Understanding People, Movement and our Cities

Manesha Ravji

Associate Director | Urbis

Manesha has over 20-years experience and has worked in both private consulting and government roles, she relishes in developing city-shaping solutions that consider all transport modes and promote the use of sustainable transport. She has experience across a broad cross-section of transport specialties including engineering, planning, data analytics, modelling, and policy development. Manesha’s strengths are in strategic transport planning, she is well regarded for her ability to translate complex engineering and modelling outcomes simply and clearly for use in strategic planning. 

Manesha also has a keen interest in the betterment of the industry, she is a previous AITPM (VIC) Committee Member, and through mentoring has helped numerous young woman and men progress their careers over the last ten years.

Use of Human Movement Data Technology for School Placement Planning

We present a novel application of mobile phone based Human Movement Data (HMD) technology in developing a school placement planning tool. Urbis was tasked with the quantification of traffic impacts for a new school within a growth area in Melbourne. This new school is proposed to absorb demand from the surrounding schools that are currently operating above capacity. We first extracted the HMD for the existing schools within the surrounding statistical areas, using common daytime location as the selection criteria, and adjusted this sample proportionally based on student and staff numbers at each school. This data was then filtered on the basis of common evening location of the devices, to determine the place of residence for students and staff.  Using this dataset, we developed a gravity assignment model to understand how many students attending the existing nearby schools will likely be directed to this new school. It allowed us to estimate the flow of students between each statistical area and each school, acknowledging that not everybody goes to the closest school. This macroscopic gravity model that was developed using HMD enabled us to investigate the local level traffic impacts through modelling at intersection level. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of HMD technology in the development of evidence-based decision support tools when ABS and school enrolment data are out of date or unavailable.

Andrew Ross

Principal Advisor (Walking) | TMR

Andrew Ross is the Principal Advisor (Walking) in the Cycling and Walking Team at the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) Queensland.
He has worked in the areas of transport, planning, sustainable development and public health in Australia and the UK for 30 years. He has a particular interest in how active transport can be built into people's everyday lives.

Andrew managed the development of the TMR walking network planning guidance. He led a project involving stakeholders from around the state to develop walking network plans around selected public transport stations, hospitals and town centres. Andrew works across departments and with local government and advocates to promote a user-led understanding of planning for walking. He works closely with departmental colleagues to develop guidance, resources and training to help improve conditions for walking.

Making plans for walking in Queensland

In 2021, the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) published the state's first walking network planning guidance. More than 60 walking network plans (WNPs) have been prepared around destinations such as public transport stops, town centres and hospitals. The plans are published with works programs to identify priority actions.
The guidance is a key outcome from the Queensland Walking Strategy 2019-2029. The focus on network planning for walking is supported by the Queensland Model for Road Safety themes of movement and place, and health and behaviour. These are important themes for governments and communities around Australia as we search for viable solutions to increase walkability.

TMR has been responsible for the rollout of the guidance. Increasing connectivity, especially for people living with mobility challenges or in areas with high social disadvantage or road safety concerns, has been an important objective for allocating funds for preparing WNPs. TMR has collected inclusive mapping data, which is generated by people using wheelchairs and technology, for incorporating into WNPs.

The projects have highlighted appetite across the state to deliver improvements for walking for people of all ages and abilities:

• TMR's WNP funding programs have been oversubscribed.
• Local stakeholder participation is high.
• The process is providing an opportunity to propose infrastructure solutions to improve walking environments.
• TMR will continue to build on the factors for success:
• collaborating with local governments and other state agencies to develop WNPs and seek opportunities to leverage investment in walking via government spending on public transport stops, hospitals and schools.
• Engaging with communities and stakeholders to improve data-led WNPs.
• Supporting development of a network of walking expertise and knowledge that includes government officers from transport, planning, housing and education, consultants and advocates.
• Running a Walking Infrastructure Masterclass for professionals and advocates to improve understanding of user experience and design principles for walking network planning and delivery.

TMR continues to work with local government and other partners to refine the planning process and identify ways to deliver the identified improvements to the walking networks.

Ten-Zen Guh

Technical Director - Transport Planning | Mott MacDonald

Ten-Zen is a transport planner and licensed New York professional engineer with a specialisation in pedestrian planning and modelling. He has over 15 years of experience working on major projects across Australia, Asia, North America, and South America in a diverse range of sectors including rail, aviation, and leisure. He has led pedestrian modelling for some of the largest rail projects in the ANZ region including Sydney Metro, METRONET in Perth, and City Rail Link in Auckland. Some of his previous clients prior to coming to Australia include Singapore LTA, SEPTA in Philadelphia, and New York Yankees.

Ten-Zen is passionate about improving pedestrian and walkability outcomes, and using pedestrian modelling as a tool to achieve this. He understands the importance of zooming out from modelling details to consider the overall context and thereby make better-informed planning and design decisions from the modelling analysis.

Performance-based approach to improving pedestrian connectivity

Although governments across Australia have committed to prioritising walking and other modes of sustainable transport, assessment of developments and street designs are often still oriented towards vehicle-focused performance metrics such as vehicle LoS and delay. This leads to a risk of delivering urban design outcomes that prioritise vehicle flow at the expense of other more sustainable transport modes such as walking. Adopting a more performance-based assessment approach through tools such as pedestrian modelling can allow the pedestrian experience to be measured and quantified, thereby helping to ensure that urban design outcomes do prioritise walking and enhance the overall pedestrian experience.

This presentation will discuss pedestrian performance metrics and case studies, including from both a development and street design context. The aim isn’t necessarily to specify a certain set of performance requirements, but more to get attendees to challenge existing paradigms they might have on vehicle-oriented performance criteria and instead think more about the need to adopt a multi-modal assessment framework, including prioritising walking above all other modes.

Sarah Lowe

Principal Transport Engineer | WSP

Sarah is a principal transport engineer with WSP’s Planning and Mobility team, with 20 years’ experience across transport planning and engineering. Sarah believes in shaping safe, efficient and sustainable networks, streets and places for people.

Over her years of experience, she has worked on a wide range of transport projects from project planning and assessment through to post completion evaluation. Her areas of work include a focus on strategic transport planning and advisory, active transport, Movement and Place and precincts. Sarah’s skills in project evaluation and benefit realisation gives her a strong appreciation for delivering great outcomes for users and communities from initiatives.

Swanston Walk: Balancing Connectivity and Place, 30 years on

In 1991 the City of Melbourne, with the State Government of Victoria, released a plan for one of Melbourne’s best-known thoroughfares, Swanston Street, to close it off to vehicle traffic and make it into a pedestrian walk. The walk was to provide for pedestrians over cars and was treated as a transit corridor rather than a mall. While there was much support for creating space for pedestrians, the concept was also regarded as flawed by some.

In his 1992 paper, “Swanston Walk, Melbourne: A Critique”, Nigel Flannigan reasoned that “pedestrianisation does not work in itself, it has to be made to work, and there is no guarantee of success”.

Thirty years on, what do we think of Swanston Walk now, for its balance of connectivity and place? In 2023, both the landscape of the city and planning approaches have changed. The city now has seen shifts in transport such as micromobility, increases in bicycle riding, upgraded accessible tram stops and the construction of Melbourne Metro. The business offering and opportunities along the corridor rise and fall, changing the attractiveness of the place. Trends and events (such as security threats and a global pandemic) effect the way people use the space.

This presentation reflects on the changes to one of Melbourne’s most famous thoroughfares, exploring what has changed and what has stayed the same in placemaking; and looks to see what people need from the corridor in the modern era.