A Sydney precinct, extending from Waterloo, in the north to east Alexandria and north Rosebery in the west and south, is quickly becoming the densest site in Australia. According to the City of Sydney, another 2,500 new apartments are expected to open in the suburbs around Green Square in the 2015 financial year and thousands more beyond that, following unparalleled housing growth in Sydney’s inner south.
The precinct is already well served by appliance retailers such as Harvey Norman, Domayne, Bing Lee, The Good Guys and Winning Appliances and is now home to several supplier head offices including Breville, Electrolux Home Products and Kleenmaid. But the NSW Government is very concerned that both existing and new residents won’t be able to move around the area unless transport is dramatically improved.
To put the extent of the area’s population growth into context, when completed, the Green Square area will have an average density of around 20,000 residents per square kilometre. This compares to the entire city of Melbourne which covers only one square kilometre, housing more than 8000 people, according to a report released last month by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Updated Transport Management and Accessibility Plan for Green Square was finished in September 2012, and a separate Botany Road Corridor Action was finished in November 2011, but neither has been released to the public. Under the freedom of information laws, a community group was able to obtain the documents.
Bus numbers need to double in 15 years
The transport management plan says bus numbers through the area will need to double in the next 15 years. “This is likely to place additional pressure on already congested city streets and CBD bus termini,” the report says
The report also proposes increased bus priority measures on Botany Road and Bourke Road. And it recommends providing a “high capacity public transport corridor” along a route the City of Sydney has mostly reserved for a light rail line. The City of Sydney Council, meanwhile, is demanding the government improve Green Square and surrounding areas, stating that residents are already complaining that the trains and buses in Green Square are overcrowded.
But the good news for the industry is the expected completion of 50 new apartments every week for the next four years, according to the Council. That’s a lot of washers, fridges, toasters and kettles, not to mention vacuums to clean up after the removalists have left.