The City of Adelaide (CoA) road network needs to support movement, connectivity and accessibility for all modes of travel.
Car ownership rates and the percentage of residents who drive to work is lower within the CoA compared to Greater Adelaide. However, Adelaide’s wider transport policies have historically focused on expanding the road network capacity and both on and off-street parking availability to accommodate more private vehicles.
This has resulted in increasingly larger numbers of people from outside the CoA now driving into the city each day for work and other purposes. Of the 130,373 people who work in the CoA only 5.3% also lived in the of CoA. 2 This represents a significant daily transport task.
City of Adelaide current vehicle and parking snapshot
[1] Arup, CoA EV charging infrastructure transition roadmap, 2023[2] Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census, 2021[3] City of Adelaide. (2022). Draft City Access Strategy Community Engagement Summary
Key access roads now experience significant road congestion during peak periods, resulting in long travel time delays to motorists. Traffic volumes are highest around the perimeter of the CoA, in addition to West Terrace and Montefiore Road.
In response, the CoA’s approach has shifted to developing an integrated network that will support greater transport mode choice across journeys – cars, public transport, cycling, walking – as peoples’ needs change.
According to Infrastructure Australia, the cost of road congestion in Adelaide is projected to rise to $7.6 million per weekday by 2031, highlighting the importance of encouraging the increased use of active and public transport modes to reduce future traffic congestion.
The new Transport Strategy will therefore support key CoA strategic objectives to create a more multi-modal, integrated and sustainable network that acknowledges the role of private vehicles but provides more opportunity for people to choose convenient active travel and public transport options.
To create a highly liveable, prosperous, and resilient city, it is essential that people have a range of transport choices available to them each day and at each stage of their lives to undertake different activities.
There is an opportunity to improve the variety of transport modes available to the most people, thereby decreasing the reliance on private vehicle use and increasing the accessibility and liveability of Adelaide.
The Smart Growth multi-modal transport planning approach (below) can support improvements to transport network performance and local urban development outcomes. (Litman, T (2023) “Understanding Smart Growth Savings: Evaluating Economic Savings and Benefits of Compact Development” Victoria Transport Policy Institute. Canada)
Challenges
Adelaide has existing vehicle use and parking challenges to consider:
The high rate of car ownership and reliance on driving, coupled with the abundance of car parking, strongly influences travel behaviour, encouraging even greater car use.
City design and inclusion: A city designed predominantly for driving exacerbates social disadvantage and erodes inclusion by prioritising car use over other modes of transport.
Safety and speed management: Ensuring the safety of all street users, including pedestrians and bicycles, while managing appropriate speed limits, remains a challenge.
Through traffic: High traffic volumes passing through, as opposed to around, the CBD create significant accessibility challenges and contribute to worsening congestion, which affects the overall city experience.
Existing infrastructure, like the amount of street space allocated between users, favours cars and parking, creating barriers to the adoption of active and public transport modes.
Motor vehicle emissions and noise pollution have a significant environmental impact. Transport represents over a third of the CoA's greenhouse gas emissions. (City of Adelaide. "Integrated Climate Strategy 2030: Resilient, Protected, Sustainable." 22 November 2023)
The competing demands for city space exacerbates the urban heat island effect and the impact of extreme heat, creating a challenging environment for people and the city’s ecosystems.
The public health impacts of vehicle reliance are significant, including issues stemming from inactivity and exposure to vehicle emissions, which contribute to chronic health problems.
Parking management and congestion: The complexity of managing parking supply and demand, and varying parking controls, complicates efficient parking management. Traffic congestion is exacerbated by the circulation of vehicles searching for free parking.
Land value and revenue: Balancing the value of land used for on-street parking with the need for revenue generation for the CoA is a challenge, particularly in pricing parking assets to reflect their true value while accommodating the needs of all.
Figure 2 Modal filters in Melbourne Source: Streets Alive Yarra, AECOM
[5] City of Adelaide. "Integrated Climate Strategy 2030: Resilient, Protected, Sustainable." 22 November 2023
Opportunities
Three key strategic moves have been identified to contribute to a more sustainable, efficient, and liveable city:
Considering the environmental impact of transport modes and prioritising low-emission transport, by expanding electric vehicle charging infrastructure, creating low emission zones, and investing in connected cycling and pedestrian networks.
Being strategic about how we manage our parking and traffic circulation through dynamic parking pricing, parking management and permits, developing a comprehensive traffic circulation plan, implementing modal filters, reducing speed limits, and enhancing road safety measures.
Optimising the road space of our streets to create appealing corridors for movement, rest, and to improve safety for all users using Healthy Streets principles
Implementing this approach can achieve positive benefits for the CoA and the residents, workers and visitors moving within it:
