2 December 2011
The Urban Taskforce today congratulated the NSW Government on embarking on a community consultation process to develop a long term Transport Master Plan.
Urban Taskforce Chief Executive Chris Johnson said the importance of linking future housing growth with transport infrastructure was crucial.
There will be a trade-off that communities need to take into account between the extent of transport infrastructure and the future density of their towns and suburbs, Mr Johnson said.
Good public transport only works efficiently in areas of reasonable density, so communities need to balance their transport desires with changes to densities particularly around transport nodes, he said.
New infrastructure projects are also the ideal opportunity to bring in denser living areas as part of the change process.
It is important that the Transport Discussion Paper to be released in February includes the issue of distribution of denser housing as a trade-off for improved public transport.
Mr Johnson said that inevitably, this will mean the Department of Planning and Infrastructure must be involved in the community workshops as well as local councils.
The Sydney Metropolitan Strategy will need be a key driver of where growth will occur over the next 20 years, he said.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
