Bronte Cutting Safety Upgrade

Councillors endorsed the recommendations in the consultation report at the 21 February Council meeting.

The motion was endorsed as Council:

1. Receives and notes the summary of community feedback
2. Endorses the recommended changes to the concept design proposal set out in the report, including:
   1. Investigating options and the design of existing speed bumps to allow a gap to improve cyclist accessibility along Calga Place.
   2. Undertaking tube counts to monitor speed along Calga Place to determine if additional traffic calming treatments are required to slow traffic.
   3. Investigating and determining whether a pedestrian crossing at the steps from Bronte Road is warranted.
   4. Not proceeding with any lighting along Calga Place.

3. Proceeds to detailed design of the footpath, with a report to be considered by the Waverley Traffic Committee before proceeding to procurement for the construction phase.

The proposed lighting is to enhance the pedestrian experience by improving public health and safety in the early morning and late afternoon. For more information please see the proposed lighting fact sheet.

• There is a portion of the Bronte to Bondi coastal walk at Calga Place, commonly known as Bronte Cutting, without a footpath. The missing link in the footpath and existing narrow footpaths result in pedestrians forced to walk along the road creating conflict between pedestrians and vehicles.
• Over one million people use the Coastal Walk from Bronte to Bondi every year, and during peak times as many as 500 pedestrians per hour use this section of the coastal walk.
• Whilst there have been no recorded crashes between vehicles and pedestrians in the last five years, it is important to reach beyond crash statistics to understand the related issues of pedestrian comfort and convenience. Some examples of the pedestrian discomfort and inconveniences that are likely to occur at Bronte Cutting include: moving aside for traffic, waiting for a car to parallel park, and car door/s opening in their ‘path’.
• To improve pedestrian and vehicle safety and experience, Council is finalising plans to install a permanent footpath through Bronte Cutting, all the way from the park entrance at Calga Place, through the Cutting and up to Macpherson Street.
• This decision has come after a two year pilot footpath and the completion of options analysis and feasibility studies.
• Each option considered the following impacts – heritage, environment, costs, maintenance, existing infrastructure and parking.
• Option 1 Footpath : widened footpath replacing existing footpath to the north of the cutting and extends to Macpherson Street
• Option 2 Shared Zone: shared zone for both pedestrian and vehicle usage.
• Seven options of slight variations of both Option 1 and Option 2 were considered as part of the options analysis.
• The footpath is the preferred design solution as it reduces the risks of pedestrians walking on road by providing a wider footpath. This option will improve both pedestrian and vehicle safety through the cutting and on Calga place.
• Currently, there is no lighting along Calga Place, reducing the experience of the coastal walkway for pedestrians. Therefore another objective of this project is to provide sympathetic lighting to improve safety in the late afternoon to evening.
• A Review of Environmental Factors (REF), Project Feasibility Summary and concept design can be referred to for more detail.
• Timeline of Bronte Cutting project.

Over one million people use the Coastal Walk from Bronte to Bondi every year. There is a portion of the walk at Calga Place, commonly known as Bronte Cutting, without a footpath. The missing link in the footpath means that during peak times, as many as 500 pedestrians per hour are forced to walk along the road creating conflict between pedestrians and vehicles.

This conflict is referenced in several Waverley Council strategic documents and studies, such as the Bronte Park and Beach Plan of Management (Bronte PoM) and Waverley’s People Movement and Places strategy. These documents identify the need to investigate options to provide a dedicated pathway linking the Coastal Walk. Based on community consultation held for the Bronte PoM, 74% of respondents showed support for a trial pedestrian footpath in the Cutting.

Trial project to complete the missing pedestrian link in the Coastal Walk

To improve pedestrian safety at this location while we work on a permanent solution, Council has installed a trial pedestrian walkway linking Calga Reserve and the Coastal Walk through Bronte Cutting. The walkway has temporarily replaced 21 car parking spaces and some parking meters on one side of the Cutting.

Council commissioned the installation of an artwork that interprets the history of the area, featuring illustrations of the tram and other interesting stories. Designer Ellie Nuss and illustrator James Gulliver Hancock collaborated with Council on the project.

The trial will be in place until a permanent solution has been decided.

Consultation Report

Please see the community consultation report, compiled by Micromex, here.

Background

In developing the Plan of Management (PoM), we undertook a range of consultation activities to gain community feedback and suggestions for the future management of Bronte Park and Beach. These activities took place in July and August 2016, and April and May 2017. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback and comment throughout this process.

You can view a summary of the consultation findings from over 250 community members in the User Survey Summary Report and Bronte PoM Community Consultation Report. In addition, multiple technical studies of the site were carried out focusing on universal access, physical site features, and user survey. The feedback from this consultation has informed the direction of the Final Plan of Management for Bronte Park and Beach, which was formally adopted by Council in July 2017.

What is a Plan of Management and Master Plan?

The Plan of Management is a ten year strategy created through public consultation and research to identify the future use of the site and management of the varied and changing needs of the area.

In conjunction with the Plan of Management, a comprehensive long term plan illustrating the design direction for the site (a Master Plan) has been developed. Together the Plan of Management and the Master Plan will provide strategic and operational direction for the design and management of the park over the coming decade.

What is in the Plan of Management?

The Plan of Management provides an overview of the park and beach, analysis of existing conditions, and vision and directions guided by the culmination of multiple stages of community feedback, site specific studies, and industry best practice.

The vision and direction distils down to specific action and themes, a summary of these are outlined below.

Design and Setting

People love the open nature of the park and beach and the relaxing atmosphere. In order to maintain the setting and character of Bronte, the plan proposes to:

• Maintain the natural and casual feel
• Reinforce the variety of different landscape characters across Bronte Gully, park, beach and headlands in future design and planning
• Ensure the landscape and architectural design reflects best practice and design excellence and integrates within the landscape
• Provide a memorable experience for all users by celebrating the sites unique character and scenic qualities
• Ensure materials and finishes are of a high quality, are robust and designed to befit the setting
• Reinforce the sense of arrival to the site

Getting to and around the park

Many people loved that the park and beach was close and convenient to get to, however some issues were identified as to how accessible some areas and facilities in the park are. Key suggested improvements consider:

• Provide easily identified, distinct arrival points into the park and designated pedestrian pathways that allow safe and continuous movement
• Provide a hierarchy of pathway networks that link to destination points and facilities
• Implement a wayfinding strategy for the park. Consider an audience of a range of abilities, literacy levels and languages. Encompass the physical environment, signage, customer service, information, brochures, guides and website
• Provide an adequate proportion and distribution of universally accessible facilities connected by accissible paths of travel
• Provide a universally accessible beach access point and improve the safety and amenity of the existing stairs to the beach and Bronte Baths

Playing and Relaxing

The park and beach sees a variety of passive recreation uses including use by many community organisations, the plan proposes to continue to support current uses by:

• Providing adaptable and flexible spaces to accommodate a variety of interest groups
• Provide high-quality amenities and facilities that support Bronte's recreational values and uses
• Prioritise activities that are intrinsic to the place, its cultural values and that draw value from being in a beachside location.

Enhancing the Environment

People love the natural setting, unspoiled beaches and underdeveloped feel. People also appreciated the environment in the gully and work done to maintain this. The plan proposes to:

• Enhance and conserve the natural heritage of the site such as vegetation, land form and hydrology
• Monitor and adapt to the effects of climate change
• Promote environmentally sustainable practices in the management and maintenance of the place
• Consider whole of life-cycle cost in the selection of materials and construction techniques
• Educate the community about the value of the sites unique environment

Community, Culture and Heritage

People like the sense of community, local feel and ambiance of Bronte. To maintain the sense of community, culture and heritage the plan proposes to:

• Interpret and tell the story of the place, including the Aboriginal themes and storylines
• Strengthen and express the cultural values of the site through supporting community groups and activities
• Ensure the cultural landscape is expressed in the design and management of the site
• Conserve and maintain the heritage fabric of the park

Management and Maintenance

Visitors are generally satisfied with the cleanliness and maintenance of the beach and park. In continuing to improve management and maintenance of Bronte, the plan proposes to:

• Ensure that the park and beach environments are safer for users at all times
• Ensure facilities are well maintained and appropriately services
• Review and reinforce compliance and regulations that enable a range of users to enjoy the park and beach safely
• Manage vehicle access in the park