Bicycle travel is three to four times faster than a person on foot, the bicycle catchment for a five minute bicycle ride is around 1.5km (DOP, 2004).
Therefore, cycling trip generators and attractors usually take place at schools (refer to MAP 13 for existing locations), parks, recreational areas and shopping centres where the neighbourhood units have been designed to a 1.5km catchment radius of these facilities. This distance has also been adopted in setting up the cycleway / bicycle path construction priority assessment criteria which is discussed later on in this report.
Apart from nominating travelling to work and for recreational and fitness purposes for cycling trips, the majority of survey respondents in the 1994 Bike Plan nominated local shops and shopping centres as the main purpose for
bicycle travel. It is therefore important that the frequency and availability of public transport access at and around centres are identified in order to integrate cycling with public transport to centres effectively.
5.7.1 Centres
Centres are important trip attractors where services and facilities are concentrated to meet all people’s needs. These include shopping, office based employment, recreation, leisure, entertainment and cultural facilities, as well as health and community services. A major important feature at centres is convergence of major transport networks and modes, such as local bus stops, and major interchange between different transport modes. Therefore, the development of a bicycle network that connects between centres and public transport will encourage the reduction in the use of private transport. Efficient and reliable public transport focused in centres will also ensure that a choice of transport is available, particularly in commuting and accessing employment.
There are a number of centres and smaller suburban centres that exists within the Hills Shire. The main town centres are Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, North Rocks and now the newly built Rouse Hill town centre. A list of hierarchy of centres within the Hills LGA has been provided below and the locations of these centres are also shown on MAP 6.
Specialised Centre Norwest
Major Centres
Castle Hill and Rouse Hill
Town Centres
Baulkham Hills, Box Hill – Potential, Carlingford, North Rocks, North Kellyville – Planned, Round Corner, and Wrights Road
Villages
Beaumont Hills, Campbell Street: Northmead, Coonara Avenue: West Pennant Hills, Knightsbridge: Castle Hill, Mile End Road: Rouse Hill, and Windsor Road: Kellyville.
Stand Alone Centre Winston Hills
Neighbourhood Centres
Arthur Street: Baulkham Hills, Balmoral Release Area – Planned, Bella Vista, Belmore Street: Oatlands, Box Hill – Potential, Burnside: North Parramatta, Carmen Drive: Carlingford, Crestwood, Cross Street:
Baulkham Hills, Felton Road: Carlingford, Glenhaven, Memorial Avenue – Planned, North Kellyville – Potential, Samantha Riley Drive: Kellyville – Planned, Ventura Road: Northmead, and Woodstock Road: Carlingford
Rural Centres
Annangrove, Glenorie, Kenthurst, Maraylya, Dural, and Wisemans Ferry
5.7.1 Public Transport at Centres
Apart from buses there are no other real form of public transport system that is available to the Shire. The main operator of the bus services in the Shire is HillsBus. However, other operators such as Busways, Sydney Buses, and Hawkesbury Valley Bus also provide some services in the Shire as well. Route Network Maps for these bus service providers in the Hills LGA have been attached to APPENDIX 10. While MAP 14 shows the existing major bus interchanges identified in the Hills Shire.
Apart from nearby Seven Hills, Blacktown and Carlingford railway stations, there is no other railway line that runs through the Shire. The planned North West Metro rail system linking Rouse Hill to the CBD via Epping (SOE, 2008) was planned by the NSW State Government, but has now been deferred indefinitely early this year, 2009. This proposed railway system can be seen attached to APPENDIX 11.
Therefore, it is imperative that identifying existing and potential future public transport corridors between centres to align the bicycle networks with public transport routes and improve connectivity in the overall cycleway network to public transport and centres is undertaken. This is critical to the economic development, liveability and functioning of the Hills Shire. A review of the Metropolitan Strategy and North West Subregion – Draft Subregional Strategy below shows existing and proposed public transport at these major centres.
Norwest
The centre is not well serviced by public transport, but with the North West T-Way operating along Old Windsor Road providing rapid bus transport to Parramatta, there are limited options. The planned North West Metro incorporating a future station in the vicinity of the retailing precinct of the business park will also service the centre.
Castle Hill
A bus interchange and rail station is proposed to service the centre as part of the North West Metro.
Rouse Hill
The centre is serviced by the North West T-Way. A rail station is also planned as part of the North West Metro. The area has a well planned cycleway network that links to the centre with the surrounding residential area and many of these links have been built.
Baulkham Hills
The centre is an important transport hub concentrating local bus services together with a major stop on the Strategic Bus Corridor No. 5 'Castle Hill to the City’ via the M2 and Strategic Bus Corridor No. 40 linking Castle Hill and Parramatta.
Carlingford
Carlingford town centre is based around Carlingford Railway Station. The centre is also located along Strategic Bus Corridors No. 41 Parramatta to Hornsby and No. 9 Parramatta to the City via Macquarie Park, providing access to major employment in the global arc.
North Rocks
Local bus services link the centre with Parramatta and Epping stations.
Winston Hills
The centre is not located on an arterial road, so access via public transport is limited to only local bus services. However, the M2 motorway and Old Windsor Road runs through near the centre which provides important vehicular access.
Campbell Street, Northmead
The centre is serviced by the No. 40 Strategic Bus Corridor linking Castle Hill and Parramatta.
Though the bicycle is ideally suited for shorter trips, using it in conjunction with public transport such as buses can greatly extend the range and length of trips. Therefore, it is recommended that Council should work closely with the bus companies to promote bike ‘n’ bus trips. In order to attract users to these services, services must offer passengers the best connection to their destination such as express and high frequency city bound and cross regional services.