Monorail Removal Project - Review of Environmental Factors (REF)

7. Traffic and transport7.1 Assessment approach and methodologyA traffic and transport impact assessment of the proposal was undertaken by GHD. Acomprehensive technical report is available as ‘Technical Paper 1 – Traffic and TransportAssessment’ on the Transport for NSW website (www.transport.nsw.gov.au). A summary of theassessment is provided in the following sections.The assessment involved:• reviewing the conceptual methodology for the proposal• reviewing traffic and pedestrian count data• investigating the transport network in the study area, current Monorail patronage andtravel characteristics, and existing road traffic performance• considering land use, properties and accesses adjacent to the proposal site• assessing the potential impacts of the proposal on surface transportation• identifying mitigation measures to address the impacts identified.7.2 Existing environment7.2.1 Use of the MonorailA description of the existing Monorail and its infrastructure is provided in section 2.1.In relation to use of the Monorail, the data indicates that about 2.1 million gate entries wererecorded across the stations over the 2011 to 2012 financial year. This equates to an average:• daily patronage of approximately 6,000 passengers• hourly passenger demand of 400 passengers• peak hour demand of 625 passengers.The most recent survey of Monorail users was undertaken in 2009 by the then private operatorand owner. The survey consisted of 463 respondents. The survey indicated that 22 per cent ofrespondents stated commuter travel as their reason for travel, with the remainder classified as‘visitors’ or ‘leisure seekers’.Similarly, 18 per cent of respondents stated that they travelled at least once per week on theMonorail. While 36 per cent of survey respondents stated that their trip was unplanned (forexample, bad weather), it is assumed that commuter trips are generally planned trips. Assumingthat all commuter travel took place on the 251 weekdays in the year, this equates to an averageof 1,841 commuter trips (one-way) per weekday.Assuming that commuter trips take place between 7am and 9am in the morning peak and 4pmand 6pm in the evening peak, this equates to 920 trips (one-way) during the peak periods,inbound or outbound. Due to the proximity of Pyrmont to the Sydney CBD, it is reasonable toassume that the peak hour represents 70% of the peak period demand. This equates to 644trips (one-way) during the morning and evening peak hour.The peak period for passenger entries at all Monorail stations is between 10am and 2pm, withpatronage generally reducing after 2pm. Passenger demand for the Monorail is highest onweekends. This indicates that the primary purpose of travel is tourism and recreation, which isGHD | Transport for NSW - Monorail Removal Project REF | 55