215, 315W & 325C Cooper Street, Epping Planning...

215, 315W & 325C Cooper Street, Epping

Planning Scheme Amendment

Transport Evaluation

Client // Riverlee Caruso Epping Pty Ltd

Office // VIC

Reference // V126360

Date // 09/02/18

© GTA Consultants (GTA Consultants (VIC) Pty Ltd) 2018

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Melbourne | Sydney | Brisbane

Canberra | Adelaide | Perth

Gold Coast | Townsville

215, 315W & 325C Cooper Street, Epping

Planning Scheme Amendment

Transport Evaluation

Issue: D 09/02/18

Client: Riverlee Caruso Epping Pty Ltd

Reference: V126360

GTA Consultants Office: VIC

Quality Record

Issue Date Description Prepared By Checked By Approved By Signed

A 25/01/17 Final Anna Scott Andrew Farran John Kiriakidis

B 08/03/17 Updated Final Anna Scott Andrew Farran John Kiriakidis

C 07/02/18 Revised Final Jeremy Lis Andrew Farran John Kiriakidis

D 09/02/18 Revised Final Jeremy Lis Andrew Farran John Kiriakidis

V126360 // 09/02/18

Transport Evaluation // Issue: D

215, 315W & 325C Cooper Street, Epping, Planning Scheme Amendment

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 5

1.1 Background 5

2. Existing Transport Context 6

2.1 Subject Site 6

2.2 Road Network 7

2.3 SmartRoads Policy 8

2.4 Active Travel Infrastructure 9

2.5 Public Transport Accessibility 9

2.6 Existing Travel Behaviour 10

3. Future Transport Considerations 12

3.1 Epping Central Structure Plan 12

3.2 Other Relevant Transport Considerations 14

4. Amendment C213 15

4.1 Land Uses 15

4.2 Vehicle Access 15

5. Traffic Impact 17

5.1 Traffic Generation 17

5.2 Intersection Control 18

5.3 Further Analysis 19

5.4 Public Transport Accessibility 19

6. Conclusion 21

Figures

Figure 2.1: Subject Site and its Environs 6

Figure 2.2: Land Zoning Map 7

Figure 2.3: VicRoads SmartRoads Network Operating Plan – Whittlesea 9

Figure 2.4: Public Transport Map 10

Figure 3.1: Epping Central Structure Plan – Regional Context 12

Figure 3.2: Epping Central Structure Plan – Walking and Cycling Plan 13

Figure 3.3: Epping Central Structure Plan – Development Framework Plan 13

Figure 3.4: Location of Nearby Projects 14

Figure 4.1: Access Arrangements and Reference Map 16

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215, 315W & 325C Cooper Street, Epping, Planning Scheme Amendment

Tables

Table 2.1: Road Network Description 8

Table 2.3: Journey to Work by Place of Residence/Employment 11

Table 4.1: Summary of Zones and Uses Permitted by the Zone 15

Table 5.1: Existing Traffic Generation Estimates 17

Table 5.2: Preliminary Traffic Generation Estimate 18

Table 5.3: Existing Potential versus Proposed Future Traffic Generation Estimates 18

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215, 315W & 325C Cooper Street, Epping, Planning Scheme Amendment 5

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

Amendment C213 to the Whittlesea Planning Scheme proposes to introduce new planning

controls to the site known as the Epping Renewal Site (referred to as 215, 315W & 325C Cooper

Street, Epping throughout this report). The site is currently zoned Industrial Zone 3 and is proposed

to be rezoned to accommodate a mix of land uses. The Development Plan Overlay (DPO)

requires the preparation of a Transport Management Plan as part of the Development Plan. This

report sets out a preliminary assessment of the transport impacts resulting from the proposed

rezoning.

1

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2. Existing Transport Context

2.1 Subject Site

The subject site is located at 215, 315W & 325C Cooper Street in Epping. The site of

approximately 510,000sqm has frontages of 650m to Cooper Street and 900m to Edgards Road.

Cooper Street and Edgars Road are located within a Road Zone 1.

The site is predominantly located within an Industrial Zone 3 and is currently occupied by a former

quarry. A parcel of land fronting Edgars Road is in a Priority Development Zone.

The surrounding properties include a mix of General Residential and Activity Centre land uses.

The Northern Hospital and Epping Plaza Shopping Centre are located to the east of the site, and

The Melbourne Market is located to the west of the site.

The location of the subject site and the surrounding environs is shown in Figure 2.1, and the land

zoning is shown in Figure 2.2.

Figure 2.1: Subject Site and its Environs

(Reproduced with Permission from Melway Publishing Pty Ltd)

2

Subject Site

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Figure 2.2: Land Zoning Map

(Reproduced from Land Channel web site)

2.2 Road Network

The subject site is bound by Cooper Street to the north, Edgars Road to the west, the future

Deveny Road to the south and the Northern Hospital to the east. Cooper Street and Edgars Road

are both configured with dual carriageways and are zoned as Road Zone 1 (VicRoads controlled

roads). High Street to the east of the site, beyond the Northern Hospital and Epping Plaza, is also

configured with a dual carriageway and zoned Road Zone 1.

Ultimately, Deveny Road is to be configured with a divided carriageway with two traffic lanes in

each direction. The first carriageway is currently under construction (as part of the Costco

development at 20 Jovic Road) and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018.

Timing for the delivery of the second carriageway is unknown at this stage.

Vehicle access to the site is currently provided via a site access point to Cooper Street

approximately 150m east of the Willandra Drive intersection and 400m east of the Edgars Road

intersection. The existing vehicle access allows for left in, right in and left out movements to

Cooper Street and includes right and left turn deceleration lanes.

A description of each of the frontage roads is provided in Table 2.1.

Subject Site

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Table 2.1: Road Network Description

Road Classification Description Approximate

Volume Photo

Cooper

Street

Primary Arterial

Road

(VicRoads)

� aligned in an east-west

direction connecting Hume

Highway to the west and High

Street to the east

� dual two-lane carriageways set

within a 50 metre wide road

reserve (approx.)

� there are bike lanes on both

sides of Cooper Street and a

shared path on the south side

� no kerbside parking is permitted

40,000vpd

Edgars

Road

Primary Arterial

Road

(VicRoads)

� aligned in a north-south

direction connecting Cooper

Street to the north and

Mahoneys Road to the south

� dual two-lane carriageways set

within a 50-metre-wide road

reserve (approx.)

� there are bike lanes on both

sides of Edgars Road

� no kerbside parking is permitted

15,000vph

Deveny

Road

Connector

Road

(Council)

� aligned in an east-west

direction connecting Edgars

Road to the west and High

Street to the east

� initially one traffic lane in each

direction

� bike lanes in each direction on

Deveny Road and a shared

path on the south side

NA

2.3 SmartRoads Policy

SmartRoads is a VicRoads policy which sets ‘modal’ priorities on the road network and underpins

many of the strategies significant to the operational directions that support broader strategies

around land use and transport.

“There is no single solution to managing congestion on our roads. Sustainable management of

congestion will require an integrated approach involving better management of the existing

network, building new infrastructure, visionary land use planning, encouraging sustainable

transport modes, and changes in behaviour by individuals, businesses and a level of

government.” 1

All road users will continue to have access to all roads. However, certain routes will be managed

to work better for cars while others for public transport, cyclists and pedestrians during the various

peak and off-peak periods.

The VicRoads SmartRoads Network Operating Plan for the area surrounding the subject site has

been reproduced in Figure 2.3.

1 Sourced from VicRoads

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Figure 2.3: VicRoads SmartRoads Network Operating Plan – Whittlesea

Figure 2.3 illustrates that Cooper Street and Epping Road are nominated bus and Bicycle priority

routes. Cooper Street, to the west of Edgars Road, is a preferred traffic route. Edgars Road is a

preferred bicycle and traffic route. No internal precinct roads are nominated for modal priority.

Based on VicRoads’ website, road use priority routes (for buses and trams) have been identified

to ensure:

“Trams and buses are given priority on key public transport routes that link activity centres during

morning and afternoon peak periods.”

2.4 Active Travel Infrastructure

Bicycle lanes are provided on both sides of the Cooper Street, Edgars Road and Deveny Road

carriageways in the vicinity of the site. In addition, shared paths are provided on Cooper Street

and Deveny Road. This provides good bicycle access to the site frontages, as well as connectivity

to nearby bicycle routes, including High Street.

2.5 Public Transport Accessibility

Figure 2.4 shows the subject site in relation to existing public transport routes within its vicinity whilst

Table 2.2 summarises the road based routes that pass the site frontage, and major destinations

that can be reached using these services.

Subject Site

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Figure 2.4: Public Transport Map

Table 2.2: Road Based Public Transport Provision

Bus Route

Nos Route Description

Distance to Nearest

Stop (m)

Frequency On/Off

Peak

357 Wollert West - Thomastown Station via

Epping Station 100m 20 mins/45 mins

901 Frankston - Melbourne Airport (SMARTBUS

Service) 100m 10 mins/30 mins

In addition, there are five buses that operate through the Epping Plaza Shopping Centre bus stop

servicing the surrounding residential precincts at reasonable frequency. Epping rail station and

Lalor rail station on the South Morang line are located approximately 2km and 1.8km respectively

from the site.

2.6 Existing Travel Behaviour

Guidance on existing travel behaviour for employees and residents in Epping has been sourced

from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2011 Census data, which provides information

regarding journey to work mode choices. Data for a number of areas within and surrounding the

study area have been extracted to determine the variance in travel behaviour between the

different locations. This data is provided in Table 2.3.

Subject Site

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Table 2.3: Journey to Work by Place of Residence/Employment

Location

Mode of Transport (Residents) Mode of Transport (Employees)

Public

Transport Car

Bicycle &

Walking Other

Public

Transport Car

Bicycle &

Walking Other

Epping (suburb) 8% 88% 1% 3% - - - -

Whittlesea (LGA) 6% 90% 1% 2% 2.5% 93.4% 2.0% 2.1%

All Victoria 9% 83% 6% 2% 9.4% 82.5% 5.7% 2.3%

As presented in Table 2.3, there is a high level of car dependence for travel for residents and

employees of the surrounding regions.

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3. Future Transport Considerations

3.1 Epping Central Structure Plan

Whilst the Epping Central Structure Plan does not specifically cover the study area, it provides

context to the site. The Plan outlines an emphasis on sustainable modes of transport over private

vehicle use, with the intention of providing an efficient and sustainable transport network.

The Plan provides some guidance on the potential future transport components of the site, as

follows:

� Future road link to the site connecting with High Street to the east (known as Deveny

Road)

� Future road link to the west connecting with Edgars Road

� Future road link to the south connecting with the future Deveny Road (indicatively

opposite Halston Road)

� The future road link to High Street has also been identified as a priority walking and on-

road cycling route

� Future Epping North public transport corridor branching off from the South Morang rail

line to the south of Lalor Station passing between the Northern Hospital and Epping

Plaza Shopping Centre. An interchange is proposed between the hospital and the

shopping centre just south of Cooper Street

Relevant sections of the Epping Central Structure Plan are recreated in Figure 3.1, Figure 3.2 and

Figure 3.3.

Figure 3.1: Epping Central Structure Plan – Regional Context

3

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Figure 3.2: Epping Central Structure Plan – Walking and Cycling Plan

Figure 3.3: Epping Central Structure Plan – Development Framework Plan

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3.2 Other Relevant Transport Considerations

There are a number of other transport infrastructure and development sites that will impact on

the operation of the surrounding transport network. These include:

� Deveny Road (under construction)

� Melbourne Market

� Costco Development

� Activity Centre Precinct Road Upgrades

� Hume Freeway / O’Herns Road interchange (and Edgars Road extension)

Each of these projects is illustrated in Figure 3.4.

Figure 3.4: Location of Nearby Projects

Melbourne Market

Costco

Balance of Melbourne

Market Lands

O’Herns Road

Extension and

Interchange

Edgars Road

Extension

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4. Amendment C213

4.1 Land Uses

The proposal includes the development of various precincts, which will include a range of land

uses, with the land areas and uses permitted by the zone summarised in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1: Summary of Zones and Uses Permitted by the Zone

Zoning Size Uses Permitted by the Zone

Commercial 1 Zone 5.5ha Shop, Office, Warehouse, Showrooms, Hotel, Residential

Special Use Zone 20.5ha Residential, Hospital, Medical Suites, Retirement Village, Aged Care, Child

Care, Hotel, Office

Mixed Use Zone 13.6ha Residential, Office, Showrooms, Retirement Village, Aged Care, Child Care,

Hotel

In addition, land area has been set aside for water bodies, habitat and open space.

The Development Plan Overlay requires the preparation of a Transport Management Plan. The

specific requirements of the Transport Management Plan are reproduced below:

“Transport Management Plan

� Identification of the existing road network hierarchy, intersections, public transport,

cycling and pedestrian infrastructure and traffic volumes surrounding the site;

� Identification of the indicative road network within the site and the proposed

connections within and externally to the site with a focus on how the road and

pedestrian/cycle pathways within the site will be designed to integrate with adjoining

and surrounding land;

� Provision of recommended cross-sections of the internal road network, having regard to

the street tree planting proposed by the Open Space and Landscape Plan and the

promotion of sustainable personal transport; and

� Details of the proposed and possible future sustainable transport opportunities,

including public transport connections, walking and cycling infrastructure and

connections to the Epping Metropolitan Activity Centre and existing and future public

transport.”

4.2 Vehicle Access

Vehicle access to the site is proposed via three higher order connections to the future

surrounding road network, as follows:

� Cooper Street (to the north)

� Edgars Road (to the west)

� Future Connector Road (to the east)

The higher order connections will be supplemented by a number of lower order access points to

and from Deveny Road and Edgars Road.

Figure 4.1 on the following page shows the proposed access arrangements to the site, including

the internal high order road network (connector level) and shared path network.

4

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Figure 4.1: Access Arrangements and Reference Map

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5. Traffic Impact

5.1 Traffic Generation

5.1.1 Preamble

The site is currently zoned Industrial Zone 3 and as such, could support significant land use

intensification beyond the current land uses provided on-site. Indeed, if the site was developed

in accordance with its current zoning it would be expected to generate significantly more traffic

than its current land uses/operations.

Therefore, the additional traffic generated by the rezoning is considered to be the difference

between the site’s potential traffic generations under its current zoning compared to the

anticipated traffic generation under its proposed rezoning. In this respect, an assessment of the

site’s potential traffic generation under its current zoning and anticipated traffic generation

under the proposed rezoning is presented below.

5.1.2 Existing Zoning

The site has a developable area of approximately 39 hectares (i.e. excluding habitat and

wetland areas). Assuming a site coverage of 60-65% the site would be capable of

accommodating 255,000sqm of industrial area.

Traffic generation estimates for the proposed development have been sourced from the RMS

Guide to Traffic Generating Development (2013). Estimates of the potential peak hour and daily

traffic volumes generated by the existing land zoning are set out in Table 5.1.

Table 5.1: Existing Traffic Generation Estimates

Period Potential Floor Area Traffic Generation Rate

(Movements/100sqm of GFA) Vehicle Movements

AM Peak Hour

255,000sqm

0.52 1,326

PM Peak Hour 0.56 1,428

Daily 4.60 11,730

Table 5.1 indicates that the site could potentially generate some 1,300, 1,400 and 11,700 vehicle

movements during the weekday AM and PM peak hours and daily periods, respectively.

5.1.3 Proposed Zoning

The proposed zoning allows for the development of a range of land uses, each with a distinct

traffic generation profile. In this respect, GTA has sourced traffic volume estimates from a number

of sources, as follows:

� RMS Guide to Traffic Generating Developments (2002 and 2013)

� GTA traffic survey database

Utilising the above data, GTA has developed blended traffic generation rates for each of the

proposed zone types. Table 5.2 presents a summary of the anticipated traffic generation from the

rezoned lands, adopting the relevant traffic generation rates from the above sources.

5

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Table 5.2: Preliminary Traffic Generation Estimate

Zone Size [1] Blended Traffic Generation Rate Resultant Traffic Generation

Peak Hour Daily Peak Hour Daily

Commercial 1

Zone 5.5ha 70 600 385 3300

Special Use Zone 20.5ha 75 600 1538 12300

Mixed Use Zone 13.6ha 40 400 544 5440

Total 2,467 21,040

[1] This land area is inclusive of the future internal road network with the traffic generation rates prepared accordingly.

Table 5.2 indicates that the rezoning could be expected to generate some 2,500 and 21,000

vehicle movements during the weekday AM and PM peak hours and daily periods, respectively.

5.1.4 Summary

A summary of the potential existing (assuming full build out) and proposed future traffic

generations for the weekday AM and PM peak hours and daily periods is presented in Table 5.3.

Table 5.3: Existing Potential versus Proposed Future Traffic Generation Estimates

Scenario Traffic Volumes

AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour Daily

Existing Potential 1,326 1,428 11,730

Proposed Future 2,467 2,467 21,040

Additional +1,141 +1,039 +9,310

Table 5.3 indicates that the proposed rezoning could be expected to generate some 1,100 and

9,000 additional vehicle movements to the road network compared to the existing zoning during

the weekday peak hours and daily periods, respectively.

5.2 Intersection Control

The vehicle access strategy for the site, including the connector road and lower order local road

network, is presented in Figure 4.1. The vehicle access strategy identifies the following:

� intersection control for the connector road network

� appropriate lower order road access locations to the external road network

The predicted traffic volumes indicate that traffic signals will be required at the Cooper Street

and Edgars Road intersections. In this respect, “in principle” approval for signals to Cooper Street

and Edgars Road was provided by VicRoads and Council at a meeting dated 9 September 2015.

Furthermore, it is noted that the proposed access strategy is generally in accordance with the

specifications of the Epping Central Structure Plan.

The signals to Cooper Street are proposed to be located at the existing Cooper Street / Yale

Drive T-intersection, with the access to the rezoned lands forming the southern leg to the future

signalised X-intersection.

The future signalised access to Edgars Road will be located roughly midway between the existing

signals at Cooper Street and the signals at Deveny Road. It is envisaged that the access would

form a X-intersection with the future access to the balance of the Melbourne Markets site to the

west. The specific location of the signals will be determined based on the following:

� Location of the future vehicle access to the west

� Horizontal and vertical alignments (i.e. ensure appropriate sight distance is provided)

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� Other environmental factors (sensitive ecology, drainage corridors, etc.)

The indicative location of the lower order local road access opportunities to the surrounding road

network have been based on the following principles:

� Offset from signalised intersections by a minimum 200m on arterial roads (i.e. Cooper

Street and Edgars Road) and be limited to left in / left out only as per the requirements

of VicRoads Access Management Polices (draft document).

� Offset from signalised intersections by a minimum 100m on Council roads (i.e. Deveny

Road) as per VicRoads standard intersection drawings.

The access point to Deveny Road is envisaged to be priority controlled. Vehicles accessing the

site to and from the site will use Deveny Road to access Edgars Road to the west and High Street

to the east.

It is anticipated that appropriate mitigating works can be provided to cater for the predicted

level of traffic to be generated by the rezoned lands, without compromising the safety or

function of the surrounding road network.

5.3 Further Analysis

The preparation of a Transport Management Plan is required under the proposed Development

Plan Overlay. The specific requirements of the Transport Management Plan are reproduced

below:

“Transport Management Plan

� Identification of the existing road network hierarchy, intersections, public transport,

cycling and pedestrian infrastructure and traffic volumes surrounding the site;

� Identification of the indicative road network within the site and the proposed

connections within and externally to the site with a focus on how the road and

pedestrian/cycle pathways within the site will be designed to integrate with adjoining

and surrounding land;

� Provision of recommended cross-sections of the internal road network, having regard to

the street tree planting proposed by the Open Space and Landscape Plan and the

promotion of sustainable personal transport; and

� Details of the proposed and possible future sustainable transport opportunities,

including public transport connections, walking and cycling infrastructure and

connections to the Epping Metropolitan Activity Centre and existing and future public

transport.”

As such, the detailed traffic analysis will be undertaken as part of the Transport Management

Plan required by the Development Plan Overlay. This will include a detailed assessment of the

surrounding road network, including the interface intersections. This assessment will identify the

future mitigating works, intersection layouts (number of lanes, length of turn lanes, etc.) and future

road reserve boundaries.

5.4 Public Transport Accessibility

The ‘Public Transport: Guidelines for Land Use and Development’ document prepared by the

Department of Transport (DoT) provides guidance on the recommended public transport

provisions and coverage for new developments. Specifically, the document states the following

for bus routes:

“Neighbourhoods should be designed for bus routes on strategically located connector roads so

that dwellings will be within 400 metres of a bus route.”

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In this regard, all connector roads within the study area are proposed to be bus capable links.

Should a bus route be realised on the internal road network (or on Deveny Road) 100% of

dwellings would be located within 400m of a bus route. Ideally, a future bus route could be

aligned along the central east-west connector street and connect to the existing Epping

Shopping Centre bus interchange (and potential future public transport corridor interchange

anticipated as part of the Epping Central Structure Plan) from the south.

Notwithstanding, should an internal bus route not be realised immediately approximately 80% of

the subject site is currently located within 400m of an existing bus route.

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6. Conclusion

Based on the analysis and discussions presented within this report, the following conclusions are

made:

i The subject site is approximately 510,000sqm and is bound by Cooper Street to the

north, Edgars Road to the west, Deveny Road to the south and the Northern Hospital to

the east.

ii The site is currently zoned Industrial Zone 3 and is proposed to be rezoned for higher

order zoning. The Framework Plan includes Special Use, Cooper Street and Mixed Use

precincts.

iii There are a number of significant transport projects and development sites that will alter

the future transport situation surrounding the site, as noted in the report.

iv The site is currently zoned as an Industrial Zone 3 and has the potential to generate up

to some 1,400 and 11,700 vehicle movements during the weekday peak hours and

daily periods, respectively.

v The land uses permitted by the proposed new zones for the site could generate up to

some 2,500 and 21,000 vehicle movements during the weekday peak hours and daily

periods, respectively. This represents an increase of approximately 1,100 and 9,000

additional vehicle movements during the weekday peak hours and daily periods,

respectively compared to the site current traffic generation potential.

vi VicRoads and Council have provided “in principle” approval for the proposed

signalised access points to Cooper Street and Edgars Road.

vii A Transport Management Plan containing detailed traffic modelling will be completed

as part of the preparation of the Development Plan for the site.

6

Melbourne

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A Suite 4, Level 1, 136 The Parade

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A Level 6, 15 Help Street

CHATSWOOD NSW 2067

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Canberra

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Perth

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