Ambitious plans for the urban renewal of Parramatta Road in Sydney, one of Australia's most run-down urban corridors, are causing a stir in NSW.
The plans released by property development industry group the Urban Taskforce include the redevelopment of Parramatta Road into a new green, "liveability corridor" along the major link between the centre of Sydney and the city’s other major hub, Parramatta, to the west.
Architects, landscape architects and urban designers from nine firms are involved in the Urban Taskforce Australia plan for Parramatta Road in Sydney, currently widely regarded as an eyesore that includes as mix of car yards, run down buildings and decaying infrastructure.
The proposal was published in its magazine Urban Ideas where it identifies 12 major development sites along the corridor.
However members of the SydneyCENTRAL - the design consortium which won an international urban design competition for the Parramatta Road Corridor over a decade ago - have claimed the plans were identical to their work, labelling it "plagiarism".
The University of technolgy, Sydney' architecture department has published the SydneyCENTRAL - the design consortium on its website (PDF).
Heavily critical of the development plans, Sydney Morning Herald critic Elizabeth Farrelly says the chief obstacle to renewal for the strip is ''the NSW disease” — transport. She contends the best approach would be to install a tramline between Sydney’s two largest CBDs.
Hassell has developed a series of images showing transport infrastructure projects planned or under consideration by governments would help transform the road. Image: Hassell
Matthew Pullinger from Hassell has played a key role in the plans, and has also voiced the opinion that “transport infrastructure is essential to viable urban renewal”.
"New transport links already under discussion include road, heavy rail, light rail and metro rail proposals," Pullinger said.
"Transport infrastructure is essential to viable urban renewal, and the Taskforce work recognises this. Some of the new transport links would take vehicular traffic off the road and others would serve people living along it. The Parramatta Road corridor needs both if it is to become a vital, mixed use urban neighbourhood where people want to live and work."
The Urban Taskforce plan comes as Parramatta City Council is seeking to make major improvements in their CBD, earlier this week, calling for interest from designers to help create a conceptual master plan and act as a catalyst for transformation of the city’s public spaces.
