Monorail Removal Project - Review of Environmental Factors (REF)

StationTourist attractions in the localareaCentrepoint TowerHyde ParkDavid JonesMyer and WestfieldState TheatreMajor visitoraccommodation andserviced apartments(>200 rooms)Businessessurrounding thestationSwissotel tenancies on Level 1and 2 are mostlyvacant shopsMonorail use and usersAs noted in section 7.2.1, about 2.1 million Monorail gate entries were recorded over the 2011to 2012 financial year, which equates to an average daily patronage of approximately 6,000passengers per day. This compares to Sydney Buses, which had a total patronage of over 191million trips in 2010/11, resulting in an average daily patronage of approximately 525,000passengers per day (State Transit Authority of NSW 2011). On an average weekday in 2010/11there was a total of 1.977 million public transport trips (Bureau of Transport Statistics 2012).Further information on use of the Monorail is provided in section 7.2.1.11.2.4 Summary of socio-economic profileIn summary, the residential population of the study area is relatively young and single, livesmainly in high density apartment buildings, earns relatively high incomes and a significantproportion of the population is born overseas. The proportion of people who walk or catch publictransport to work is significantly higher than that of the Sydney metropolitan area as a whole.The Sydney CBD and Darling Harbour area attract large numbers of workers and visitors eachday. The Sydney CBD has an important role in terms of the Australian economy, generatingapproximately eight per cent of the national gross domestic profit.Although there are a number of attractions and businesses located in the vicinity of Monorailstations, with a proportion of visitors to these attractions likely to travel by Monorail, there arevery few businesses located directly within or adjoining the stations.In terms of Monorail users, available survey data indicates that the majority of Monorail users(over two thirds) are visitors to Sydney, who were very infrequent or once only customers.11.3 Impact assessment11.3.1 Land useShort term impactsDirect impacts on land use would be limited to the short term presence of fenced works sitesalong the route. Removal works may reduce the availability of on street parking, vehicular andpedestrian access in the immediate vicinity of the work sites. It may also be necessary totemporarily close short sections of traffic lanes, streets and footpaths to undertake the works.Potential traffic and access impacts are considered in section 7.The proposal has the potential to result in some short term indirect impacts to the amenity ofsurrounding land uses, particularly residential apartments and hotels located in close proximityto the route. These potential impacts include traffic and access, noise and vibration, visualamenity and air quality impacts, and are assessed in sections 7, 9, 10 and 13 respectively.110 | GHD | Transport for NSW - Monorail Removal Project REF