Brace yourself Sydney for more transport chaos

Research fellow

The extreme weather of the past fortnight has exposed the vulnerabilities in Sydney’s transport system. Roads flooded,horrendous traffic and numerous crashes. Ongoing public transport delays and cancellations. Essential workers struggling to get to work. And this chaos is just a taste of things to come. With global heating,storms and floods set to become more frequent and intense,one has to ask if Sydney’s transport system will cope,or if we have to resign ourselves to worsening travel disruption.

Cars drive along flooded roads in Five Dock on Tuesday.

Cars drive along flooded roads in Five Dock on Tuesday. Steven Siewert

The state government’s Future Transport Strategy discusses climate resilience,but mostly in terms of hardening infrastructure against extreme weather – for example,stronger bridges. While new infrastructure can be designed to be more robust,Sydney’s massive inventory of existing infrastructure will be difficult and costly to upgrade.

Resilience is also needed in our transport networks. Sydney already has a fully developed road network – if a major road is closed because of flooding or a pile-up,motorists can usually find an alternative route. But the network is often congested,owing to government reluctance to introduce any form of decongestion pricing,as cities like London have done. This means rerouted traffic can cause significant delays. Evacuation and emergency responses could be compromised.

Sydney’s rail network,by comparison,has numerous gaps. Most lines radiate from Central Station and there are few orbitals connecting them. If a line is closed,there is often no alternative route. Planned new rail links will fill only some of the gaps.

A low-cost way to mitigate climate-related travel disruption is to simply reduce the need to travel,or at least the need to travel long distances. The pandemic demonstrated how working from home can reduce commuting travel,but teleworking is not possible for all of us. The long-term impacts on health (less exercise and social interaction) and productivity are also uncertain and people still need to travel for purposes other than work.

Traffic heading into Sydney’s northern beaches on Tuesday during heavy rain.

Traffic heading into Sydney’s northern beaches on Tuesday during heavy rain.Getty

Travel choices and land use planning are strongly interlinked. To reduce travel distances,Sydney needs urban planning that puts jobs,education,shops and services close to where people live,and more affordable housing for essential workers close to employment centres.

The much-vaunted “15-minute city”,in which most residents can reach an urban centre within 15 minutes without needing to drive,is key to an efficient and resilient transport system. Such proximity brings into play walking and micromobility options,such as bicycles,e-bikes and e-scooters. These are by far the most resilient modes of transport – able to bypass traffic jams and not dependent on imported oil – albeit not so attractive in torrential rain.

With supportive street design,proximity gives motorists the option to swap traffic,parking anxiety and tolls for these cheaper,healthier,more enjoyable and lower-emission transport modes. And it enables access to places and public transport for people who cannot drive.

The Greater Sydney Commission has an unambitious vision of a “30-minute city”,however progress is undermined by other government agencies still encouraging urban sprawl and long-distance commuting. Development of low-density housing is still allowed in areas far from jobs and stations,and with few local shops and services.

Housing development at Marsden Park in Sydney’s west last month.

Housing development at Marsden Park in Sydney’s west last month.Wolter Peeters

The ceaseless expansion of road capacity encourages people to move further from work and to drive more,rather than take advantage of the promised travel-time savings. Average daily travel times in Sydney have barely changed after decades of costly road construction,while average trip distances – and toll expenditure – have increased significantly.

The pandemic opened up the opportunity to pivot to a closer-knit city,but the pressures to persist with sprawl and tollway construction are immense. Meanwhile,there has been an abject political failure to address housing affordability for essential workers,with no funding for new public housing and a reluctance to mandate more than token affordable housing quotas in new developments.

A 15-minute city would make our transport system more resilient to our deteriorating climate,improve health and quality of life,and reduce transport expenditure for residents and the government. While other resilience measures are still needed,the state government should co-ordinate policy across government agencies to make the 15-minute city a reality.

Christopher Standen is a research fellow in applied urban development at the school of population health,UNSW Sydney.

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Christopher Standen is a research fellow in applied urban development at the school of population health,UNSW Sydney.

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