VLC worked with Ratio Consultants on the Berwick Activity Centre Access and Movement Study for the City of Casey in Melbourne’s fast-growing outer southeast suburbs.

A historic centre with numerous heritage buildings that is unique to outer suburbia, this work required the team to team to balance a strong sense of place with an existing access mode share that skews heavily towards the private automobile and its associated high demand for car parking. The project team worked closely to identify improvements to walking, cycling, public transport, roads and parking with a goal of facilitating more people to travel via sustainable modes and support a shift away from private vehicles.

Client requirements

The project required a review of recent planning documents with a focus on the Berwick Village Major Activity Centre, as well as a review of available data covering all modes. This review was supplemented by the use of VLC’s Planwisely platform with its easy access to a range of demographics and transport datasets as well as people movement data from mobile phones, and a subcontracted survey of parking occupancy in the Activity Centre. The data analysis and review was used to identify issues and opportunities for each mode of transport, including walking, cycling, public transport, roads, and parking which were workshopped with the client to ensure accuracy and completeness. Finally, the issues and opportunities were developed into a list of prioritised recommendations for each mode, to feed into Council’s Berwick Structure Plan as well as advocacy to State Government.

Outcomes

The project provided the City of Casey with a comprehensive report and accompanying spreadsheet identifying a prioritised list of improvements recommended for walking, cycling, public transport, roads and parking policy. The document set out to assist Council with delivering and advocating for safer, better-connected walking and cycling networks, improved access to the Activity Centre by public transport, and appropriate parking measures to ensure availability without impacting on the Village’s unique character. The recommended policies and infrastructure improvements will feed into Council’s upcoming Structure Plan with the aim of enabling more people to access the Activity Centre safely and easily via active and public transport, while retaining car access for those who need it most.

(Image credit: Simon Martin)