street north of the Cairns Convention Centre.

The development will comprise a main theatre with a seating capacity of 1,000 seats, orchestra pit, associated back of house, foyers, covered external public plaza and car parking. Additionally there will be a smaller flexible theatre with 500 seats and undercover car parking. The development of the two theatres may be staged.

A total of 225 car parking spaces are to be provided as part of the development. This requirement has been developed from the number that can be accommodated on-site and in the future Post Office car park on Grafton Street. A first principles based on the number of people (staff and patrons) anticipated to be on site during a typical event was carried out with a resulting demand of 246 car parks. A sensitivity test was carried out to assess the additional parking demand associated with other events which indicated that an additional 148 car parking spaces may be needed. However, a survey carried out by Arup indicated that there is sufficient available car parking (both on-street and in public car parks) within a five minute walk of the Performing Arts Centre to accommodate the additional parking demand.

Of the 225 space provision, 92 spaces will be provided on-site at undercroft level and 154 spaces will be provided off-site in the CBD. One option currently being considered is to locate the off-site car parking in the future Post Office car park on Grafton Street. The aforementioned Post Office site is due for demolition and will become available for parking at-grade. The future development of the site could accommodate 154 designated parking spaces for Performing Arts Centre visitors.

All on-site parking spaces will be accessed via a new all movement intersection off Hartley Street.

It is possible that no on-site car parking will be provided as part of the CPAC proposal. If no on-site parking is provided these is available spare capacity in the public parking supply.

Passenger drop-off, and taxi and bus set-down facilities will be provided on Hartley Street, Lake Street and Wharf Street. It is proposed that no furniture, pavement or kerb be constructed as part of the CPAC development. The existing indented areas will be utilised with only additional line marking and signage as part of the CPAC works.

A traffic impact analysis was undertaken to assess the impact of the development traffic during a typical busy day. The analysis shows that no intersection upgrades will be required as a result of the development traffic by 2025. Some movements of the Hartley Street/Grafton Street intersection will operate at LOS D by 2025 however minor changes to the signal cycle time would improve this to LOS C.

Two loading bays will service the entire development accessed off Hartley Street via a left-in / left-out intersection south of the car park entrance.

Appendix A

Site Plans

WharfSt

Sheridan

St

HartleySt

Lake

St

TaxiBa

ys

Drop

off

carp

arks

Pede

stria

nCo

nnectiv

ity

Entrance

toon

sitecarp

ark

Loadingdo

ck

BusB

ays

Appendix B Cityport and Seaport Area Maps

Appendix C Arup Surveys

Cairns Regional Council Cairns Performing Arts CentreConcept Report


Page C1

C1 Car Occupancy Survey

Cairns Regional Council Cairns Performing Arts CentreConcept Report


Page C2

C2 Car Parking Demand and Supply Survey

Appendix D Traffic Volumes

Yea

r20

25

Per

iod

Any

Pea

k H

our

Lak

e S

tree

tN

ort

her

n P

ort

Acc

ess

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ad

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fto

n S

tree

t

So

uth

ern

Po

rt A

cces

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oad

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idS

tt

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erid

an S

tree

t

Ken

ny

Str

eet

Yea

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12

Per

iod

PM

Pea

k H

our

Dat

eW

har

f S

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e S

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ort

her

n P

ort

Acc

ess

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ad

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e A

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erid

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Ken

ny

Str

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Sp

ence

Str

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Str

eet

Yea

r20

25

Per

iod

PM

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our

Gro

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Wh

arf

Str

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e S

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ort

her

n P

ort

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ess

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ad

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cces

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n S

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t

Sh

erid

an S

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t

Ken

ny

Str

eet

Sp

ence

Str

eet

Har

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Str

eet

Year

2025

Perio

dP

eak

Hou

rCP

ACCa

rpark(AllMovem

ents)P

eakHo

urVo

lumes

(In)

Sche

me1

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rf S

tree

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519

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0N

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ern

Port

Acc

ess

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d

1519

Prop

osed

Carpark

TotalTrip

s92

In10

0%92

73Out

0%0

9

Gra

fton

Stre

et

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90%

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27

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tree

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artle

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reet

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Per

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ny

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ence

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Ass

essm

ent

Typ

e

Appendix E Loading Dock Movements

SCHULER SHOOK THEATRE PLANNERS

CAIRNS ENTERTAINMENT PRECINCT

LOADING DOCK VEHICLE MOVEMENTS

SUMMARY FOR USE AS A PLANNING GUIDE

Note - Shaded areas represent a vehicle parked at the Dock for more than 30 minutes

MONDAY

Time Semitrailer 6-8t Van 1-3t Van Ute/SWagon F&B Van Courier Trade Van Rubbish

0700

0800 1 1

0900 1

1000 1

1200 1

1300 1

1400 1

1500

1600

1700 1

1800

1900 1

2000

2100

2200

2300

2400

Day Totals 1 0 1 2 2 2 0 1

TUESDAY


0700

0800 1 1

0900 1 1

1000 1

1200 1

1300

1400 1 1

1500

1600

1700 1

1800 1

1900

2000

2100

2200

2300

2400

Day Totals 0 0 1 3 2 2 1 1

WEDNESDAY


0700 1

0800 1 1 1

0900 1

1000 1 1

1200

1300 1

1400 1

1500

1600

1700 1

1800 1

1900

2000

2100

2200

2300

2400

Day Totals 0 1 1 2 2 3 1 1

THURSDAY


0700

0800 1 1 1 1

0900 1

1000 1 1

1200

1300 1

1400 1

1500 1

1600

1700 1 1

1800

1900

2000

2100

2200

2300

2400

Day Totals 0 1 1 3 3 3 0 1

FRIDAY


0700

0800 1

0900 1 1 1

1000 1

1200 1

1300 1 1 1

1400

1500 1

1600 1

1700 1

1800

1900

2000

2100

2200

2300

2400

Day Totals 0 0 1 3 3 3 1 1

SATURDAY


0700

0800 1 1

0900 1

1000 1 1 1

1200

1300

1400 1

1500

1600

1700

1800

1900

2000

2100

2200

2300 1

2400

Day Totals 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 1

SUNDAY


0700

0800 1 1

0900

1000

1200

1300 1 1

1400

1500

1600

1700

1800

1900

2000

2100

2200

2300

2400

Day Totals 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0

Semitrailer 6-8t Van 1-3t Van Ute/SWagon F&B Van Courier Trade Van Rubbish

Week Totals 1 3 9 17 14 13 3 6

Appendix F SIDRA Analysis Results

Lake Street/Wharf Street/Northern Port Access Road

2025 Weekday Base Assessment Results

Hartley Street/Sheridan Street


Grafton Street/Hartley Street


Hartley Street/On-Site Car Park Access

2025 Typical Busy Day Assessment Results

Lake Street/Wharf Street/Northern Port Access Road


Hartley Street/Sheridan Street


Grafton Street/Hartley Street


Appendix G Swept Paths

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Appendix H Potential Wharf Street Duplication

appendix appendix 151515 – traffic report · appendix a of this report. the development is sited...

Documents