How can urban design thinking inform HSR planning, and what are the benefits of stronger interdisciplinary collaboration?
This week I participated in a panel to explore how transport planners and urban designers can work together to get the most from high-speed rail. The panel was organised as an adjunct to the Australian Transport Research Forum (ATRF) conference to discuss the ingredients of a successful HSR plan.
The other panel members were researchers from Sydney, Melbourne and Monash universities who discussed the ingredients of a successful HSR plan based on the lessons from their practice and research. In particular, they have conducted teaching studios where students have applied the discipline of ‘design thinking’ (a holistic way of finding opportunities and resolving project problems) to the urban design of precincts, cities and regions around high speed rail stations in Australia.
They presented student’s work exploring the urban design and potential outcomes for six different locations in Australia:
Coffs Harbour has the opportunity to leverage its status as a tourist destination. But the current station and rail alignment creates a barrier. So other station locations were explored with the preferred HSR station located between the town and the beach. The new train station was designed as an underground facility due to challenging topography and natural features, with a light rail corridor to link employment and tourism precincts along Harbour Drive.
Newcastle is a large and strategic centre with potential to better connect regional centres in the Hunter Valley. Three station options were considered, with Broadmeadow, located at Newcastle's periphery, identified as the preferred site. The convergence of new functions, transport modes, and development at this node led to an elevated multiplatform station to deliver a cohesive neighbourhood that integrates with Newcastle Interchange.
Gosford provides an opportunity for urban expansion using HSR to commute to either Sydney or Newcastle. The existing station was retained with trains coming in from the high speed rail near Hawkesbury River. Elevating the line through Gosford will open the area for more active transport, and enable the redevelopment and densification of urban areas which are currently hard to reach without a car. Additionally, new neighbourhoods outside the urbanised area were identified that could attract residents with enhanced connectivity to the Gosford Waterfront Interchange.
Wagga Wagga is a regional city with a distinct identity that is strategically positioned between Melbourne and Sydney. The challenge is to foster growth while preserving its unique character. The students sought a balance between creating employment opportunities, diversifying industries, enhancing amenities, and avoiding congestion or high living costs, by upgrading and expanding the heritage train station, addressing its physical severances, and enhancing its green grid and sports infrastructure.
Shin (or New) Wodonga is a new station and greenfields precinct that could be created at the western edge of Wodonga if a broader public transport network integrates it into the fabric of Albury-Wodonga. Synchronising local and regional connections with the HSR timetable could expand the catchment of the HSR service across much of south eastern Australia. This is how the system operates in Switzerland – enabling even the most remote location to be integrated seamlessly with the national public transport network.
Transfer nodes must be where people want to go – and that includes the things people want to actually visit and use, and not just the transport services. This is in the town centre. Not a station car park on the periphery of a town. This thinking was applied to imagine the urban design for Shepparton. It led to an inviting central plaza at the station, elevation of the rail line to reduce severance, and greater pedestrian linkage for the station to the city centre.
For me, this panel highlighted the critical need for urban design thinking before any attempt is made to design the high speed line. The design of the built environment shapes the places where we live, work and meet. The decisions we make about our built environment today will define the heritage of our future – our legacy.
So a high quality of the urban design is paramount. While rail engineering is a factor, it is only one of many factors to be considered. The students’ work shows that the solutions are very different across just six centres, even though the objectives are fairly similar.
They also showed that deep analysis of each centre and engagement with the local community are essential. There are many compromises to be made to come up with an agreed master plan. So local communities must own the process, and especially its outcomes, so that rail engineers can be sure they are designing the right alignment and services needed. Only then can we be assured that investment in high speed rail will achieve its desired outcomes.