Swanston Street Redevelopment - Case Study Example

Name: Course: College: Tutor: Date: Swanston Street Redevelopment Introduction The plan to redevelop Swanston Street was mooted on the 25th of May 2010. By the city of Melbone.The government supported this initiative by pledging to give $25.6 million into this particular plan. In the90s Melbourne city experienced a refurbishing of its environs courtesy of its leadership. The fresh blood involved; reducing traffic jams, the revitalization of Swanston Street, The redevelopment of Federation square and City square which according to the planners would mark the final touches on the implementation of the project. This plan is divided into three phases; in the current phace, Melbourne city has finished the final lap of the statutory procedure to close Swanstone Street outside the state library between little Lonsdale Street and Latrobe. This paper will analyze all the stakeholders involved in this project and mention their stakes in the whole project. Background of the Policy Knowledge based economic development is one of the most important issues in urban planning today. An urban town will only meet its designated goals through well planned housing and transport system that will allow competitive merits as well as economic growth policies. (Carilo, 2004).Its also a permanent settlement that is of high magnitude in which the citizens of a country undertake systematic and deliberate attempt to develop their city in a sustainable and balanced manner. (Ergazakis, 2006) In redeveloping a city transport demands are highly rated due to the high demand for mobility as well as the essential contributions of the transport sector in running an economy in a city such as Melbourne today. In the case of Melbourne if the transport externalities are examined without necessarily taking into consideration issues that determine the driving force of socio economic trends the entire plan may fail. It’s also important that the Melbourne city council takes into consideration efficient use of available resources in their feasibility studies for this redevelopment plan for Swanstone Street. In addition they should at all costs avoid disclosing their future development plans so as not to deter economic development in the city. For Melbourne city planners to attract tourists as well as the local population they should consider redeveloping Swanstone Street in such a way as to attract it to potential visitors through. Highlighting key issues of the local dialect, tolerance, local culture as well as cultural diversity. They should make provisions of a well networked and developed infrastructure and a labor market that does not have room for pitfalls. All these should be coupled with urban attractiveness. (Martinez, 2004) For Swanston Street’s redevelopment strategies to bear any tangible fruits there should be a general framework for a standard economic development with the relevant qualities. The sustainable Melbourne city development plan should have respect for economic, institutional, environmentasl and social ties. This is because as much as Melbourne city is a driver of economic development in Australia just like other cities but the striking difference is felt on the quality of life that a city offers in regard to environmental,economic,societal and institutional framework within the city. It’s also that even as stakeholders come up with plans for the redeveloping of Swanstone Street that they consider if their plans are consumerate in terms of measuring the effectiveness of the planning policies and interventions. This is because after agreeing on various strategic plans and adopting the sustainable urban development goals its imperative that you measure if the city is actually moving towards the designated goals and vision initially set by its planners. An indexing model can be adopted by the local city council in Melbourne city to measure the level of accountability in its sustainable urban development policies. Usually such a model would encompass neighborhood indicators of development. This model will involve the use of a spatial measuring tool to measure the sustainability working of the urban settings. It involves the local sustainability goals and policies that come upon with clear prominent sustainability considerations. Stakeholders and their stakes in Swanston street redevelopment The key stake holders in this project are the city council, shopkeepers in Swanston Street, car drivers, Bicycle Victoria and Yarra Tram. Others include; St Pauls Cathedral, Melbourne Hotel, RMIT and Emergency Services. The foreseen interested stakeholders would include CBD Transport Management, CBD Workers, residents and students, Public transport users association and Tourists. The Melbourne City Council; This is the key stake holder in this project because on the e16th of December 2010 the council start down and agreed on principle to redevelop Swanstone street.(Rob Adams,2010) Strategies relevant in tackling Swanston street redevelopment There are a number of strategies that have been used and will be used in this project. For instance campaigns to educate the public on the redevelopment plans will be put in place. Since the world is now techno savvy brochures and websites will be relaunched and advertised for the whole public to know what is in the pipeline in time. Additional tram stops will be erected across the streets with reduced rates to promote public transport. Drivers will have to be deployed on alternate north bound or south bound routes to reduce congestion in the city. In addition the government will use this opportunity to provide safer and better cycling environment and even develop the street to become a centralized bike converging hub. What the city council real wants is to raise the city foundation by creating more beautiful and secure public space. By so doing they would be in a position to reflect the city’s livability and culture to residents, workers and visitors to Melborne.Being the big stake holder the Melbourne city council confers a lot of power on itself. The main reason behind its powerful nature is the fact that the Melbourne city council is actually part of government. Due to this reason it thus reflects political influence in the entire plan. Due to its influential position the buck stops with the council and it thus gives directions as well as requests to the planner. The most important influence hovers around the provider of capital and since the council is the provider then it’s the Boss in this case. Therefore it would be safe to say that without the input of the council the plan in itself won’t exist. The act of developing the streets will endear the Melbourne city council to tourists who will flock in droves thus increasing earnings in tourist revenues. The car drivers are the second most senior stakeholders in this particular project. This is regardless of whether they are private car owners or taxi drivers because the policy of redeveloping the Melbourne streets will adversely affect them. To start with amongst key effects to drivers in the implementations of this plan is to close Swanstone Street. As a matter of fact the closure initiative has already started biting since private vehicles have been prevented from using this route from 7am to 7pm. This closure will definitely adversely affect the private car owners particularly those who work at St Kilda road. This is because this road connects to Swanston Street. Firstly their diversion means that they will take ore time than usual to reach their places of work and business premises. For taxi drivers they will loose lots of time to get enough business since they would now be forced to use a longer route. On the other hand being the main street in the Melbourne CBD Swanstone Street is the best place for taxi drivers to get more business. As a result of this it’s definite that the Melbourne taxi industry will be adversely affected by this redevelopment of Swanstone Street. Disabled persons who would need to taxi from Swanstone Street will also be adversely affected by these developments. As a preventive measure the Taxi drivers wants Disable access to be exempted from this ban so as to assist this vulnerable group. (Georgie, 2011.In order to solve these issues the council is working with relevant authorities to ensure that the project doesn’t interfere with basic rights of individuals. Yarra tram is the third key stake holder on this project. While stage three of the implementation of the project offers stakeholders the opportunity to legally revise all access and delivery roots. The tram service provider will need to change its policies to be more human friendly.Yarra tram is the one that owns the tram. Since the tram will be the only accessible public transport route in the future then Yarra has to be considerate in its policies by flexing its hands on humanitarian grounds. In conjunction with the city council they can come up with the best way to mange this transport way in the future. Bicycle Victoria is also a very crucial stakeholder in this project. This is because amongst the key tenets for this project is to provide safe and clear routes for cyclists. Once public vehicles are banned then the only option of getting through tram to Swanstone street would be to use bicycles or access by foot.Infact the plan in itself has a special paths for cyclists. Bicycle victory which is the main service provider bicycles need to provide more quality services and increase functions of the service ports for cyclists this will at the end of the day increase the number of cyclists. The final stakeholders are the shopkeepers on Swanstone Street. The shopkeepers include cafeterias, restaurants and even the normal shopkeepers. The redevelopment of Swanstone Street should have the desires of shopkeepers at heart by not interfering with the way they carry out their businesses. The city council, Yarra tram and Bicycle Victoria are stakeholders that will have great influence in this plan given their relationship with the government. A summary of my above findings Introduction The redevelopment of Swingstone Street having been given the go ahead after consultations with stake holders on 25th May 2010 had to ensure that it got enough funding where the government gave $25.6 million. The redevelopment was made to mainly reduce traffic jam and to ensure the public got value for their money. Background of the Policy In planning for the redevelopment of Swanstone Street its prudent that lots of energies are put towards knowledge based economic developments. This is because an urban town would meet its ultimate development goals through well planned policies that allow well transport and housing systems that will give them economic advantages. After coming up with an outline of development plans for Swanstone street its crucial that the stakeholders come up with ways of measuring their performance index to fact find if indeed their plan is on the right course over a certain period of time. The transport sector in Melbourne city is highly valued because of its contribution as an economic power house which takes care of the town’s infrastructural development plans. All economic resources should be carefully used to avoid losses incurred due to carelessness. As stakeholders come up with plans for redeveloping Swanstone Street they should reconsider if their plans are consumarate with ways of measuring their effectiveness. In this regard an index methodology should be adopted to measure the level of development in regard to neighboring towns’ development. While redeveloping Swanston street, it’s crucial that they device means of attracting it to tourists and other potential visitors to Melbourne city through cultural and language beauty. This is because visitors would want to stay and invest in the city if they love its beauty. Since sustainable development in a city is gauged on the quality of life that a city offers its residents in regard to institutional,environmental,societal and economic framework in the city. There should be in place relevant strategies for standard economic development to that engage these factors. Stakeholders Stakeholders here include the Melbourne city council, shopkeepers, Car drivers, Bicycle Victoria and Yara Tram. Strategies Various billboards and websites about the Swanstone street redevelopment will be put in place to ensure the public is thoroughly educated on the importance of redeveloping this street. Drivers will be diverted to north and south bound routes to reduce traffic jam even as the redevelopment process kicks off. As a result persons with disabilities will be given an exemption to be picked from the street by their taxis since they are disadvantaged. The capital will be provided by Melbourne city council since it’s close to the government who are incharge of revenues and thus the whole project would be under the administration of the city council who would call shots here. The strategy to close st Kilda road that enjoins Swanstone Street between 7am and 7pm will have adverse effects on drivers who would have to reach their places of work very late. Yarra tram being the third top stake holder will have to accommodate descending views on its policies on human grounds so as to help pedestrians and cyclists use its route to access the Swanstone street. Bicycle Victoria a bicycle provider on Swanstone street will have its stakes high in this project since by virtue of closing all routes to Swanstone street the only available access route would be the Yarra tram and its only accessible by bicycle or on foot thus it s challenged to provide more bicycles for people who would want to use this route. Shopkeepers on the Swanstone Street are the economic backbone of Melbourne city and thus shouldn’t be evacuated while redeveloping Swanstone Street. Works Cited: Carillo. (2004). Capital cities: taxonomy of capital accounts for KCs. Journal of Knowledge Management, 8(5), 28-46.Retrieved from; www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=883876 on 1st June 2011 Ergazakis. (2006). A unified methodological approach for the development of knowledge cities. Retrieved from; arnetminer.org/viewpub.do?pid=1294941 – on 1st June 2011 Georgie Haberfield, ‘Have you say: Should cars been banned from Swanston Street’, 28 April 2011, Melbourne Leader Retrieved from; Melbourne leader.whereilive.com.au/.../outrage-over-swanston-car-ban on 1ST June 2011 Martínez, S. D. (2004). A comparative framework for knowledge cities. In J. Carrillo (Ed.), Knowledge Cities: Approaches, Experiences, and Perspectives (pp. 17-30). Oxford: ButterworthHeinemann, Elsevier. Retrievedfrom; www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1626640&show=html on 1st June 2011 Rob Adams, ‘Future Melbourne Committee Report-Redevelopment of Swanston Street’, 2February2010.Retrievedfrom;www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/.../Swans on Street/.../4.1_NoImages.pdf - on 30th May 2011 Read More