works and community committee agenda no. 4/15

Works and Community Committee AGENDA NO. 4/15

Meeting Date: Tuesday 31 March 2015 Location: Committee Room 1, Level 5, Civic Centre, 1 Devlin Street, Ryde Time: 5.00pm

NOTICE OF BUSINESS

Item Page

1 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES - Meeting held on 17 March 2015 ................. 1 2 REVISED CONCEPT DESIGN - ROWE STREET EAST UPGRADE .............. 4 3 PITTWATER ROAD - BLACK SPOT PROJECT 2014/15 - ADDITIONAL

FUNDING ....................................................................................................... 22

Works and Community Committee Report Page 1

Agenda of the Works and Community Committee Report No. 4/15, dated Tuesday 31 March 2015.

1 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES - Meeting held on 17 March 2015

Report prepared by: Section Manager - Governance File No.: CLM/15/1/2/2 - BP15/332

REPORT SUMMARY In accordance with Council’s Code of Meeting Practice, a motion or discussion with respect to such minutes shall not be in order except with regard to their accuracy as a true record of the proceedings.

RECOMMENDATION: That the Minutes of the Works and Community Committee 3/15, held on 17 March 2015, be confirmed.

ATTACHMENTS 1 Minutes - Works and Community Committee - 17 March 2015

Works and Community Committee Page 2

ITEM 1 (continued) ATTACHMENT 1


Works and Community Committee MINUTES OF MEETING NO. 3/15

Meeting Date: Tuesday 17 March 2015 Location: Committee Room 1, Level 5, Civic Centre, 1 Devlin Street, Ryde Time: 5.00pm Councillors Present: Councillors Maggio (Chairperson), Etmekdjian, Pendleton, Perram and Stott. Apologies: Councillor Li.

Staff Present: Acting Group Manager – Community Life, Group Manager – Public

Works, Manager – Urban Planning, Section Manager – Natural Areas and Urban Forest, Section Manager – Waste and Executive Assistant to Mayor and Councillors. DISCLOSURES OF INTEREST There were no disclosures of interest. 1 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES - Meeting held on 3 March 2015

RESOLUTION: (Moved by Councillors Pendleton and Maggio) That the Minutes of the Works and Community Committee 2/15, held on 3 March 2015, be confirmed. Record of Voting:

For the Motion: Unanimous Note: This is now a resolution of Council in accordance with the Committee’s delegated powers. 2 VEGETATION MAPPING INFORMATION USED BY CITY OF RYDE

RECOMMENDATION: (Moved by Councillors Perram and Pendleton) That Council adopt the Office of Environment and Heritage’s Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Vegetation Mapping 2013 as the primary reference for the presence of vegetation in Ryde.




Record of Voting: For the Motion: Councillors Etmekdjian, Pendleton, Perram and Stott Against the Motion: Councillor Maggio Note: This matter will be dealt with at the Council Meeting to be held on 24 MARCH 2015 as

dissenting votes were recorded. 3 ANNUAL WASTE STATUS REPORT 2014

RESOLUTION: (Moved by Councillors Perram and Pendleton)

That Council receive and note the Waste Status Report. Record of Voting:

For the Motion: Unanimous Note: This is now a resolution of Council in accordance with the Committee’s delegated powers.

The meeting closed at 5.25pm.

CONFIRMED THIS 31ST DAY OF MARCH 2015

Chairperson



2 REVISED CONCEPT DESIGN - ROWE STREET EAST UPGRADE

Report prepared by: Place Manager File No.: UPS2009/9 - BP15/127

REPORT SUMMARY Following extensive consultation with the community, an Eastwood Public Domain Plan and Public Art Plan for Rowe Street was developed and adopted by Council on 13 August 2013. This Plan sets the framework to upgrade Rowe Street over the next 10 – 15 years. As part of this Plan, a Concept Plan for Rowe Street East was developed. In May 2014, Council consulted with the community regarding the public domain upgrades outlined in the Concept Plan for Rowe Street East. Whilst the concept design was supported by the community, concerns were raised regarding the design’s potential impact on parking, traffic flow and visibility of shop frontages. In addition, while the available funds for the delivery of the concept design is currently $2.5m, a number of underlying costs, including costs associated with the location of utility infrastructure, means that over $5.4m would be required to deliver the design. To meet the available funds budget and to respond to the concerns raised by the community, the concept design for the upgrade of Rowe Street East has been revised. Revisions include a centre median to manage traffic and to house trees and multi-function poles away from utility infrastructure, and a revised footpath treatment of asphalt with granite banding. The revised concept design provides a number of positive benefits, including:

retention of existing car parking spaces;

improved traffic management;

reduction in visual clutter by undergrounding poles and wires;

enhancement to the visual amenity and appeal of Rowe Street East;

creation of a gateway treatment at the entries to Rowe Street East. Based on the consultation undertaken, the budgetary constraints, and the benefits above it is recommended that the revised concept design for the public domain upgrade of Rowe Street East, including the gateway public art treatment at Blaxland Road be endorsed.

RECOMMENDATION: (a) That Council approve the revised concept design to upgrade the public domain

in Rowe Street East.


ITEM 2 (continued)


(b) That Council approve the public art gateway design treatment at Blaxland Road.

(c) That Council approach the Road and Maritime Service and Transport for NSW

to develop and fund a Local Area Traffic Management Plan for the Eastwood Town Centre area, incorporating the proposal for the increased capacity commuter car park proposed in Rowe Street (east).

(d) That the outstanding matters of CCTV, lighting, and Traffic infrastructure be

referred to the Eastwood Project Consultative Committee and addressed in future capital works projects to further upgrade Eastwood Town Centre.

(e) That Council review the provision of loading zones which service the

businesses along Rowe Street East.

ATTACHMENTS 1 Revised Rowe Street East Public Domain Upgrade February 2015 Report Prepared By: John Brown Place Manager Report Approved By: Meryl Bishop Manager - Urban Planning

Dominic Johnson Group Manager - Environment and Planning


ITEM 2 (continued)


Background

Town Centre renewal is a key program identified in the City of Ryde Community Strategic Plan. To progress this Plan Council devotes resources through its Four Year Delivery Plan to renew and revitalize Town Centres.

Following extensive consultation with the community, an Eastwood Public Domain Plan and Public Art Plan for Rowe Street was developed and adopted by Council on 13 August 2013. This Plan sets the framework to upgrade Rowe Street over the next 10-15 years. As part of this Plan, a Concept Plan for Rowe Street East was developed. The Concept Plan proposed:

Widening the footpath to make the street more pedestrian friendly with the potential for outdoor dining and more public spaces to be created;

Additional tree planting and new street furniture to improve the amenity of the street;

New gateway treatments at either end of Rowe Street East to enhance the visual appeal of the street; in particular, gateway planting and public art signage/entry statement at Blaxland Road.

In May 2014, Council consulted with the community regarding the public domain upgrade for Rowe Street East. Whilst the concept design for the Rowe Street East public domain upgrade was broadly supported by the community, concerns were raised regarding the design’s potential impact on parking, traffic flow and visibility of shop frontages. In addition, while the funds currently allocated in the Four Year Delivery Plan for the delivery of the concept design is $2.5m, a number of underlying costs had not been factored into this budget, including the costs associated with:

Adjusting existing utilities;

Addressing flood and drainage issues;

Undergrounding power wires. Once these costs were considered and incorporated, the required funds for delivering the design exceeded $5.4m. Discussion

To meet budget, and to respond to the concerns raised by the community, the concept design for the upgrade of Rowe Street East was revised by Council’s Project Development and Urban Planning Units.


ITEM 2 (continued)


Key features of the revised design include:

Construction of a centre median to manage traffic;

Planting of trees and the installation of multi-function poles in the centre median rather than along the individual frontages;

Undergrounding of electrical wires and poles on the southern side of the street;

Revised footpath treatment to asphalt with granite banding;

Provision of additional benches and bins. The revised design proposes to upgrade both sides of the street from East Parade up to 50 Rowe St. While this does not upgrade the entire street between East Parade and Blaxland Road, it does deliver an upgrade of approximately 60% of both sides of the street and will make a positive difference to Rowe Street East. Details of the upgrade are illustrated in Figures 1-3. In addition to the public domain upgrade along Rowe Street East, a gateway public art design is proposed at the intersection with Blaxland Road. The design will feature a sculptural light-weight metal wall, weaving through a row of trees. The steel wall draws inspiration from the Granny Smith apple peel design and will allow pedestrians to walk through the design. The aim is for the design to become a landmark and place marker for people visiting Eastwood. Figure 1 -Scope of revised design – Rowe Street East Public Domain Upgrade


ITEM 2 (continued)


Figure 2 - Proposed lane configuration

Figure 3 - View of design at the entrance to Rowe St East (westerly end)

Gateway Treatment – Public Art at Blaxland Road

At its meeting of 11 February 2015, the Executive Team endorsed the public art design/gateway statement for Rowe Street East to be constructed at Blaxland Road.


ITEM 2 (continued)


Key features of this design include:

Bold green ribbon (steel mesh structure) to wrap around a row of trees;

Apple peel design will provide historical links (Granny Smith green colour);

The design will act as a place marker for Eastwood;

Will allow pedestrians to walk through and experience the space. Figure 4 - North Along Blaxland Road (Day)

Figure 5 - North Along Blaxland Road (Night)


ITEM 2 (continued)


Figure 6 - From Ryedale Road looking North along footpath

Green ribbon design to wrap around the space and act as a place marker The revised design provides a number of positive benefits, including the following:

Retention of existing car parking spaces:

The original design required some car spaces to be removed - this would have been contrary to the Council’s commitment to maintain existing car parking spaces.

Improved traffic flow:

The original design reduced the width of the roadway by 1.5m by expanding the footpaths; while the revised design has a centre median, this median is broken into sections allowing local traffic to turn and u-turn if required.

Reduction in visual clutter by undergrounding poles and wires:

This is consistent with original design and Public Domain Plan.


ITEM 2 (continued)


Enhancement to the visual amenity and appeal of Rowe Street East

The design would improve amenity while responding to the local community’s concerns regarding traffic and parking. Street lighting in the middle of the street will better illuminate the footpath, improving safety and security; promotional banners will be also be able to be hung from the multi-function poles. Tree planting in the centre median will reduce shop frontages being impacted, while providing more shade and ambiance and services will be less affected by the design saving time and money.

Creation of a gateway treatment at the entries to Rowe Street East

This is consistent with original design and Public Art Plan. Consultation with NSW Police Council met with representatives of NSW Police on site to seek its views on the public art design. Council staff provided a description of the entry statement at the Rowe Street East and Blaxland Road intersection including: the lighting of the artwork and surrounding landscape; the proximity of the proposed path; the height and opacity of the artwork; ancillary items to the artwork such as timber poles and tree planting with low ground cover planting. NSW Police indicated its support for the increased use of lighting and requested that Council take into consideration; the visibility of the space from Blaxland Road; the use of CCTV to assist with monitoring; the potential for antisocial behaviour around the artwork; ways to increase visibility through the artwork. Council’s design team will review the proposed design in relation to the Police comments and Environmental Design Guidelines. This review will consider pedestrian safety with particular consideration for increased lighting in dark spots; alternate path of travel; minimising entrapment opportunities and reduction of ‘gathering spots’ for antisocial behaviour. The detailed drawings for the Rowe Street East upgrade, including the public art concept design for Blaxland Road is ATTACHED - ‘Revised Rowe Street East Public

Domain Upgrade’, February 2015.


ITEM 2 (continued)


Community Consultation

Comments on the revised plan were sought from the community; the consultation involved:

letters sent to Rowe Street East property owners (24 February 2015)

door knock of businesses along Rowe Street East (25-27 February 2015)

drop-in information sessions on (7 March 2015) near Eastwood Hotel. Prior to undertaking the door knock of businesses, Council also met with representatives of the Korean Business Chamber to explain the revised design. The Korean Chamber indicated its support for the revised design, while raising issues regarding the impact on traffic by the construction of a median. Following these discussions, Chamber representatives joined Council staff door knock businesses along Rowe Street East. Council received around 60 responses to the door knock, drop in session and letters sent to property owners. A summary of the feedback received is noted below. As indicated in Figure 7, the business owners and tenants indicated their broad support for the revised design – 68% indicated support or qualified support. However, a number of concerns were raised in relation to both existing traffic problems and potential issues arising from the proposed design. Existing issues included double parking, individuals fishing for parking spots impeding traffic flow, and general congestion from the lights at East Parade and First Avenue. Concerns relating to the design included: the impact on traffic from the centre median as it was felt the median restricts vehicle movement due to the narrowing of the road; insufficient space in the carriageway to manoeuvre around vehicles ‘double parked’ or vehicles waiting to park.


ITEM 2 (continued)


Figure 7 – Community Consultation Results

Support – positive regarding the revised design

Qualified support – indicated support, but also raised issues regarding the design. Eg. traffic impacts, construction timelines …

Not Sure / No Comment – these people surveyed were either not sure whether to support; or didn’t state any view and so their views were considered neutral

Not Support – negative about the revised design *68% of those surveyed indicate ‘support’ or qualified support’ for the revised design. Please Note: many of the tenants and owners were reserved in providing feedback – these responses were noted as ‘Not sure/ no comment’.


ITEM 2 (continued)


The key benefits and issues identified in the Community Consultation are identified in the table below: Benefits Response/comment

No loss of parking Businesses welcomed the revised design as it maintains the existing parking levels

Trees and lights in the median will reduce clutter

The businesses were pleased the revised design moved the trees and lights away from shop frontages – providing greater visibility of their businesses

Undergrounding electrical poles on the southern side will reduce clutter

Businesses thought this would further reduce clutter and make the street more attractive

Multi-function poles will enable banners to be hung

Businesses thought banners will create an attractive feature in the street

Public Art at Blaxland Road will provide an attractive gateway

Businesses were pleased the public art design will create a landmark or gateway entrance to Rowe Street East

Increased pedestrian safety By managing traffic more efficiently the street will become more pedestrian friendly

Improved lighting The lights in the centre median will more effectively illuminate the footpath and improve amenity

Issues Response/Comment

The median will narrow the street and could negatively impact traffic flow

The median will narrow the carriageway; however, the revised design meets Australian Road Standards

The median will not allow people to ‘go around’ double parked cars

The median will restrict opportunities for drivers to ‘go around’ double parked cars and this may frustrate some drivers; this however is a dangerous practice which should not be encouraged

The narrower street will make parking more difficult

There will be less space for drivers to undertake their parking manoeuvres due to the median; however, the design comfortably meets Australian Road Standards


ITEM 2 (continued)


Issues Response/Comment

The revised design upgrades does not upgrade the entire street – some businesses will missing out

The cost of the street upgrade exceeded budget The revised design provides the ‘best value’ – should additional funds become available, the remainder of the street could be upgraded at a later date

The revised design does not provide as many opportunities for outdoor dining

While the revised design does not expand the footpath, there is still enough room for businesses to offer outdoor dining With an improvement to the existing footpath finish and light poles and trees moving to the median, the space will be cleaner and less cluttered

The revised design does not address the traffic congestion leaving via East Parade onto First Avenue

The revised design will not adversely impact this existing problem relating to the light phasing at First Avenue. This issue will need to be addressed separately with RMS

Detailed Response to Traffic Issues Raised

It is noted that the original design (May 2014) also proposed to reduce the carriageway by 1.5m by expanding the footpath on the southern side. The 2.6m parking bays are designed in accordance with the requirements of S2890.5 section 2.2 – 2.4 (2.1m parking plus 0.5m clearance). The lane widths are designed to section 4.2.4 & 4.2.5 of the Australian Guide to Road Design Part 3: Geometric Design. Rowe Street is a controlled commercial environment with speeds below 60kph and only a few large truck deliveries. On this basis, Council proposes a carriage width of 3m is appropriate. It is acknowledged the revised design will not allow drivers to ‘go around’ cars that are double parked; while some drivers may find that frustrating, by discouraging this dangerous manoeuvre, Rowe Street East will become a safer and more pedestrian friendly environment. The existing traffic congestion in Rowe Street East is extensively caused by the inefficiency of the key intersections in the nearby area, including:

First Avenue and East Parade

Blaxland Road and First Avenue

Blaxland Road and May Street


ITEM 2 (continued)


To progress this matter, Council will begin discussions with RMS on this issue, with the aim of securing funding for the production of a Local Area Transport Management Plan to reduce congestion at local hot spots, and thereby, improve traffic flow in Rowe Street East. The revised design was discussed by the Traffic Committee in late 2014 as part of General Business; no issues were raised. In summary, the analysis indicates that from an engineering perspective, the design will not make traffic congestion worse. Nonetheless, there will be a ‘settling in’ period as drivers adjust to the modifications. While some drivers may want the status quo to remain, a design which encourages drivers to double park and undertake dangerous passing manoeuvres cannot be supported. Business deliveries - access to ‘Loading Zones’

In addition to improving traffic flow, the availability of loading zones will be reviewed. Currently, Rowe Street (east) does not provide Loading Zones in the main street, pushing deliveries to nearby Rowe Lane. While in some cases this may be sufficient, some businesses need deliveries directly to Rowe Street and additional loading zones along Rowe Street would be a significant benefit. It was also noted by some business owners that fines incurred by delivery drivers for double parking were being passed onto businesses; by providing more loading zones, this dangerous practice of double parking to undertake deliveries would be reduced, improving traffic flow and safety. However, there is a trade-off as additional loading zones would reduce on street parking It is recommended that Council staff investigate the provision of loading facilities in Rowe Street and Rowe Lane. This investigation will include further discussion with the Business Chambers and businesses. Financial Implications

A budget of $2.5m was allocated in the Four Year Plan (2015-19) to upgrade Rowe Street East over two financial years ($1m – 2014-15 and $1.5m – 2015-16). The original design did not include a number of underlining costs, including:

cost to adjust utilities

cost to address flood and drainage issues

cost of undergrounding of power. Once these costs were considered, the indicative budget for the project was in excess of $5.4m; significantly greater than the $2.5m budget.


ITEM 2 (continued)


The revised design meets the budget ($2.5m) and so there would be no additional cost to Council. The estimated cost of the proposed art work is between $250,000-300,000 and would be funded from the allocated public art budget. The revised design only allows for the upgrade of Rowe Street East from East Parade to 50 Rowe Street. Should Council wish to upgrade the full street between East Parade and Blaxland Road, The Project Development Unit has estimated an additional $1.5m would be required. For this purpose, $990,000 is available under S94 for ‘Eastwood Town Centre’ upgrades. Further to this amount, $324,000 is available under S94 for ‘Boulevard Tree Planting’. An additional $186,000 would need to be allocated from General Revenue. Context

This project is one of a number of projects scheduled for the Eastwood Town Centre to be undertaken in addition to the annual maintenance:

PROJECTS – Eastwood Town Centre – 2015/16 ESTIMATE

Rowe Street East Upgrade $2.5m

Pedestrian Accessibility and Mobility Plan $75k

Two (2) raised zebra crossings along Lakeside Road in

lieu of existing “at grade” zebra crossings

$255k

Install 40km High Pedestrian Activity Area (HPAA) scheme

for Eastwood Town Centre

Town Centre Way Finding signs at nine (9) locations

Directional car parking signage to Glenn Street car park

and associated Council public car parks that lie within

Eastwood Town Centre

Maintenance Budget for Eastwood Town Centre $380k


ITEM 2 (continued)


Options 1. Adopt the revised design as outlined in this report. While it varies from the May

2014 design, it results in public domain works involving street trees, lighting and resurfaced footpaths delivered to 60% of the street (Estimated Cost of $2.5m).

2. Adopt the revised design as outlined in this report and extend works to deliver the upgrades to 100% of the street (Estimated Cost of $4m). The Committee is to note that an additional $1.5m funds – part funded from S94 reserve ($990,000) would be required for this option.

3. Paving and Street furniture delivered to 100% of the street (East Parade to

Blaxland Road). This would cost less than the allocated $2.5m. While it would not include street tree planting or undergrounding of wires it would allow for the resurfacing of 100% of the street to be delivered under-budget.

4. That Council cancels the upgrade and return the allocated $2.5m to the

Reserve.



3 PITTWATER ROAD - BLACK SPOT PROJECT 2014/15 - ADDITIONAL FUNDING

Report prepared by: Section Manager - Traffic File No.: GRP/09/3/12 - BP15/288

REPORT SUMMARY This report advises Council of additional funding approval from the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) under the current Black Spot Program, for upgrading Pittwater Road, East Ryde between Bronhill Avenue and Pains Road. Council at its meeting on the 23 September 2014 resolved, in part: (b) That Council receive funding from the RMS in the amount of:

- $442,500 for the 2014-2015 Black Spot Funding Program; for the purposes of projects listed below and that the amount also be consolidated in the next Quarterly Review:

ii. Pittwater Road and Bronhill Avenue to Pains Road,

East Ryde – install CAM’s and guideposts with reflectors. Install CAM’s and guideposts with reflectors. Install raised 900mm median island and provide appropriate super-elevation

$400,000

An application for additional funding above the $400,000 for Pittwater Road was submitted to the RMS on the 15 October 2014, requesting an additional $250,000 (new total $650,000) to embellish the design to improve constructability and drainage. Council has received approval from RMS, provided in the ATTACHMENT, for this

additional funding under the Black Spot Program for the 2014-2015 financial year. It is noted that due to the late approval of the additional funding, the expanded specification and environmental factors, tendering for the project is only now proceeding and the works will continue into 2015/16. Accordingly, the 2015/16 – 2018/19 Delivery Plan will include this as stage 2 works under the Roads Program - Road Kerb Renewal.

RECOMMENDATION: (a) That Council accepts the additional $250,000 from the Roads & Maritime

Services (RMS) for the Pittwater Road Black Spot project. (b) That Council makes the necessary budget changes to reflect the additional

funding and corresponding project expenditure


ITEM 3 (continued)


ATTACHMENTS 1 Correspondence from RMS - Black Spot Program - 2014/15 - Approved

Variation

Report Prepared By: Harry Muker Section Manager - Traffic

Report Approved By: Anthony Ogle Service Unit Manager - Asset Systems

George Dedes Group Manager - Public Works

works and community committee agenda no. 4/15

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