“They say that it’s the Adelaide
we all want …..but is it?”
Presentation by
KEVIN O’LEARY
Australian Civic
Trust Inc
The Adelaide planning process:
Draft report on the 30 - year plan:
‘Planning the Adelaide we all want’
Final Report on the 30 - year plan
‘It is imperative that the community supports
the plan if its policy objectives and housing and
employment targets are to be met’
Planning and Development Steering Review Committee
Report p65
‘The State Government must begin the process
(of reform) by articulating a broad set of
directions. While a bottom up process may
seem desirable, there are such critical issues,
and in some cases such limited choices, that the
State Government must set a broad vision and
direction in the first instance.’
Oregon Processes:
New Civic Trust charter

Encourage wider cross section of community involvement

New approaches to entice public interest

Involve public in all phases of planning process

Ensure range of options analyzed

Proper research and analysis required

Appropriate responses to submissions

Separate Government consultation unit

Emphasis on ‘participation’ not just consultation

No special privileges to key stakeholders

Backed with appropriate legislation
Flaws with the 30 Year Plan

Ineffective measures to contain urban sprawl

Poor research and analysis


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Poorly worked through assumptions in the
determination of future population levels
No overarching vision for transport
Inappropriate densification proposals along
major arterial roads
1. Ineffective measures to contain
urban sprawl

Urban growth boundary abandoned

Prime agricultural land being lost


Housing Affordability Aust. concedes Adelaide plan
is not appropriate
Peak oil will make living in fringe areas untenable
(Aust. Planning Institute)
2. Poor analysis of the future
spatial organization of the city

Melbourne has examined future spatial
organizational options:
Super CBD
Growth in Activity Centres only
Polycentric city: middle centres
Polycentric city: outer centres
Inner city in public transport rich areas

Adelaide plan at odds with Melbourne analysis

Limitations even with Melbourne study
Source: ‘Macro Urban Form’
Victorian Department of
Transport
3. Poorly worked through
assumptions in the determination
of future population levels



Independence of govt. population committee
questionable
Rann govt. should have waited for Federal Government’s
report on a ‘Smaller Australia’
Inner Rim Structure Plan highlights questionable
population projections
4. The lack of an overarching
vision for transport
Adelaide is the only capital city in Aust. that doesn’t
have a transport plan

Alternative transport options not analyzed

There are major omissions in transport Govt’s transport
strategy

•
Lack of attention to travel demand management strategies
•
Inadequate program for delivering transit-oriented
development
•
Poorly developed strategies for commuter travel
5. Inappropriate densification
proposals along major arterial
roads

Proposal emanates from a report prepared by Rob Adams
in Melbourne on Transforming Australian Cities but with
some major differences

Rob Adams report doesn’t deal with adverse health
effects

‘Planned community’ response from Premiers Dept not
satisfactory

Experience in Curitiba not relevant to Australian cities

Perth has a more appropriate strategy

Not desirable to match employment and housing in each
neighborhood

Serious implications for industry
Impacts of high trafficked areas
on public health
In 2010 the US Health Effects Institute undertook the largest international
study ever launched on vehicle air pollution and health. It examined 700
worldwide health-pollution studies and concluded that within 300 – 500
metres of heavily trafficked roads the resultant pollution:

Exacerbated asthma in children

Triggered asthma cases across all ages

Impaired lung function in adults

Caused cardiovascular disease and death
Other studies in the US have shown that pollution from high trafficked areas
has also caused :

Pregnant women to be more likely to have premature and
low weight babies

Children to develop all types of cancers including leukemia

Shorter life spans for nearby residents
Residential densification along main roads
strategies in 3 cities compared
Adelaide 30 Year Plan
Curitiba, Brazil
Perth, WA
No. of corridors
selected
Large number selected
many of which are
inappropriate for
residential densification
Higher density
development restricted
to 5 road arteries
Only Activity Corridors
selected. Other main roads
-Transit Corridors- will be
used for moving large
volumes of traffic
% commuter
trips by public
transport
By 2018 the no. of trips
made by public trans. will
be only 10 % of the total
transport use
Currently 75 % of all
commuter trips are
made by public
transport
Currently 11 % of all
commuter trips are made
by public transport
Through traffic
Not considered
Trinary road system
addresses problems
Through traffic redirected
to ‘transit’ corridors
Public health
issues *
Major issue affecting
large no’s of people
Minor issue
Minor issue
Freight
Unknown
movements
Residential densities will
be increased on primary
freight routes
Increases in residential
density along primary
freight routes prohibited
Capacity for
fast/ high vol.
public trans.
Low to moderate capacity
because of difficulties in
developing dedicated
rights of way
High capacity because of
trinary road system
Low to moderate capacity
*Higher incidences of childhood
leukemia, cardiovascular diseases and other serious illnesses are
associated with residential development located within 200-300 metres of high trafficked areas.)
Curitiba:
High rise
development
along a
dedicated bus
way
Trinary Road System - The centre road has dedicated
lanes for bi -articulated buses and on either side of the bus
lanes are roadways for local traffic. Parallel to this street
are the ‘Rapidas‘: one-way streets providing access to the
downtown (Speedy Streets).
Rapidas (Speedy Street) - This street is one of
the side streets that complement the Trinary
Road System by providing an alternative for
travelling across the city.
Residential densification along
main roads - three cities compared


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Adelaide appears to be moving towards the Curitiba model
However, it is most unlikely that it will ever be able to
match the high proportion of commuter trips (75%) made
by public transport – a critical factor in the success of this
model.
It’s more likely to reach a level of between 10-20% of
commuter trips made by public transport
It would be more appropriate that it follow the Perth model
where increased residential densities are confined to
Activity Corridors.
If Adelaide continues to implement provisions in the 30 Year Plan there will be some very grave consequences for
public health and traffic congestion
Conclusions – 30 Year Plan

UGB should be reinstated

Population projections should be reviewed when smaller
Australia report released

A lower target should be set for the amount of fringe
development allowed and targets for urban growth should
be more regularly reviewed

The proposal to densify residential development along
major arterial roads should be dropped

Locations for the densification of development should be
subject to more thorough research and analysis

A transport plan should be prepared for Adelaide

The Transit /Activity corridors plan for Perth should be
given serious consideration here

Public consultation processes have to be improved (refer to
Civic Trust model)